Magus
Durham Brewery Ltd

MagusMagus
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From:
Durham Brewery Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Pale Ale
Ranked #159
ABV:
3.8%
Score:
83
Ranked #33,228
Avg:
3.53 | pDev: 12.18%
Ratings:
14 | reviews: 7
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 10, 2025
Added:
Jul 11, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

4.31/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle conditioned in 500ml of dark brown glass and purchased from Manchester city centre craft beer stalwarts Beermoth on Tibb street
Pours a naturally clear golden body witn spotty white head
Aroma is lemon cheesecake
Flavour is lemon cheesecake
Dec 10, 2025
 
Rated: 3 by BrisLoganite from Australia

Dec 23, 2023
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.98/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
500 ml bottle conditioned, at the Durham Cathedral & Cloister Restaurant. ABV is 3.8%. Pale golden colour, moderate white head. Lovely aroma of fruity hops (citrus and tropical fruits). Distinctly hoppy flavour, notes of citrus and tropical fruits, good bitterness.
Jan 10, 2021
 
Rated: 3.86 by steverx8 from England

Sep 25, 2020
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.94/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On gravity at Belfast Beer Fest, 2018.
Gold; mulch + graham cracker; Golden Grahams then grass, lemon tea, + orange blossom honey; dry + clean with some chalk.

4 3.75 4 4 4

Malt forward blonde; weirdly, because British Blonds are usually APAs in disguise. In line for 3.8%. Not the usual hop hit, but still good for it.
Jan 25, 2019
Photo of Jerseyislandbeer
Reviewed by Jerseyislandbeer from Jersey

3.67/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A 500ml bottle. It pours a pale, straw-coloured beer with a smooth, white head. Aromas of pale malts, citrus & grass. Taste is pale malts, butter, citrus and a hint of yeast. Long, mildly bitter finish. Overall fairly good considering the low abv.
Nov 04, 2016
 
Rated: 2.75 by psm90 from England

Jun 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by wl0307 from England

Feb 14, 2014
Photo of gutbucket2
Reviewed by gutbucket2 from England

3.75/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours light gold with thick white head. Smell: herbal, sherbert. Taste: as smell. Mouthfeel quite dry with lingering herbal/sherbert/peppery hop. Overall: Distinctively different light beer. Comprehensive mixture of hops plus pale and lager malt. Bottle-conditioned.
Nov 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by FadetoBock from Canada (AB)

Aug 19, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Johnq1964 from England

Aug 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Pshkwa from Canada (AB)

Jul 28, 2012
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.47/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500ml bottle, magi(cally) reappeared on certain Alberta beer store shelves...

This beer pours a bright, mostly clear pale straw hue, with two monstrous fingers of thin foamy, chunky white head, which settles at a snail's pace, eventually rendering some snowflake specked lace around the glass. It smells of crisp biscuit malt, some mild zippy citrus oils, and leafy, grassy hops. The taste is crackery, grainy malt, fresh, somehow, the subtle lemon and bright zippy leafy hops probably having some bearing on this as well. The carbonation is a tad prickly, the body just a wee south of medium weight, but nice and hefty for the style, and agreeably smooth. It finishes quite dry, the grainy biscuit and musty hops equally culpable.

A decent enough quaff - the low ABV sure allows for deep imbibing, even if the price over here doesn't. And the flavour is rather robust, given the norm for the style.
Nov 06, 2011
Photo of IronDjinn
Reviewed by IronDjinn from Canada (AB)

3.2/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Thanks to Jim at Sherbrooke for the sample. From a 500 ml brown bottle, they label it as a Light Bitter. Pours out a slightly hazed pale straw hue, with a massive loose spongy white head that very slowly settles its way down. Expect a few pour attempts from this one.

Bright fruity esters on the nose, notes of lemon zest, tart orange, with mild dry musty spice. Spicy, leafy green hops as well.

Clean, dry, musty are the first 3 words that come to mind in relation to the flavour. Clean dry grains up front, with equally dry spicy hops popping up in the middle and continuing to the finish where they join some leafy herbal hops to add some depth. Astringent hoppy aftertaste.

Light mouthfeel, yet not thin. Smooth, slippery texture, with moderate carbonation.

A version fresh from a cask may perk this up, however this bottled version isn't very noteworthy. Very hop forward, no real malt presence, this would still make a great choice for a session beer for those into British hops.
Jun 21, 2011