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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. This is now the only cask ale from Felinfoel. Chestnut colour. Malty aroma, hints of sulphur. Flavour is malty sweet, sulphurous and dusty. Very low on hops. Dusty aftertaste.

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

Cask conditioned at The Old Thameside Inn, Southwark, London, Christmas 2004. Dark brown colour, moderate head. Malty and sherry-like aroma. Flavour is nutty, caramel, treacle. Decent. Finish is a bit watery.

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

Rerate, cask at the Station Hotel, Ipswich: Aroma of English malt vinegar, hints of dishwasher liquid. Smooth flavour without too much character. Low on hops. Original rating, 3.1: (Draught). I remember this one as a decent standard bitter, nothing remarkable.

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

A very smooth and drinkable 'bitter', perhaps without too much character. Still, I openly admit enjoying it! Rerate nitro-can: Delete the 'perhaps' - it's DEFINITELY without too much character. I over-rated this brew the first time. It's still drinkable, but far from great!

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

A very smooth and drinkable 'bitter', perhaps without too much character. Still, I openly admit enjoying it! Rerate nitro-can: Delete the 'perhaps' - it's DEFINITELY without too much character. I over-rated this brew the first time. It's still drinkable, but far from great!

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

This nitro-can beer is the same as the John Smith's Extra Smooth. The ABV may vary a little depending on where it's being marketed. A very smooth and drinkable 'bitter', perhaps without too much character. Still, I openly admit enjoying it! Rerate nitro-can: Delete the 'perhaps' - it's DEFINITELY without too much character. I over-rated this brew the first time. It's still drinkable, but far from great!

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

Cask conditioned in Northern England. Malty aroma, flavour is smooth, full & malty with a sufficient hoppy bite to make it interesting. Dry hoppy finish. A very nice pint. The brewery is now again family owned. Rerate: 500 ml bottle, thanks to my beerpal Egil. ABV is 4.5%. Brown to copper colour, moderate but lasting white head. Pleasant aroma, hoppy / fruity with notes of berries, also notes of toffee. The flavour has a nice balance between the malts and hops, notes of berries again, typical Bramling Cross qualities. The pasteurised bottle has not quite the subtle character of the cask version (if well kept), but this is still a very enjoyable beer to drink.

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

Cask conditioned in Northern England. Many British raters seem to hate this beer, but I found it as a very drinkable standard session bitter, with a decent maltiness and acceptable hops. Dusty finish. Maybe not a true masterpiece, but certainly not bad from a well kept cask.

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

Cask conditioned in England. Pumped through coolers not normally used for cask ales. Apparently an effort from Theakston to attract cool people through cool ale. They can do better than that. Oh yeah, it's smooth and drinkable, but I'd prefer an XB or a Best Bitter at normal cask temperatures, thank you.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. No head, very little carbonation. Deep amber colour, hazy (I poured the yeast in). Aroma is hoppy, oaky, slightly spicy. Well balanced flavour, just the right blend of fruitiness, hoppiness and maltiness. Nice hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. A good beer!

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Aroma is very malty with notes of oak. Flavour is malty and rather boring. Not the highlight of the festival.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. A very soft and easy drinking session bitter. Nothing to blow your socks off, but nice enough for an evening in the pub.

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

Rerate, cask at The Shipwrights, North Hylton, Sunderland. A nice little beer, this one. Aroma a bit like Marston’s Pedigree, but less pronounced. Smooth and mellow, fruit and nuts in the flavour. No true "masterpiece", but certainly a drinkable pint.

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

Cask conditioned at the Lambton Worm (JDW), Sunderland. Golden colour, no head, little lacing. Moderate citrussy aroma. Light bodied. Pineapple and grapefruit in the flavour. Quite nice, but unfortunately a bit too sweet to be a definite favourite of mine.

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

Wylam’s former summer seasonal "Summer Magic" is now a permanent all year beer in Wylam’s portfolio, and the name has accordingly been changed to "Wylam Magic". ABV is 4.2%. Sampled cask conditioned at the Lambton Worm (JDW), Sunderland, on a cold winter’s day. Pale golden colour, next to none head but a decent lacing. Moderate fruity aroma. Light bodied, flavour is citrussy light and refreshing, with just enough hops to make it interesting.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 4.1%. Clear and deep golden colour, huge white head. Aroma of malts and toffee, hints of herbal and earthy hops. The flavour has the same elements, with a hint of caramelized berries, the earthy hops are now quite distinct, leading to a bitter aftertaste. Original short and slightly exalted comment: "Excellent cask ale! Rule Britannia!" - which means that this is a well balanced and refreshing ale where sufficient malts are accompanied by a distinct hoppy bitterness, like you expect it from a good British bitter. Rerate, cask as guest ale at the Fuller's pub in Euston Street, London: Still solid hops and malts, but drinking experience partly ruined by the fact that the beer was served at room temperature (20-22 degrees C) - a beer like this should definitely be served at cellar temperature (10-12 degr. C). Well, most ales should be served at that temperature, actually. But the American waitress who served us was gorgeous!

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

(Bottle, bought in Denmark). Deep amber (okay, chestnut) colour, moderate head. Too much CO2 for a bitter. Moderate aroma of toffee/caramel and malts, hints of dried fruits / fruitcake. Flavour is malty with a reasonable bitterness, finish is a bit watery. Easy drinking, nice enough - but nothing special either.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Deep golden colour. IBF programme said "hoppy & fruity throughout", and I can’t object to that. Not impressive, though.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Copper coloured. Moderate malty aroma. Drier than you expect from a beer this colour. Nice hoppy bitterness. Finished it with my burger & chips - good combo. Review bottle, 2007: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Labeled "real ale in a bottle", so probably NOT pasteurised. ABV is 4.2%. Amber to copper colour, large off-white head. Pleasant fruity aroma, notes of red berries, hints of oak and spices. The flavour is fairly malty with a touch of caramel. Moderate hops. Easy drinking.

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

(Cask conditioned). A brand new* (*when sampled) beer from the enterprising brewers of Durham, sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). CAMRA stated the ABV to be 4.2%, brewery website says 3.9% (possibly not updated - they spoke of the beer as a project in the making). CAMRA write "Bonnie" (which is logical), brewery website says "Bonny" - I guess they have their reasons. Low (natural) carbonation. Reddish brown colour. Malty aroma and flavour, moderate hops. The North East English style is really a marriage between English bitter and Scottish "heavy". Not a bad brew (quite good, actually), but a beer as malty as this would profit on a higher ABV.

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

Cask conditioned at The Cricketers, Ipswich. This beer is brewed with organic hops and malts. Colour is golden, slightly hazy. Moderate hoppy/fruity aroma. Relatively light bodied, grapefruity hoppy bitterness from start to finish. Nice.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. IBF list says "straw coloured, bitter flavour and soft malt finish". That pretty much sums it up. Nice hops, good bitterness, refreshing - should be served cooler than it was at the IBF.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Amber colour, the slight haziness did not bother me. Sulphurous dried apricot aroma. Flavour is moderately malty, soft and easy drinking, but not remarkable.

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

Sampled draught at The Jacksons, Sunderland. Not sure if it was cask or keg, both are available - most likely keg. Golden colour, good head. Smooth. An easy quaffing bitter, not much character - but let's admit it: I'm a sucker for beers like this when quantity is the matter of the day.

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

Cask conditioned at the White Horse, Parsons Green, London. Copper colour, moderate to low head. Very aromatic, dark fruits and barnyard. Dry hopped in the cask at the pub? Interesting hoppy and spicy bite from start to finish. An excellent bitter! (A pint I had later at The Tottenham was not nearly that good. A well kept cask is a must!)