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: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. I had a sip or two of distinguished beer rater chris_o’s sample of this beer at the festival, and found his rating to be quite accurate. This organic dark ale is not a typical English best bitter (organic Hallertau hops from New Zealand are used), it's more of a cross between a bitter and a dark mild, like chris_o says: Deep tawny/chestnut colour, sulphurous aroma, grainy and some roasted malts flavour with low bitterness, a slight sweetness, dry finish.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, poor head. Moderate malty sweet aroma, hints of boiled vegetables. Sweetish boring flavour, some bitterness in the finish. A poor attempt at a pils.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, low head. Weak aroma, weak "neutral" flavour. Poor, but not offensive. Definitely not something to search out.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Golden colour, moderate head. Weak aroma, fairly malty flavour for an industrial lager, probably some maize (corn) too. Drinkable, but not interesting.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, low to none head. NO aroma (well, I had a bit of a cold, but there can’t possibly be much there. I had no problem smelling the Hefeweissbier I had afterwards). Thin mouthfeel, sweetish fruity flavour but not unpleasant, just a hint of hop bitterness in the finish.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Black colour, roasted malty and ...err... MILD flavour. Smooth. Low on hops like expected from this style.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Aroma of ensilage and barnyard, some sulphur (over-cooked eggs). Flavour is OK, but light bodied and not very exciting. Weak background of acidity.

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

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). Low (natural) carbonation, some lacing. Black. Surprisingly fruity and flowery notes in the aroma. Roasted flavour with fruity tones, nice bitterness.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004. Black (= very dark brown) colour. EXTREMELY fruity aroma and flavour for a stout. Notes of dark chocolate and coffee too. Interesting beer, very good. And it’s vegan, for those who care.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004. Brewed following a 17th Century recipe using rosemary. Rosemary and cloves (? - can't read my own handwriting) in the aroma and flavour, which otherwise have the characteristics of a good standard pale ale. Must be a great accompaniment with lambchops.

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: 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

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

Cask conditioned. Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). Pitch black. Low (natural) carbonation. Lovely aroma, smooth roast malt and coffee flavour, with some acid side notes that I'm not entirely happy about.

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: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Dark brown colour. Aroma of dark fruits / prunes, flavour is fruity and rather sweet. Nice. A decent mild!

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: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Very dark brown colour, cloudy (I poured the yeast in). Very low head. Lovely "old" aroma of leather, oak, coffee and dark fruits. Flavour is fruity and vinegary, roast notes. Acidic finish. Not bad.

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

Bottle conditioned, batch no. 040812arw. Bought at Memorable Cheeses in Ipswich. This fruit beer is an unfiltered and bottle conditioned wheat lager, not an ale. Cloudy golden colour (I poured the yeast in). Aroma and flavour are prickly and tart raspberries on a wheat background, not too sweet. Rather bitter finish. Not bad.

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

(33 cl bottle). Golden colour, good head and lacing. Nutmeg, cloves and oak in aroma and flavour, aftertaste a bit short, but not bad for a blonde. Some sweetness, but not too much. Decent.

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

(33 cl bottle). Beautiful reddish colour, good head. Surprisingly weak initial aroma, improves as the beer warms up - toffee, caramel and oak. Malty caramel flavour with some cloves, a tad too sweet for my taste. Needs some more hops to balance the sweetness. Malty, rounded aftertaste.