The Leveller
Springhead Fine Ales Ltd

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Feb 2018. Acquired a little while back from Home Bargains. Named after an English Civil War political movement. The label describes it as a dark beer with a burnt toffee character and says that it is brewed in the style of a Belgian Trappist beer (not really sure what this means - possibly a Dubbel?).

A: Poured into a tulip pint glass. A very dark ruby-brown colour with faint haze. Produces a large head of frothy tan foam that lasts for a minute or two before subsiding to a patchy surface layer.

S: Aroma of sweet caramel malt with hints of bonfire toffee, subtle dried fruit, vague grain, faint molasses, fruity ale yeast, delicate leafiness and a twinge of oxidation in the background. OK but slightly muddled.

T: Tastes of caramel malt with notes of dark toffee, dried fruit, subtle molasses, fruity ale yeast, faint leafiness and a vague twang of oxidation on the finish. Quite sweet, followed by a subdued bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and lightly tingly, with moderate carbonation and decent body. Could be a shade thicker for the style. Aftertaste of sweet caramel malt, dark toffee, fruity ale yeast and faint stewed hops.

O: OK but an odd character that's hard to place. Looks alright, while the aroma and flavour are a blend of sweet caramel/toffee notes, ale yeast and subtle leafy hops. Reasonable body. I'm still stumped by the reference to Trappist beer - it's not clear after drinking this what the brewer meant by it. Decent but not particularly noteworthy, unless you like sweet dark ales. No need to hunt it down.

Very dark amber. Thick beige head. Excellent retention.
Rich caramel malt aroma.
Toffee and burnt toast. Rather harsh bitterness which has not been offset by the sweet malt.
Medium body.
Mellowed further down the pint.

 

 

 

 

 

29th Aug 2012 found me in the Ironbridge breweries only pub: ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’, at Oakengates: one of the guest beers was this, I remembered how much I liked the bottled version, so a hand-pulled pint was duly handed over to me and my reviewing started.

Good looking brew: ruby body with a beige head of tight foam.

The aroma is heavy: coffee and toffee with dark chocolate notes too.

The malts carry on ruling the roost in the taste, again with coffee, toffee and dark chocolate coming through.

Like the bottled version it does lack a bit of body strength and would benefit from a more robust alcohol level: still enjoyed it greatly though.

Tasted this beer by half-pint at the Red Lion pub, Isleworth, West London during the pub's mini-beerfest. yesterday. Said to be brewed in the style of Belgian Trappist ales, I saw no real resemblance there, but it's a truly flavoursome beer in its own right.

A: poured from the cask by gravity, it bears a naturally, rather dull appearance, with a clear brownish hue, little beer head and very low carbonation.
S: smoky, roasted malts dominates the nose with some toffee and dark-fruit aroma; light hoppy note supports at the back--quite intense, and the lightly smoky aroma is esp. attractive.
T: lightly perfumy and mildly sweetish malty taste, plus a smoky and burned wood-chip flavour on the palate; finished with a profound roasted maltiness and lively but mild hop flavour, arousing more thirst... A subtle malty taste on the palate indeed reminds me of a lesser Belgian brune with that peculiar light brown-candyish and perfumy taste, but only to a limited extent.
M&D: pretty soft mouthfeel for this full-flavoured "Bitter", which I'd rather call a hybrid of porter and bitter and perhaps Belgian brune! Very easy-drinking and tasty, if only it was served fresher I'd drink this beer all night w/o a second thought!