Grand Union Special
Grand Union Brewery, The

Tasted this beer at the Cross Keys pub in City, London. The beer is a guest ale at this JDW pub, while its sister, Grand Union Gold, seems to be a constant guest there as I've tried it there many times in the past several months.

A: clear, orangey, dark amber hue with a quite thin and fluffy head with surprisingly good head retention; low carbonation.
S: deeply grapefruit-peel aroma upfront, with a touch of slightly sweet flowey scent; the hop note is not overly zesty, as it comes with a tinge of hays, and balanced by a deep-running, faintly sweetish malty note. Overall the nose is quite hoppy and softly fruity, with a lightly spicy touch in the end-note.
T&M: mouthful of extremely juicy malts with lots of fruit esters and flowery hops--the bitterness is mild at first, but slowly intensifies along with increasingly nuttiness and more malty flavour towards the finish. The texture of bitterness is tea-like and very settled consistently. Overall the mouthfeel is quite lively, due to the moderately fizzy body, but remains smooth deep down the tongue.
D: great balance b/w aromatic hops and lightly-kilned malts, resulting in a bitter full of flavour while soft in texture. Tasted alongside Grand Union Gold, this beer is lighter in aroma, but the depth and flavour wins by a few yards. Greatly quaffable.