Kingsdown Ale
Arkell's Brewery Limited

From the 500 ml bottle in a snifter via our friends from across the pond
Keith and his better half Julie. Cheers!

This fine ale pours a medium dark brwon with a moderate head of off white foam that settles
to a thick ring, thin faint swirling layer, and sports some faint lacing. Nose of brown sugar,
molasses, toffee, and subtle fruit notes of strawberry. Flavors hit the mark with a nice
molasses, toffee, strawberry, and faint sweet cherry. Mouth feel is medium, smooth,
light carbonation in the English style, and balanced well rounded finish with subtle
hops.

Overall, an exceptional ale.

Cheers

Cask dispensed. Light chestnut brown. Thin head.
Not much smell - some malt.
Malt with some nuttiness. Somewhat sweet but saved by a light bitter finish.
Nice feel as expected from a real ale.

 

Just a half on cask at a pub in Stow. Lighter ruby brown. Minimal head but lacing stays. Nose is light floral and a bit earthy. Taste is more full flavoured than expected. Especially fruity, with a slightly bitter bite on the finish. A pretty good beer that won't knock your socks off in any way.

 

Hand-pulled pint in my local Wetherspoons on 28th Feb 2014.

This malty brew poured a good deep reddy amber colour: on top an off-white foam that hung around.

Semi-sweet malty molasses are evident from the start, both in the aroma and in the taste. The hops only arrive towards the end of each sip and then only to stop the brew being too sweet. You can choose between toffee, caramel or even dark fruits for the dominant flavour: I'll go for toffee.

I like maltier beers and this suited my taste buds nicely. The depth of body and maltiness hid the alcohol very well and overall it came across as a very good beer for me.

golden amber translucent beer with excellent sticky head that turns into a nice sticky lace

extremely sweet and fruity aromas a bit of banana in the nose believe it or not

snappy sweet malts with the same sweetness in the malts from the nose, excellent dry hop finish AMAZING English balance

medium balance, medium light carbonation and a charming dry finish

drinkablity! this is my favorite thing about the English beers, they are tasty yet smooth, so balanced that you don't have to think about them but if you should stop to savor you will not be dissapointed. EXCELLENT beer!

Revisiting this beer almost a year after my first encounter with it in exactly the same pub in my neighbourhood, the Half Moon, a JDW pub in the East End London.

A: dark reddish-brown in colour, slightly hazy (chill-haze, I believe, as the temp. is slightly too cool); an off-white, fluffy thin head on top.
S: a rich flow of burned-caramel malts and a clearer note of perfumy, preserved-berries, laced with a touch of coconut and licorice~~ the nose is very enticing and rich as a premium bitter!
T: the same as the nose at first--richly caramely-malts come hand in hand with aromatic and sour-sweet apples and berry-fruits, followed by plenty of black-tea-ish hoppyness... all rolled in one; a lightly herbal bitter edge gradually develops and expands at the back of the palate, quite chewy bitter as well as fruity in the long but mild finish.
M&D: full-bodied but very clean on the texture with the assistance of light carbonation. It makes a very easy-drinking premium bitter. The potential is great, but again it's served overly chilled in this Cask-Marque minded pub chain... Maybe I'll try it again next July~~

A dark amber brew with a lovely cascade going on. A small head of white foam as well. The aromas are nicely hoppy, aromatic, and spicy, with some malts in the mix as well. The taste is malty with some lovely zesty hops coming in mid-way. The finish is spicy, and hoppy as well. The mouthfeel is creamy, smooth, and excellent, as is the drinkability....recommended as a session ESB