Review: Espresso Stout

Espresso Stout from Dark Star Brewing Company Limited
Rating: A-

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008.

Appearance: coffee color, opaque brown, tan head

Smell: overwhelming, delicious coffee

Taste: iced coffee, sweet, some bitter chocolate

Mouthfeel: medium-full body, light carbonation

Drinkability: Good. Monodimensional? Maybe, but for heaven's sake it's called espresso stout, what did you expect? :)

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 21:17:27

Review: Spingo Bragget

Spingo Bragget from Blue Anchor
Rating: C

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008.

Appearance: golden honey, little head, big bubbles, near flat, no lace

Smell: apple blossom, honey, sweet, hint of herbal hops

Taste: much like the aroma. apples and honey are added to this beer. odd mixture of honey and floral hop character, balanced bitterness. some green apple.

Mouthfeel: near flat, light-med body.

Drinkability: below average, manages to be cloying despite the hops

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 21:15:40

Review: Wensleydale Coverdale IPA Poacher

Wensleydale Coverdale IPA Poacher from Wensleydale Brewery Ltd
Rating: B-

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008

Appearance: no lace, smallish head, golden in color

Smell: light, disappointingly so... this is supposed to be a citrus dominant IPA, but my disillusionment with English IPAs continues apace

Taste: citrusy hops, but still too light by half

Mouthfeel: light body, well-carbonated for the style

Drinkability: drinkable, would match well with spicy food

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 21:10:39

Review: Umbel Magna

Umbel Magna from Nethergate Brewery Co. Ltd.
Rating: B+

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008.

Appearance: quite dark, opaque cola color

Smell: dark malts, slight savory note, coffee, molasses

Taste: subtle coriander, good porter, and particularly so for a historical beer (based on a 1750s recipe, according to the brewery's tasting notes). sweetish finish

Mouthfeel: medium body, good level of carbonation

Drinkability: Paired with a curry purchased at the festival, figuring the coriander would match nicely. Went down well.

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 21:08:43

Review: Comrade Bill Bartrams Egalitarian Anti-Imperialist Soviet Stout

Comrade Bill Bartrams Egalitarian Anti-Imperialist Soviet Stout from Bartrams Brewery
Rating: B-

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008

Appearance: opaque brown, largish bubbles, little lace

Smell: slight vegetal note, burnt malt, little distinct coffee or cocoa aroma

Taste: porter-ish, nondistinct and lackluster. disappointing considering the great name.

Mouthfeel: full body

Drinkability: not bad, but a bit boozy, especially as it warmed

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 21:06:22

Review: Orange Chocolate Stout

Orange Chocolate Stout from Cambridge Moonshine Brewery
Rating: A-

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008

Appearance: opaque black, with a slight orange/leather hue, good brownish head but no lace

Smell: dark roast aromas (coffee, chocolate) and citrusy hops

Taste: more orange than chocolate, actually. subtle. obviously the suggestion of orange and chocolate is from the hops and malts, respectively, rather than additions of adjuncts, which is admirable

Mouthfeel: quite creamy, low carbonation

Drinkability: nice and unique

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 20:59:49

Review: Oakham White Dwarf Wheat Beer

Oakham White Dwarf Wheat Beer from Oakham Ales / The Brewery Tap
Rating: C

Sampled at the Cambridge Beer Festival 2008

Appearance: light aple juice in color, smallish head

Smell: hoppier than expected, little in the way of typical wheat beer aromas. smells like a wheat beer brewed with the usual house yeast

Taste: again - hoppier than expected, no malt character to speak of, light fruitiness, but unbalanced

Mouthfeel: light body, undercarbonated

Drinkability: mediocre, even for the style

Serving type: cask

Reviewed on: 05-24-2008 20:55:45

Review: Double Swan

Double Swan from Elgood and Sons Ltd
Rating: B


Appearance: pours a golden honey color with a fluffy white head which leaves copious amounts of lacing in rings after each sip.

Smell: floral and grainy, grainy/grassy combination slightly reminiscent of a continental pilsener, but a bit of ale fruitiness seeps through.

Taste: solidly bitter for the style, hops are more spicy/herbal than anything else. aftertaste lingers. malt profile is simple and leaves something to be desired.

Mouthfeel: served at cask temperature, but probably would have benefited from more chilling. somewhat creamy texture, light-medium body.

Drinkability: fairly average for the style

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-17-2008 15:40:34

Review: Black Dog Mild

Black Dog Mild from Elgood and Sons Ltd
Rating: A-

Purchased at Cambridge Wine Merchants.

Appearance: a little on the darker, garnet side of cola in terms of color, fluffy off-white head which fades quickly but leaves behind nice lacing.

Smell: dark fruit, brown sugar, and some burnt malt.

Taste: iced coffee, with borwn sugar and date, but not as intense as that sounds. good mild

Mouthfeel: just a little thinner than your average american porter, but without feeling watered-down

Drinkability: good. manages to be an easy-drinking "dark" beer, without tasting insipidly cola-like, like some (bad) american porters

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-15-2008 17:50:45

Review: WychCraft

WychCraft from Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd
Rating: B+

Purchased at Cambridge Wine Merchants.

Appearance: honey in color, big head which fades, leaving some lacing.

Smell: vaguely bitter-like aroma, styrian goldings hops (according to the label), some biscuity malt

Taste: generally light on malt, light fruitiness. slight citrus

Mouthfeel: light, well-carbonated, nice

Drinkability: easy-drinking, good

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-15-2008 17:43:30