Hung, Drawn 'n' Portered
North Cotswold Brewery

Proviso: I've only tried this on tap or as a takeaway direct from the brewery. Bottled version may well be different, and almost certainly more carbonated.
Deep brown to opaque black in colour, depending how brightly you 'candle' it. Fairly light on the nose, with a malty and caramel smell to the fore, with hops definitely taking a back seat.
The dark-roasted malts immediately hit your palate, moderated by a slight caramel sweetness, all rounded out by the hop bitterness, which is quite subtle.
This is definitely a true porter, not a stout - a difference of style that some brewers don't seem to be able to recognise these days!
The lack of stout 'dryness' makes this an extremely drinkable beer; verging on a session beer. However, the 5% ABV readily makes itself felt, and it's easy to get, literally, carried away by this delicious brew. In the top 5 of my favourite beers, along with this brewery's "Hung, Drawn & Double Portered“.

 

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery...
L- Very dark ruby red, clear, with a 1Cm quite dark tan super-fine bubble head.
S- A general roasty-toasty aspect to it.
T- Pretty seriously roasty, pungent toasty dark malts, a fleeting suggestion of a waft of light smoke and into a hoppy dry finish.
F- I suspect that the taste + level of hops would under-pin a materially higher ABV%. As is the body feels about it's 5% and yet somehow, given it's pungency, comes out not managing to feel thin. That's clever brewing as often a say 5% black beer with BIG Taste can feel disappointingly thin.
O- It's a darn good looking pour, the head is holding perfectly still 5+mins after decanting. They've somehow managed to pack a whole lot of flavour into a relatively light beer and it's a treat for fans of trad black beer. I'm not a born fan of such, tap Guinness put me right off for 30 years until I encountered authentic German SchwarzBier and realised what a black beer could be like if well done. Ie I'm still surprised to this day to find myself enjoying a black beer as I am this one.
Another striking thing is that it all fits together, there is nothing out of line/balance. It's a real accomplishment for a small brewery such as this one... Hats off to them!
Review2022/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! ==> Contains barley+wheat malts. SIBA/CAMRA award winning... no surprise!
500ml bottle BB: 04/2022 Bought from Oxford Wine Company, Oxford.

Authentic cask porter...looks legit and could easily be mistaken for a stout at first glance. It has a decent head pumped out the cask. I enjoyed the drinkability after the first couple gulps it leaves a smooth mouth feel and easy finish.

 

Pours an opaque dark brown with a slight ruby hue. Head retention is decent, but only some specks of lace. Nose is mellow on the roasty side and quite earthy on the hops side. Taste is also mellow with some rounded roasted notes and some of that same earthiness coming through. There is also an astringent aspect to the finish which does not mesh well with this otherwise very mellow easy drinker. Overall, a decent beer that doesn't wow.

Pours a finger and a half of head on a black body.
The aroma is licorice, wood and milk.
The taste is wood, licorice with a mild dry bitterness.
The texture is smooth but a little chalky.
Nice.

On cask. Almost black. Thick, frothy and long lasting head.
Malt, coffee and dark chocolate to the nose.
Viscous, smooth but light in flavour. The charred toast taste does not reflect the aroma.
Gentle carbonation. Medium body.
Disappointing in the end.