Dark and Handsome - Box Steam Brewery (United Kingdom)

Dark and Handsome - Box Steam Brewery (United Kingdom) 5.0%

Dark brown in a glass with a frothy, light-mocha coloured of foam. Earthy, chocolatey aroma with tones of black licorice, tobacco and leather.

The flavour is also earthy with light chocolate flavour, light leather and subtle licorice. There is the a faint hint of lemon that adds an interesting dimension to the flavour even though it is rather subtle. There is something there that I wouldn't have called black currant if it wasn't on the label but I do get a little of that too. Light mouthfeel and nice sort of toasty, faint tobacco, aftertaste. All in all, a very pleasant beer.

White Shield - Worthington's (United Kingdom) 5.6%

White Shield - Worthington's (United Kingdom) 5.6%

Deep gold in a glass with an aroma with a bitter touch, a bit of honey and some wood tones that border on resiny. Light flavour of malty, toasty sweetness, lightly spicy or herbal with the barest hint of red fruit esters but with a somewhat bitter and resiny finish. In English India Pale Ales the hops flavours are much less bombastic than in their American IPA cousins and White Shield is no exception; however, while White Shield has the ideal flavour spectrum for an English IPA it seems awfully muted. The flavours are all quite subdued so while White Shield is on point it is a bit timid, even for an English IPA.

Christmas Ale - Shepherd Neame (United Kingdom)

Christmas Ale - Shepherd Neame (United Kingdom) 7.0%

A reddish gold colour in a glass with a frothy, white head of foam. A dry, slightly herbal hop aroma with light red fruit and plum flavours. Sweet, lightly boozy and herbal taste with caramelized stickiness and dark malty flavours mixed with some light fruit tones (apple, raisin, plum). Shepherd Neame's Christmas Ale has sherry traits but also the robust malty body of a nice amber ale. The mix of flavours reminds me of really good fruitcake and is pretty close to my ideal concept of an English Christmas Ale.

Fuller's Vintage Ale 2012 (United Kingdom - London)

Fuller's Vintage Ale 2012 (United Kingdom - London) 8.5%

Just on the amber side of gold and barely cloudy with not much of a head, although I am pour it out in dribs and drabs so that I can savour this beer that I have been saving for more than a year. Sweet, nectary, peach and apple pie aroma. Apple because of some esters but pie because of the sweet, somewhat roasty malt flavours. Subdued but solid resiny hops, earth tones and a touch of alcohol blends this all together tantalizingly.

Sweetly sugary but with malt tones like barley candy, dried fruit flavours (dates, raisins) and lingering peach or marmalade tones. These sweet flavours are grounded with spicy, herbal hops tones and medium bitterness. The aftertaste is slightly bitter, earthy, with a caramelized sweetness and leather hints with a faint lingering touch of that marmalade flavour. I think the flavour of Fuller's Vintage Ale 2012 is truly delightful. If I had to describe it in only one sentence I'd describe it as such: a lighter body and perhaps slightly sweeter barley wine but with all the complexity. Bear in mind that barley wines are among my favourite beer styles of all time so this is high praise indeed.

On the strength of Fuller's Vintage Ale 2012's flavour I plan to pick up two or three of their 2013 (and 2014 and 2015 and ...) edition: one for a year from now; one for a vertical tasting with a one-year-old 2014; and one for a vertical tasting with a one-year-old 2015 and two-year-old 2014. Vertical tastings take a long horizon and a good deal of planning and foresight (not to mention a place to actually properly store the beer) so I still haven't done a proper one (once, out of luck I managed to find a few Orval bottles at an NB Liquor store that were bottled eight months apart) but this beauty of a beer from more than twelve months ago has convinced me that it has to happen.

Lancaster Bomber - Thwaites Brewery (England)

Lancaster Bomber - Thwaites Brewery (England) 4.4%

Lightly floral/nectar aroma, roasty, a bit of caramel and wood tones and hops like melon or cut grass. It tastes quite sweet, a bit nectary, a very nice watery refreshing mouthfeel, toasty with wood tones, a slightly bitter taste but quite a bit more bitter finish.

Lancaster Bomber has a creamy head, lacing and is a reddish chestnut/mahogany colour in a glass. Overall a classic English pub ale, bitter and quite nice.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (United Kingdom)

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (United Kingdom) 5.2%


A deep black in a glass with a finger's width of tan head. Dark chocolate, smoke, and coffee all apear in the aroma as well as light fruit tones like dark cherry.

This stout uses actual dark chocolate as well as chocolate malts so it is no surprise that chocolate flavours lead the way as well as a smoky bitterness from the chocolate malt that keeps this stout from being very sweet. The smoke lends itself to some subtle wood tones that are supported by an appetizing grain flavour from the malty body. There is a little bit of fine sediment towards the bottom of the bottle probably from the added dark chocolate. It also make a really good beer cocktail (or beertail) when mixed with Fruli.

Wells IPA - Wells and Young Brewing Company (UK) 5.0%

Wells IPA - Wells and Young Brewing Company (UK) 5.0%

Malty, bitter, musty aroma with a hint of raisins. An amber hinted light brown in a glass. The taste is malty, quite bitter and yet not hoppy. Grain tastes like rye bread, a pale ale nutty flavour round out the body which is nice once you accept the lack of hops.

There is musty flavour in the background suggesting this particular can may not have aged all that well on its way to Canada. The nice slightly bitter and malty aftertaste is probably the best part of this beer and it persuades you to go back for more. The beer is very much an English Pale Ale rather than what you'd expect from an IPA, even an English IPA that is not going to have the strong citrus or cedar hop flavours of an American IPA.

Banana Bread Beer - Wells & Young (UK)

Banana Bread Beer - Wells & Young (UK) 5.2%

Tastes like banana at first which is what it is supposed to taste like but it is pretty odd to drink. It is sweet but the finish is quite bitter and also tastes just like banana bread. A brownish red colour in a glass. I think that the initial banana flavour is a little artificial tasting, like banana flavoured candy or medicine, however I have always had a hard time with the taste of banana outside of bananas and banana baked goods. The banana bread finish is spot on. If you want a beer that tastes like banana bread this is the beer for you. If you are interested in trying as an wide assortment of beers as possible you would remiss if you passed on Banana Bread Beer by Wells & Young Brewing. If you hate flavoured beers: obviously stay away from this one.

UK Pub Brews

The flavours and mouthfeel of the following five beers are characteristic of beers I associate with pubs in the United Kingdom. There are many nice flavours but the slightly watery mouthfeel keeps all of these beers refreshing so that you could easily drink more than a couple. Enjoy!


Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale (England - Faversham) 4.5%

A warm toffee, roasty flavour. A pleasant sweet grain taste as well as a lively hops taste; somewhat bitter as a result (of the hops). A mild sherry-esque flavour of fruit rounds out the mix. That same fruit sherry aspect is prominent in the aroma along with toffee and roasted tones. A unique and pleasant drinking beer.

Ruddles County Traditional English Ale (England) 4.7%

Smells of bitter hops and is smooth on the tongue and almost a little watery. Tastes like toasted bread, lightly caramel, pleasantly bitter with a hint of coffee and a sprucy hops aftertaste although it's not nearly as hoppy as the smell initially led me to believe. A refreshing and interesting mix of flavours.

Belhaven Best (Scotland) 4.8%

I can see why this would be as popular in Scottish pubs as the can claims (though I saw more Tennets, London's Pride and Stella Artois). Belhaven Best's aroma is chock full of caramelized malt, as is the flavour, though there are also smoke and wooden tones that make it tasty if you like reds or, ahem, Scottish ales. Also its creamy head of foam and slightly watery mouthfeel make it very much pub-appropriate and session-able. It is a reddish brown colour in a glass and quite enjoyable.

Boddingtons Pub Ale (England) 4.7%

When you pour this ale from it's charming tall-can you are rewarded with a gold coloured curtain of tiny cascading bubbles that forms an extremely creamy head of foam. The aroma is of fresh bread and lots of roasty notes with hints of hops and spruce.

The ale itself is smooth and creamy as promised, and fairly sweet with a caramel touch. While it has roast tones and is bitter, it is also watery in a way that makes it dance on your tongue: hitting here and there while never being too strong tasting. Seems like an ideal summertime beer even though I'm drinking it in the depths of February. Highly drinkable and very pleasant, authentic to the style and it pairs well with a variety of dishes, those containing Dijon mustard in particular.

Old Speckled Hen - Morland Brewing (England - Suffolk) 5.2%

A fruity bouquet and a extra-reddish sort of amber colour in a glass with a full head. In true English fashion, this beer should definitely be served a little warmer than most in order to get the full flavours. It is malty, and bitter but also sweet (just the way ale should be). The malt taste is roasty and there is a little bit of spiciness lurking there too. Something about Old Speckled Hen always reminds me of sun-dappled wood floors.

Overall it is not too strong tasting, so drinkers with tastes that tend to the more bland beers could try this for a initial excursion into the wonderful land of full flavoured beers and ales. Also, I feel Old Speckled Hen is a good example of an English ale or at least it puts me in mind of a few of the better ones I had the good fortune to imbibe while I was in the UK.

Chin chin!

Fuller's London Porter

This beer has a strong coffee and chocolate taste. It is lightly carbonated so is velvety smooth on the palette. This is a heavy beer and one was enough for me. It is so dark in a pint glass that even when held up to a light it is practically opaque.

Fuller's London Porter recommends itself as a "after-dinner drink" and I would have to say it's a good idea to follow that recommendation. With food, its taste and texture borders on syrupy and didn't leave me feeling all that well. I drank about half before eating a sandwich (melted cheddar and turkey flavoured soy meat on whole wheat bread) and I enjoyed the first half a lot better than the second half.

As usual I purchased it at the local NBLC for $3.99 and it came half litre bottle. At 5.4% alcohol this beer could pass well as a night-cap. In fact I feel, because the flavour is as heavy as it is, this ale would be ideally suited for sharing one bottle after a meal between each pair of dinner guests.

I'm not a big fan of black beers to begin with but despite the disagreement between food and this beer I must say it is well balanced (as seems to characterize each of the Fuller beers I have tried so far) and tasty. It aims to be desert beer and of that it does a good job. If you like black beers heavily flavoured with dark chocolate and coffee then this is one you should not miss.

'Fuller's London Pride: Outstanding Premium Ale'

This beer has a full malty flavour that is excellently balanced. It tastes like what a lot of other beers aim for when they go with a heavy malt taste but where other beers frequently overshoot into bitterness Fuller's LONDON PRIDE stays within a flavourful and ever so slightly fruity taste range that doesn't overpower and leaves a smooth and short lived aftertaste. This would go excellently with a meal or standard pub snacks or on its own.

I purchased it at the local New Brunswick Liquor store in a handsome 500ml bottle for the sum of $3.99 (all prices Canadian dollars) and drank it mid-afternoon while, unsurprisingly, writing this review. At 4.7% alcohol it's a weaker beer (by Canadian standards) but the flavour makes up for "missing" 0.3% booze. While I only drank this one bottle this afternoon I feel as though there wouldn't be any issue drinking three or four more if my intention was to get soused. In fact, the smooth and short lived aftertaste make it a good candidate for a night of drinking - the same cannot be said for many other beers that have as impressive and complex a taste.

I like this beer and heartily recommend it!