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

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 4.0%. Medium dark brown colour, low head. Moderate nutty and slightly roasty aroma, also notes of chocolate. The flavour has also some mild roasty notes, malty with notes of chocolate.

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

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 4.0%. Colour somewhere between pink and orange, low head. Aroma of watered-down cherry soft drinks, a hint of marzipan. Thin mouthfeel. Flavour of a pale bitter with cherry flavouring added, very slight acidity. Definitely not a fruit lambic, but fairly refreshing.

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

Cask at the Number Twenty-2, Darlington. ABV is 4.2%. Copper colour, creamy off-white head. Moderate malty aroma, notes of toffee. Moderate malty and nutty flavour, "dusty" hops in the finish.

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

From the barrel (gravity) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 5.2%. Pale golden colour, just a slight haze. Nice aroma of pears and apples, hints of oak and sulphites. Light bodied, medium dry flavour of pears.

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

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing beer festival 2011. ABV is 3.6%. Black colour, ruby in the highlights, low beige head. Aroma of nutty and slightly roasted malts, hints of coffee. Nutty and dry flavour, notes of weak coffee. Medium bitter espresso aftertaste, hints of ashes.

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

Cask (handpump), as Heart of Wales Inn Stable, at the Darlington Spring Thing beer festival 2011. ABV was 6.8%, according to the festival programme. Cloudy orange colour, low head. Aroma of unfermented wort, fruity and grassy (or rather: hay-like) hops. Poor condition, the flavour seems "unfinished" and "raw". Some caramel, hops and fusel alcohols, quite dry. Not much to brag about.

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

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing beer festival 2011. ABV is 3.7%. Golden colour, low head. Aroma of butterscotch and pale wort. The flavour is smooth with some grainy notes, tolerable New Zealand hops in the finish and aftertaste.

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

Cask (handpump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.4%. Very dark brown colour, cloudy, nearly black. Aroma of moderately roasted malts, thin coffee, fruit, chocolate and vanilla. The flavour is very fruity for a stout, moderate roasty notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Quite drinkable.

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

Cask (hand pump), at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.6%. Very dark ruby colour, nearly black. Low beige head. Aroma of roasted barley and coffee. Roasty flavour, plenty of roasty and hoppy bitterness in the finish. Hints of English liquorice.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 3.8%. North Riding Hotel has won numerous awards as one of Scarborough’s best pubs, and they have recently taken to brewing their own beer. (I visited once, before they commenced brewing. They still serve additional beers from other breweries, as demand is outstripping their own production.) Golden colour, moderate white head. Moderate aroma, hints of fruity and grassy hops, hints of sulphur. The flavour is quite dry, ending in a very sharp bitterness.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 6.3%. Very dark ruby colour, nearly black. Moderate beige head. Very nice vinous aroma, hints of oak and ripe red fruits. The flavour has a certain fruitiness with vinous notes, but is not very sweet. Moderately bitter finish with woody notes. One of the better beers of the festival.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 3.8%. Deep golden to amber colour, low head. Nice aroma of toffee, with a touch of citrussy hops. Light bodied. Dry flavour, with a solid dose of unusual hops (Savinsky Goldings and Green Bullet), some citrussy notes and a sharp bitter finish.

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

330 ml bottle, from the very limited foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 5%. Pale golden colour, low white head. Sweetish but not unpleasant aroma of maize, hints of floral hops. The flavour is fairly crisp and dry, but the hops are too moderate.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.3%. Pitch black colour, low head, minimal carbonation. Nice roasty aroma with notes of coffee and chocolate, hints of liquorice. Dry roasty flavour, coffee notes, hints of liquorice, bitter finish.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.1%. Amber colour, low head. Nutty and toffee aroma. The flavour has nutty malts, followed by a moderate bitterness from American hops. Fairly dry.

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

250 ml bottle, as Liefmans Fruitesse, from the foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival. ABV is 4.2%. Brewed with 15% fruits. Beautiful red colour, moderate pink head. Strong sweetish aroma of cherries and mixed berries, also notes of fruit candy. Sweet fruity flavour, like a fruit soda, fruit candy notes galore. Tasty, but there is nothing here to remind you that this is a beer.

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

355 ml bottle, from the foreign beer bar at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 5.5%. Mahogany to dark ruby colour, big beige head. Malty aroma with notes of Schwarzbrot and caramel. The flavour is also very malty with notes of caramel and brown bread, very moderate hops. Nice enough to drink.

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

Cask conditioned at The Quakerhouse, Darlington. ABV is 4.4%. Copper coloured beer, creamy off-white head. Malty aroma and flavour, hints of toffee and wood, fairly dry. Moderate hops in the finish. Smooth mouthfeel.

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

Cask conditioned at The Quakerhouse, Darlington. ABV is 4.5%. Golden colour, creamy white head. Moderate fruity aroma, hints of tropical fruits. Reasonably hoppy flavour with a medium bitterness, and enough malts to support it.

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

Cask conditioned at The Quakerhouse, Darlington. ABV is 5.0%. Very dark ruby colour, nearly black. Moderate tan head. Roasty aroma, notes of dark chocolate. I expected an "Irish" dry stout, but the flavour is surprisingly sweet and sugary. The mouthfeel is not very rich though. Roasty notes, black sweetened coffee, some chocolate.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.6%. Chestnut colour, low head. Malty and nutty aroma. Nutty flavour, a hint of caramel, but very dry for a dunkel. Fairly bitter hops in the finish.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. Deep golden colour, low head. Lovely aroma of fruity hops, notes of tropical fruits / passion fruit. The flavour is also dominated by fruity hops, hints of tropical fruits, could use a little more citrussy freshness, but still good. One of the better beers of the festival.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. Brown colour, low head. Nice malty aroma, hints of toffee and Scotch whisky. Dry flavour, malts and decent hops, a hint of Scotch whisky again. One of the better beers of the festival.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 5.6%. Copper colour, slightly hazy. Low off-white head. Malty aroma with notes of caramel. The flavour is both malty sweet and well hopped, with a dry and very sharp bitter finish. The alcohol is noticeable. I think a cooler temperature and more CO2 would have helped this one.

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

Cask (hand pump) at the Darlington Spring Thing Beer Festival 2011. ABV is 4.0%. Golden colour, low head. Moderate aroma of fudge, butterscotch and some fruit. Smooth flavour, some butterscotch and a little citrus. Hoppy finish.