Red Devil
Hop Back Brewery plc

Tasted this beer at my local JDW's pub in East End London during Wetherspoon's Autumn Beer Festival in early November.

A: clear and bright reddish brown hued, with a light tan head which is thin but foamy, leaving pretty tight lacing on the sides of the glass.
S: slightly tea-like scent of hops plus an underlying caramel malt backbone which provides some caramel-sweetness as well as mild roasted or toasted note. Not bad but overly subdued, maybe due to lack of freshness?
T: roasted chest-nutty malts upfront, accompanied by light caramel and some sourly-sweet fruitiness from the first second onwards, followed by mild floral hop flavour sustaining well in the background; the finish sees more dryish bitterness and subtle nuttiness, plus assertive dark-fruits in the medium-length finish.
M&D: almost silky smooth on the palate and reasonably flavoursome, with a nice fruity profile balanced with malty overtone; alas, the serving temp. is a bit too high and some presumably fruity hops are lost, while lack of fizz makes the overall mouthfeel pretty flat... Overall not bad but not "devilishly" delicious in any sense.

Other notes: I actually had the same beer at the same place three days later, from a fresh barrel, and it was a different, better, story. Didn't make any note so my note above stands as it is. I think to drink real ale provides the kind of constant joy/excitement of "trial and error", although I'd lose more pennies betting on my better luck. Well, it's worth it this time~~