Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004. Malty caramel aroma. Cereal and delightful (? - can’t read my own handwriting) hops in the flavour. Good beer!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

February 2003: (Cask conditioned). I had just a taste of this at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival, will need to have it again. Some natural carbonation, low head. Very malty aroma and flavour, low bitterness. Typical Northeastern English style.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Moderately spicy aroma and flavour, citrus (= lemongrass) is there of course. Light bodied, refreshing.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. Low (natural) carbonation. Golden colour, citrus aroma. Fruity flavour, very refreshing despite being served at room temperature (should be moderately chilled).

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. One of the last beers I sampled at the festival ... Pale lagerish more than a typical wheat beer, but okay. Not remarkable, though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. Served at room temperature (urk!) with only the natural low carbonation - this is a light golden ale with good hops and a lovely aroma, and it should be a perfect session beer when served cooler (and maybe with a fairly tight sparkler?).

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(Cask conditioned in Bishop Auckland). A beer in the Northeastern English style, I believe. Dark brown, low head, good lacing. Malty aroma. Rather sweet, smooth, low bitterness.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Interesting aroma of barnyard and sheepshed - very befitting, as the Bedlington terrier (the dog, that is!) looks like a newborn lamb. Flavour is dusty malty. Oh, and it’s vegan - no terriers are used as actual ingredients in this beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Deep golden colour. Nice hoppy / fruity aroma. Quite malty for a session bitter. A dusty hoppiness takes over, lasts through the finish. Easy drinking. Pleasant enough.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Orange aroma. I suppose orange peel has been added to the brew. Decent wheat flavour, but not outstanding.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, Derby (Heavyweight Beer Festival, February 2005). Gravity dispense. Brown to ruby colour, some natural carbonation, no head. Malty aroma and flavour like expected from a "Scottish" style ale, but this one also has a tolerable hoppy bitterness. Hints of dark bitter chocolate. Not a bad try from the Otter Brewery.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A decent pale ale, not outstanding in any way. Rerate 500 ml bottle: Moderate malty aroma, golden brown colour, good head. Pleasant, malty, well rounded flavour. Decent. A bit alcoholic, in a blind test I would guess it was stronger than it actually is.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, bought in London, named "Castlemaine XXXX Draught Lager", brewed under license in the UK by Interbrew. ABV was 4.0%. This version seems not to be brewed in Australia at all. Drank it ice cold, like the Aussies would prefer it. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Weak sweetish aroma. Little taste at all, just a hint of boiled vegetables and a faint bitterness. Better than water.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Bottle, bought in Norway at Vinmonopolet. Pale lager. Simply called "Tennent's" here, but the ABV (5%) tells me it's not the British standard Tennent's Lager, so it must be the Extra. An ordinary lager, easily drinkable without too much of anything. However, I won't buy it again of two reasons: a) In Norway, the price is twice that of domestic lagers / pilsener, while the beer isn't that much better (well, it's 0,3 - 0,5% stronger). b): When in Scotland, I will most certainly prefer a good Scottish ale to any lager!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

The nitro version is known as Tennent's Velvet. I had a few pints on nitro tap in Glasgow, must have been Tennent's even if the glass just read ’Velvet’. Well, the pints I had certainly deserved their name, velvety, smooth and creamy indeed. The beer may not be outstanding, but GOOOOD, to be sure! Moderate grapefruity elements with hints of caramel.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(Bottle). Extremely sweet low ABV (2%) Scottish stout, traditionally recommended for nursing mothers and convalescents to regain their strength. Scotsmen drink it mixed half & half with Guinness. Might be a good idea. I had it on its own at room temperature, and found it way too sweet, nearly undrinkable. Would probably be better at cellar temperature.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(500 ml bottle). Light golden colour, heavy initial carbonation that diminishes rapidly. Aroma of apples (not surprising!), oak and leather + hints of cowshed. Sweet apple flavour with hints of oak. I'm not really a cider man, but this decent oak conditioned stuff is infinitely better tasting than the industrialized crap that normally is marketed as "cider" these days.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml brown bottle, bought at Vaaland Ølutsalg, Bryne. ABV is 4.5%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, sparkling when poured but very little carbonation in the glass. No head. Lovely aroma and flavour of fermenting pears and apples, notes of oak. Quite sweet. I like it, but one bottle is enough. Might buy again though, probably palatable for guests who don’t like beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Clear golden colour. Pours fizzy & sparkling, but carbonation in the glass is moderate. No lasting head. Oaky aroma with hints of leather, dominant late harvest fermenting apples, notes of apple cider vinegar. Flavour is oaky, medium dry. Quite pleasant and refreshing. A decent cider

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

500 ml can. Bought by mistake in a London store when I was in a hurry just before closing time - thought it was an unrated beer! Fizzy sourish stuff. Watery mouthfeel. Gave me a heartburn - and I didn’t even finish the can! Industrial ciders like this one seem utterly pointless to me. Avoid!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

"Pedigree Pal" - no wait, that's dogfood. Beerhounds will no doubt prefer this standard bitter, which is available all over Britain. Cask conditioned this is a mellow, easily drinkable bitter. Not the very best, but GOOD, to be sure. Moderately sulphurous aroma.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Deep amber coloured, slightly hazy, large and lingering head. Pleasant aroma of fruity hops on a moderately malty background, hints of toffee and leather. Flavour is fairly malty with some caramel and a dominant hoppy bitterness, too bitter in the finish. A bit overdone on the hops in my book, but obviously a well-above-average beer.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

(330 ml bottle). "Indian" beer brewed in England. Pale golden colour, good head. Some hops in the aroma, run of the mill lager flavour, metallic bitterness. Just another "wash down the curry" beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV is 5.0%. Golden colour, moderate head, good lacing. Moderate carbonation. Aroma of malts and honey, some flowery notes too. Flavour is honey sweet and mellow but not cloying, fairly well balanced with the Target hops. Nice enough.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought at Vinens Verden, Odense, Denmark. Black (= very dark ruby) colour, good tan head. Pleasant aroma: chocolate, roasted barley, coffee, prunes, leather. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, faintly acidic. Mellow flavour of roasted barley / dark malts, low bitterness. Not too much going on flavourwise, does not quite live up to the expectations the aroma creates.