Best Bitter
Dark Star Brewing Company Limited

Served from a cask into a true imperial pint glass in London. Reviewed from notes.

A: Half finger head is quite thin (a victim of CAMRA's blanket support of some appallingly unfounded inherent superiority of casking), devoid of cream, and of merely average retention. Colour is a semitransparent copper.

Sm: Cream and slight ester hops are all me broken nose picks up. All apologies, lads.

T: Cream, a weak barley body, and weak half-assed hops. Simple and poorly build. Imbalanced, to boot.

Mf: Cask ale flat, smooth, and overly wet (but luckily short of watery). Fairly complementary of the style.

Dr: Fair ABV, easy to drink, and lacking in boldness or inspiration. The price was obscene, especially for the low quality. I doubt I'd have it again; maybe on draught it'd be tolerable.

Halfpint from a cask at the Euston Tap.

A: Clear medium amber body under a frothy pillowy ecru head that just won't go away, leaving thick, comprehensive lace. Stunning.

S: Intense, deep aroma of nutty malts (almost roasty) and earthy hops. Light fruitiness, with a bit of apple peeking through. I really like its strength, but the apple throws me for a bit of a loop.

T: Maltiness show sup first, but gives way to earthy and fruity hops - some citrus makes an impact, working well with the estery fruitiness. Very tasty.

M: Smooth, light body with fairly lively carbonation.

O: If it weren't for the slightly off-putting apple characteristic, this would easily be among my favorite Bitters. The appearance is unparalleled, and the aromas and flavors admirably powerful for a session beer. If it had been as enjoyable as it was intense, this could well have been an A+ brew.

Cheers!

Supped in the Ragged Trousers in Tunbridge Wells. Lovely dark brown- really almost opaque. Good solid head that retained throughout drinking and laced the glass nicely. Nice, quite 'thick' mouthfeel and this really tastes like a much 'bigger' beer than the ABV belies. I could drink this for hours- perfect for an autumn or winter's evening.

Another Rattle N Hum English cask ale festival sample. It comes with no head on it, just a few bubbles, and is a clear russet color. The smell is predominantly smoky malts. The taste is quite smoky, nutty as well, with a faint bitter finish. The mouthfeel is zingy and robust. It goes down easy, but I'd say the flavor's a little intense for more than a few.

Pours a deep reddish brown with a fairly thick light tan head.

Nose is a combination of subtle fruitiness and caramel malt.

Malty taste with some underlying plummy fruits and the powerful dose of butteriness that I crave in an English ale. Hoppy bite in the finish that gives way to a lingering almost metallic bitterness.

Mouthfeel is the huge winner. When the head is still around, you get the big, soft, almost downy foam you associate with a bubble bath. Body has a presence but a definite silky, almost velvetiness feel to it that lightens the load at the same time.

Highly drinkable -- I would have certainly sessioned this one last night, but there were too many other good choices at Deep Ellum.

currently at the moan and dove on cask. bartender was drinking it all day so it must be good.

a clear maple brown with sincere body and light foamy head. appealing cask pour. sits sparkling in my imperial pint. lacing is like finlandia swiss cheese wrapped around my glass. smells of crisp malts, some plant notes. hints of crushed berries in the nose as well. shaping up. bitter beginning taste with banana and rich but light hops to follow. smooth combination leaves the fruit and butter lingering with the bitterness evaporated by swallow. so light and drinkable. mouthfeel is smooth as silk. what is the problem with this beer?