Tormentor
Freeminer Brewery Ltd.

(Notes of August 2007) At 4.5%abv., tasted by a half pint at a JDW pub in Lewisham, SE London.

A: dark orangey golden in colour, topped with a thin white foam that retreats to a rim very quickly; carbonation comes low, at about 90% clarity.
S: very mild fruity notes like Goldings hops, plus fruit candy, and tart white grapes/gooseberries... the nose tells a semi-off story of this cask, or at least not on form. A swirl gives rise to more cane-sugary maltiness. Pretty weird overall.
T: a light but obvious flavour as of boiled root-veggie plus mild biscuity malts upfront is ensued by a thin-ish sour gooseberry-like fruitiness and spicy hints of Styrian Goldings hops. Slightly dry and simultaneously sweet in the finish, sprinkled with a little citrus zestiness.
M&D: the palate is not flat, but almost there... Overall this light-coloured ale suffers from the poor serving condition, and as such the flavour seems to point to the profile of a Pale Mild rather than a Pale Bitter.

Guest cask-conditioned night at The Gaslight, South Orange NJ.

Moderate golden color with minimal head. Below-average lacing, almost imaginary. Slight aroma of hops and fruit, almost imperceptible. Great body in terms of fullness, creamy/buttery feeling -- could roll it around my tongue for a while, although it could stand slightly more carbonation. Hops up front with fruit notes -- overripe bananas and green apples. Smooth going down with a slightly dry aftertaste. Very easygoing brew, not overly interesting. Not as bitter as it should be.

Via beer engine at Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn. Golden in colour, minimal head and a bit of lacing on the glass. Nice aroma, earthy and hoppy. Flavour was moderately bitter with good malt balance; moderately dry finish. A good, easy-drinking English bitter.

On Cask at the NYC Real Ale Fest at David Copperfields.
Golden amber color with the sparse, whispy head of a true cask ale. Minimal but noticable natural carbonation visable. Aroma is clean and light- earthy hop and fresh biscuits with some fruity apricot notes.
Flavor is not as "wow" as expected, but this is afterall an ordinary Bitter. Slightly watery up front with a slick mouth feel. Caramalized fruit and grassy hop are somewhat thin but tasty. Finish is dry and still clean with a nice, mild hop bite that lingers.
I could drink alot of these w/ out complaining but for me at least it would get boring after 2. I would prefer to drink just 2 of something more flavorfull, but its cool to find rare casks like this so if you see it, its definatly worth trying.
Now Deep Shaft on cask...mmm... that would be something special!