Marks & Spencer Buckinghamshire Ale
Vale Brewery Company

The beer poured nicely into a pint glass a rusty brown colour with a decent off white head that became a thin film but did display good retention for a bottled beer.

The nose was dominated by malts and a hint of spices. These continued through to the mouth, but with an added dryness and a hoppy aftertaste.

It slightly denser then medium mouthfeel, ideal for drinking more than one. I sampled one and wished that I had bought more, a very tasty ale, but the dominant maltiness may make this more appealing to Scottish ale drinkers rather than traditional bitter drinkers.

Got this beer at the M&S in Andover, my new place of residence, at "buy 1 get 1 free" deal... Not quite popular this appears to be, then? BB 10/2008, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: 95% clear, light copper hue, topped with a fluffy off-white head with very good retention; carbonation is semi-lively, with initial fireworkds of large bubbles then settling...
S: caramel and lightly-toasted malts, toasted apple-slices, oranges, with a distinctive support of aromatic hops like Fuggles... A swirl brings out the harmony b/w fruity hops and mixed malts, while a subtle hint of tart yeastiness (akin to oxidised fruits) does not go unnoticed.
T: a sweet black-tea like flavour prevails from the start, followed by mildly sour-sweet autumny stone- and berry-fruits, hints of oat-biscuits and toasted nuts, with the really aromatic and nutty maltiness lingering on a par with dryish, tea-leafy hop bitterness... Not so much bitter as dry-ish on the palate in the end, offering some balance to the mainly fruity-malty theme.
M&D: very well bottle-conditioned - carbonation is mild with essential dose of fizziness, while the body is medium-minus throughout and never thin. All in all, this is the best in the range of M&S bottle-conditioned that I've tried. Given its flavour profile, I would categorise this as a Premium Bitter.

Appearance: light brown, good clarity, thick layer of light tan foam, good head retention

Aroma: nutty-caramelly-malt scent, hint of herbally hops, fresh figs

Flavor: full malt backbone with a touch of roasted hazelnuts and meaty yeast; herbal hop flavor and a pitty bitterness at the back of the tongue; finishes dryish with a lingering bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium body, gentle carbonation, slick

Other comments: Great move by M&S to select beers from around the country and then present them bottle conditioned and all! This will hopefully educate people a bit about real ale.