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

April 2013: 500 ml bottle conditioned, from Vaaland, Bryne. ABV is 4.2%. Golden colour, slightly hazy when the yeast is poured in, moderate white head. Aroma of hay, mild herbal spices, chocolate and dust, hints of smoke. The flavour has a mild fruity acidity, followed by chocolate, smoke and moderate hops. Apparently they have used some pale chocolate malt and a little smoked malt here. The smoke is probably there to celebrate the Severn Valley Railway. An unusual bitter, but not bad.

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

April 2015: Cask pint at the Sand Martin, Cardiff. Copper colour, lasting moderate head, slightly off-white. Moderate malty aroma, hints of toffee. Very smooth mouthfeel and flavour, moderately malty but not sweet, a slight fruitiness makes it very drinkable. Decent hops in the aftertaste.

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

Nov. 2013: Cask halfpint at JDW, Victoria Station, London. Reddish brown colour, moderate off-white head. Moderate but nice fruity and malty aroma. Rich flavour of ripe berries, malts and fruity hops, soft and smooth to drink, but not too sweet. Pleasant beer.

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

Oct. 2016: Cask pint at The Shepherd’s Tavern, Mayfair. Copper colour, off-white head. Moderate malty aroma, some fruit. Slightly sweet, fruity (currants) and malty flavour. Decent enough, but the hops are too moderate.

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

Cask pints (numerous) at The Last Post, Guernsey. Cask ABV is 4.5%. (ABV of the bottled version is 5.0%.) Copper to brown colour, low creamy head, slightly off-white. Malty aroma with some caramel and toffee notes. Malty flavour too, toffee and nutty notes, a little fruit, very moderate hops - a very British character overall.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Aug. 2014: Shared 500 ml bottle from Guernsey, probably filtered and pasteurised. ABV is 5.0%. Cognac / caramel colour, moderate off-white head. Malty aroma with caramel and brown bread. The flavour is first malty with some caramel (but not very sweet), then moderate hops take over. Not as good as the cask version, but drinkable enough.

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

Aug. 2014: Keg, halfpint, as Randall’s Monty’s, at The Last Post, Guernsey. Copper colour, low white head. Moderate aroma, some caramel and nuts. Distinctly nutty flavour, also caramel, but not very sweet. Moderate hops in the finish, some bitterness in the aftertaste. For a keg ale, this is not too bad.

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

Cask halfpint at The Lyric, Soho, London. Clear brown colour, small head. The aroma and flavour have a nice blackcurrant fruitiness, decent bitterness.

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

Dec. 2015: Cask pint at the Leyton Orient Supporters Club. Chestnut color, minimal off-white head. Malty aroma, blackcurrant leaves and some earthy hops. Malty flavour, hints of caramel, warm fruity notes (blackcurrants), earthy hops in the finish. Good beer.

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

Cask half pint, as Inveralmond McGinty’s Ale, at McGinty’s, Aberdeen. Toffee aroma. Nice flavour with fruity hops, on a moderate malty background with toffee notes. Decent bittering hops in the finish. Earlier Rating: 3/29/2017 Total Score: 3.2 Cask pint at The Stag, Aberdeen, as Inveralmond Stag / The Stag’s Ale. 4.2% ABV. Golden colour, white head, nice lacing. Malty aroma, toffee notes. Malty flavour too, hints of malt vinegar, but not sour. A slight fruitiness makes the beer quite drinkable.

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

March 2017: Cask half pint at McGinty’s, Aberdeen. 4.2% ABV. Golden colour, white head. Malty / toffee aroma. Smooth malty flavour, not as fruity as McGinty’s Ale. The hops are too moderate.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle, from Gulating Ølutsalg, Stavanger. ABV is 4.1%. Beautiful mahogany colour, large to moderate off-white head. Malty aroma, notes of caramel, brown bread and roasted nuts. Malty flavour too, with the same elements as the aroma, but not too sweet. Decent earthy hops in the finish.

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

Cask, as Old Blackfriars Ale, in the Old Blackfriars pub (Belhaven) in Aberdeen. ABV is 3.9%. Copper colour, white (or slightly off-white) head. Nice malty aroma, notes of toffee. Malty flavour, toffee and nuts, some dark fruits in the background.

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

Sep. 2020: 500 ml bottle, from Seven Cellars. ABV is 4.5%. Clear golden colour, large white head. Nice aroma of spicy, herbal and fruity hops. Refreshing flavour, citric and slightly spicy hops. Nice beer.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

July 2016: 500 ml bottle, from Det Gode Brygg, Sandnes. ABV is 4.4%, Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Surprisingly dull aroma, notes of grain and dust, only the faintest hint of fruity hops. The flavour has a much better presence of hops, notes of citrus and berries. Nice to drink. The finish is not very bitter though.

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

500 ml bottle, from Systembolaget, shared in Oslo by my son Steinar. ABV is 4.2%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma and flavour of earthy English hops, some fruit, a moderate malty sweetness. Enjoyable.

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

March 2020: Cask pint at the Jugged Hare, Barbican. Chestnut colour, slightly off-white head. Malty aroma. Malty flavour, some slightly roast malts, medium dry, a slight fruity tingle on the tongue. Nice.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

February 2003, in England and Norway: (Can). Smooth, creamy, drinkable but pretty flavourless bitter. There are better ones around! 2023: Haven't seen it for years now.

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

April 2015: Cask half pint at the New Inn, Gloucester. Served a tad too warm. Copper to brown colour, minimal head, slightly off-white. Nice lacing. Malty aroma with hints of toffee, some fruit. Malty flavour, nutty notes, a hint of caramel but not really sweet. Definitely drinkable, but not great.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Looks filtered, but I don’t know if it is pasteurised. ABV is 4.0%. Golden colour, moderate white head, good lacing. Moderate sweetish aroma of toffee, candy, some fruit and "dusty" English hops. Flavour of a standard English bitter - a slight fruitiness, highly drinkable, with decent hops in the finish, but not really very exciting. Must be worth sampling cask conditioned, though.

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

500 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgård, Denmark. ABV is 4.2%. Amber colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of toffee and biscuits, hints of fruity hops. Soft mouthfeel, smooth to drink. Nice moderately malty flavour with hints of toffee, biscuits and fruity hops, ending in a very moderate bitterness. OKish.

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

500 ml green bottle, as Jennings Cumberland Ale, from MENY Stadionparken, Stavanger. ABV is 4,7%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of "dusty" hops, hints of toffee. Fairly refreshing flavour, dry hops on a background of subtle malts and a hint of fruit. Bitter aftertaste with some unpleasant metallic notes. Cask half pint, at The Lamplighter, St. Helier. Copper colour, white head. Moderate aroma. Malty flavour, with sharpish and slightly metallic hops in the finish.

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

750 ml capped bottle, courtesy of the brewer. ABV is 4.7%. The glass fills completely by white foam, and the golden beer appears only slowly. When the head eventually is low enough to make the beer drinkable from my tall glass, the remaining carbonation is very moderate. I think the refermentation in the bottle has gone a bit "bananas" here, seems not right for an English style bitter. Quite nice aroma of Fuggles and Centennial hops, notes of blackcurrants, hints of butterscotch and honey. The flavour has a decent hoppy character from the Fuggles and Centennial, and a bitterness of 35 IBU (mainly from the Target hops). The malts in the background seem just about right, with only a tad of honeyish sweetness from the pale crystal malts.

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

330 ml bottle, bought at Vaaland, Bryne. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate carbonation in the glass. OKish aroma of herbal and citric hops, hints of toffee and caramel, also a touch of blackcurrant leaves. Crisp flavour, not too sweet, with notes of toffee and hops, hints of blackcurrants. A moderately grapefruity bitterness in the finish. Quite enjoyable.

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

Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 4.2%. Deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma of malts and toffee, hints of berries. The flavour has moderate malts, toffee, biscuits and nuts. Decent Challenger hops in the finish.