Massey Red Ale
Hillstown Brewery

look: two finger off white head with great retention, beer is a murky mahogany colour, slow moving carbonation in the beer.

smell: smells alright, dark malt flavour, toasty, smokey, nutty, oaky, earthy, lightly sweet, hint of orange maybe, caramel, grand.

taste: that’s tasty enough, nice malt flavour, pumpernickel bread, toasty, hint of chocolate, earthy, oaky, caramel and toffee, hint of fruit sweetness, moderate bitterness on the finish, some malt flavours linger, decent stuff.

feel: light to medium bodied, medium carbonation, quite drinkable, lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue

overall: gonna have to go ahead and say that i disagree with the two previous beers, nothing special here buts it’s a reasonably nice beer, nice one to start the night.

500ml bottle from Tesco, Enniskillen (£1.75):
Quite disappointing from Hillstown again here, the beer was fairly one-dimensional & basic throughout with some floral flavours opening things followed by some biscuit malts & background fruits but not much beyond that. It was quite earthy yet bland at the same time with a few nutty flavours & malts coming through but it's definitely not the best nor is it one that I'd pick up again.