Morocco Ale
Daleside Brewery

Morocco AleMorocco Ale
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From:
Daleside Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Strong Ale
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.64 | pDev: 15.11%
Reviews:
59
Ratings:
69
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 10, 2021
Added:
Nov 21, 2002
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  0
Brewed & Bottled for Levens Hall, Cumbria.
www.levenshall.co.uk

Brewers Notes: A rich, dark and mysterious ale brewed to the ancient recipe held secret at Levens Hall for over 200 years.
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Ratings by laituegonflable:
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Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

3.38/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours a healthy dark brown, a bit darker than cola, with a decent beige head, medium-thick and medium density, leaves a thin crown and thin whispy lace that isn't particularly sticky. Fairly steady bead - yeah, looks pretty good.

Nose is sweet and quite strong. A good belt of treacle assaults the olfactory, with a dark syrupy aroma providing notes of burnt toffee, dark chocolate and a bit of a buttery character. An ethyl alcohol whiff gives a scent like rum, and there is a light mint character lurking as well. Interesting nose but a little overpowering in the sweet stakes for me.

Taste starts off with a sweetness, mostly caramel in character, with a slight fruitiness lingering behind it, fresh blueberries and a hint of citrus. Mid-palate is quite chocolatey, with a good roasted grain character and an oaky character being quite prominent. Finish is vinous - aspects of a rich burgundy with a dryness on the feel, more of that oak and a good hint of molasses as well. It states that there should be a lot of spice, but I don't get a lot, although there is a slightly herbal/phenolic flavour towards the back, reminiscent of thistle or lavender.

It's quite a strongly-flavoured beer, but falls short of being robust in character. It's too sweet to be really ball-grabbing and it comes off as a fairly mild 'strong' ale. Pleasant, but too much of things I don't like so much, and underdone on those I do.

Quite a lot of body on it, but it does feel a bit thin right at the back, and incredibly drying. It feels like a big hangover-inducing beer.
Jan 22, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.67/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgaard. ABV is 5.5%. Deep brown colour, large to moderate beige head. Unusual and interesting spicy and malty aroma, also notes of brown bread and caramel. The flavour is is also distinctly malty, medium sweet with some caramel, and a combination of exotic and "dusty" spices and hops that I’ve had in no other beer. More of a beer I’d like to have on a dark autumn night than on this hot summer’s day.
Jan 10, 2021
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.84/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Definitely different. Hints of Belgian ales here, mixed with the traditional British ale. Dark and mildly spicy (peaty?), also hint of German dunkel. Coffee brown with thin beige head, mild carbonation. Looking for something different, this is the one....
Jan 19, 2016
Photo of doktorhops
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia

2.82/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Straight from Harrogate, the most harrowing of gates (???) in England comes Daleside’s Morocco Ale. First off - Daleside - I haven’t reviewed any of their beers yet... I’m genuinely surprised as I figured I had already tried all the low hanging fruit (i.e. beers) at Dan Murphy’s including the well-seen and noted Daleside Old Leg Over, apparently not. ANYWAY Morocco Ale drew my bionic million dollar eye first with its fancy heraldic label, then with the fact that it is a spiced Old Ale with some billion year old recipe that was developed by God or some todger in Cumbria, either way I was having at it.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a Chimay chalice.

A: Hazy rich mahogany body; “beer gravy” as I like to call it, with a beige soap bubble head that reduces to a thin lace ring and storm cloud patterning on top. Not a fan of soap bubble heads - they lack the appeal of a nice thick protein-rich head, but it’s OK apart from that. 6/10.

S: The aroma is a collision between Vegemite™ (Marmite™ to my English readers, or Weird-Over-Salty-Yeast-Spread™ to my US readers) and dark fruits, specifically fig, prune and dark plum. It certainly is one opulent aroma. Preparing for gout now. 7/10.

T: Yep. Vegemite™, fig, prune and plum, with a really noticeable metallic twang in the finish - I can taste my mercury fillings now... I hate that taste. There is a slight port/brandy note as well but the overall flavour profile is lacking compared to other Old Ales such as Theakston Old Peculier or Olde Suffolk English Ale. Lacklustre, that’s it! 5/10.

M: Body is thin as well for an Old Ale, with the much expected light UK carbonation. Still, thin body, not good in an Old Ale. 6/10.

D: Well I was expecting so much more from this brew, I guess that’s what you get with bionic million dollar eye fuelled hype - disappointment. I even warmed it up a little to help release more flavour but couldn’t get past that metallic taste, what is that? Is it the result of an odd combination of spices in the wort creating that, or is it a result of the fermenter, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Hopefully Old Leg Over will be a better drop. 5/10.

Food match: You could almost spread this Vegemite™ flavoured Ale over some toasted white buttered bread and get your VM™ fix. Otherwise cheese platter yo.
Apr 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by wrightst from Maryland

Jun 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 07, 2013
 
Rated: 2.25 by mrfrancis from Kentucky

Jul 13, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by pin from Australia

May 22, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

May 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by gwiedman1 from New York

Apr 07, 2013
Photo of fx20736
Reviewed by fx20736 from New York

4.35/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass, served at cellar temp.

dark, dark ruby which betrays it's red hues only under bright light. Thick off white head.

aroma is cake batter malt with a faint dark fruitiness.

mouthfeel is soft and gentle.

flavor: unique, nuts, dark fruits, toffee. lots of pale malts, a touch of vanilla, an explosion of flavors.

notes; super yummy, tasty, hope to buy again.
Jan 05, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by sneaks2210 from New York

Nov 14, 2012
Photo of heygeebee
Reviewed by heygeebee from Australia

2.8/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
From Platinum

Very dark mahogany brown. Almost no head, just a little film.

Sweet molasses on nose.

Odd spicy taste quite sharp in a way. A little licorice, a little prune juice. As it warms some port and lemonade flavours come to the fore and the spiciness becomes more dominant. A strange alcohol burn also, which given the ABV is quite frankly odd.

Lightly carbed.

Odd beer, doesn't really work for this palate with somewhat harsh spicy flavours.
Nov 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by HumanParaquat from Indiana

Aug 14, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by LJWalker from Indiana

Mar 05, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by bigred89 from Maryland

Feb 04, 2012
Photo of goldbot
Reviewed by goldbot from District of Columbia

3.89/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Dark brown with som ruby highlights near the bottom of the pint glass. Thin, off-white head that dissipates quickly. Lots of sediment which was hard to avoid pouring. Dark, roasted malt aroma with some caramel notes as well as raisin and licorice undertones, and a whiff of ethanol. The flavor is malty, featuring more roasted malts adding a hint of chocolate and caramel. Little to no hop presence. Medium body, bordering on being slightly thin or watery.
Jan 13, 2012
Photo of damndirtyape
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

3.87/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
500mL bottle (no date) poured into a Tulip Stout glass.

Appearance: Mostly clear dark ruby red ale with the remnants of a off-white head. The pour didn't yield much of a head and all that was formed was a ring at the edge, the faintest wisps of foam across the top, and one or two isolated islands of lacing. Nice color, bummer for the lack of lacing and foam. Noted looking in the bottle at the end of the pour that the sediment stayed behind and didn't come along with the pour.

Smell: With a swirl, toffee + toasted/roasted malt and some molasses. Otherwise a bit malty with some metallic notes as well as something herbal/spicy in there towards the back. Interesting.

Taste: Toffee malt, mild coffee bitterness, hints of bittersweet chocolate, and molasses. Tasty. English hop character absent - there are bitter flavors to counter the malt, but it comes out more as roasted/toasted flavors.

Mouthfeel: Typical English ale carbonation (maybe a little bit more carbonated than normal) but otherwise a bit watery.

Overall / Drinkability: I wonder if this would best on cask rather than in a bottle. It's tasty, smells interesting, and overall, I could see myself having another one - a full pint no less.
Oct 06, 2011
Photo of dirkchivers
Reviewed by dirkchivers from California

4.21/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
bottle purchased from nikki's liquors in providence.

A. rich darkish brown with a red tint. one finger head, subsides quickly.
S. a lot going on here, fruit cake, toasted rye bread, key lime pie
T. way complex. the crust of key lime pie cinnamon graham crackers, fresh rye bread, ginger beer, belgian yeast. ginger, sweet bread finish.
M. light/medium bodied, nice and clean. very pleasant
O. so complex yet very drinkable. i cant wait to try it at Daleside.
Jul 22, 2011
Photo of morimech
Reviewed by morimech from Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
An interesting beer I saw on a local store shelf. Poured from 500ml bottle into a standard pint glass. Once poured the color is dark brown with a reddish tint. Only a half inch of head formed but it had good retention before settling to a thick cap. Heavy lacing is left on the glass.

Pleasant English hop aroma upfront. Slightly herbal and grassy. Mild soapiness as well. The malt gives off hints of caramel.

When I think of what a dark English ale would taste like, this beer fits the thought soundly. Sweet caramel malt lays a foundation for the English hops. I love these hops with their herbal/grassy notes. Just a little more rich and sweet than an EPA. Bitterness is low to moderate. No alcohol presence.

I would of liked a little more body for the sweetness brought on by the malt. Nicely carbonated but a little rough.

Pleasantly surpised by this beer. Maybe not as good as Stingo or Geary's, but definately worth a try.
Jul 17, 2011
Morocco Ale from Daleside Brewery
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 69 ratings