Roundabout
Torque Brewing

Round About pours into my glass a deep, leathery brown color. It's almost dark enough to be a porter. The head is rocky, coffee & cream in color, and is decently lasting.
On the nose, Round About is rich, earthy, and very malt forward. Maltiness makes itself known in the form of chocolate, caramel, and the sort of nuttiness you might expect from this style of beer. Then I find fruit esters in the form of dark fruit. Specifically, it seems like a combination of ripe red cherries and dates. In the finish I find hints of peppery European hops.
On the tonue, Round About is full bodied and smooth. Carbonation is gentle, letting the beer's flavors speak for themselves. Flavors of dark roasted grains give the beer a combination of chocolate, roasted coffee, nuttiness, and toasted rye bread. Fruit esters come through in the center, giving me flavors of ripe stone fruit. Gentle hints of earthiness bring the flavors together into a short, dry finish.
Round About is easily a 7.5 out of 10. I wish I had access to more English mild ales that actually hailed FROM England so I could have something to compare against. As it stands though, this is a very good beer. It's full flavored and balanced but not so intensely flavored as to make the beer hard to drink. Instead, it's balanced, tasty, and very accessible for anyone who's not sure if they like really dark beers like this.