Coniston No. 9

12 month & 6 month old versions
Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Coniston No. 9 [baron rating 5/5] - 8.5% copper ale,boozy Cointreau smell,very balanced juicy fruity citrus peachy taste,slick fading finish
Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes

Buxton Tsar

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Buxton Tsar [baron rating 5/5] - 9.5% black ale,boozy coffee beans berry hoppy smell,smooth rich choc berry taste,long smoky bitter taste
Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Leigh for bringing this round for a baron rating!

Buy Buxton ales from Holborn Ales

De Molen Tsarina Esra

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
De Molen Tsarina Esra [baron rating 5/5] - 11% black ale,vanilla icecream cherry smell,creamy red cherry taste,Black Forest gâteau finish
Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Chris for bringing this round for a baron rating!

Nogne O Imperial Stout

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Nogne O Imperial Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 9% black ale,sweet vanilla coffee choc smell,rich vanilla mocha coffee taste,liquorice finish
Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Nogne O ales from Beer Hawk

Thwaites Triple C

Not bottle conditioned
Thwaites Triple C [baron rating 5/5] - 5.3% gold ale,fresh citrus mild resin smell,zingy citrus caramel bitter taste,dry leafy bitter finish
Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes

Lefebvre Hopus

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Lefebvre Hopus [baron rating 4/5] - 8.3% gold ale,syrupy hoppy apricot smell,fizzy sweet peachy bittersweet taste, zingy resinous finish
Bought whilst on holiday in Lake Garda, Italy

Southport Ruck & Maul

Southport Ruck & Maul [baron rating 3/5] - 4% copper ale,wheaty mild sweet citrus smell,peppery citrus mild pithy taste,juicy peppery finish
Buy Southport ales from Holborn Ales

Thornbridge Reverend & The Makers

Not bottle conditioned
Thornbridge Reverend & The Makers [baron rating 4/5] - 4.8% pale gold ale,wheaty smell,spicy floral bittersweet taste,bittersweet finish
Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Thornbridge ales from Beer Hawk

Ludlow Gold

Not bottle conditioned
Ludlow Gold [baron rating 3/5] - 4.2% gold ale,mild floral citrus smell,satsuma & mild lemon bittersweet taste,mild lemon bittersweet finish
Buy Ludlow ales from Holborn Ales

Looking forward to baron rating Thwaites Crafty Dan Micro Brewery ales

Thwaites have been producing some cracking ales over the past year or so, with them showing up at various beer festivals around the country.13 Guns was talk of 2012's Great British Beer Festival and Fallen Nun was very well received at this year's National Winter Ales Festival.

A gift pack from Thwaites arrived today (in a huge box, not sure the vast excess of packaging was really needed Thwaites!) branded up with the Crafty Dan Micro Brewery labelling. This is their separate 'micro brewery' allowing them to have more chance to experiment compared to when they are brewing on their normal large-scale kit.

The first three beers to come out under this new brand are detailed below, all three have clean smart distinctive branding with plenty of detail of the bottle about the type of beer the drinker will find inside and on the back of the gift box are some details of the types of food that they might pair well with:


Thwaites (Crafty Dan Micro) Brewery
  • 13 Guns - 5.5% American IPA, Intensely hopy, rich mouth feel, malty flavours with soft tropical fruit aroma and taste. Intense piney and tropical flavours blend well with mixed spicy dishes, like curries
  • Big Ben - 5.8% brown ale, strong hop aroma one a sweet brown ale with a long bitter-sweet finish. Full and bittersweet flavours are a great match for grilled red meats
  • Triple C - 5.3% golden ale, full, smooth and balanced beer with an intense citrus hop aroma. Citrus and slightly bitter flavours balance the smoothness of a creamy cheese
Look out for 'baron ratings' of these beers soon, and a big thank you to @Daniel_Thwaites from Thwaites Brewery for sending these through to me!

Titanic (Morrisons) American Red Ale

Not bottle conditioned
Titanic (Morrisons) American Red Ale [baron rating 2/5] - 4.5% dark amber ale,earthy smell,leafy toffee bitter taste,spicy astringent finish
Buy Morrisons 'specially selected' ales direct

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Not bottle conditioned
Rogue Dead Guy Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 6.6% amber ale,dark sugar nutty smell,balanced sweet maltloaf taste,bittersweet caramel finish
Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Rogue ales from Beer Hawk

Coniston XB

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Coniston XB [baron rating 4/5] - 4.4% copper ale,mild sweet peachy citrus smell,refreshing creamy bitter citrus taste,bready bitter finish

Beartown Kodiak

Not bottle conditioned
Beartown Kodiak [baron rating 2/5] - 4% gold ale,sweetcorn boiled veg smell,sweetish creamy slight citrus bitter taste,mild bitter finish

Durham Cloister

Bottle conditioned with lively carbonation
Durham Cloister [baron rating 4/5] - 4.5% copper ale,earthy mild sulphur smell,juicy toffee nutty bitter taste,floral dry bitter finish
Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Durham ales from Beer Hawk

BrewDog AB:01

Not bottle conditioned
BrewDog AB:01 [baron rating 4/5] - 10.5% amber ale,fruity sugary smell,syrupy sweet prune juice taste,fast fading dry dusty finish
Listen to what Chris, Michael Ironside and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Chilling in the hotel toilet cistern...
Thank you to Michael Ironside (@m_ironside) for bringing this along for a baron rating, it was released in 2010 so has been maturing for a number of years before we got to try it!

Buy BrewDog ales direct

Partizan Stout FES

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Partizan Stout FES [baron rating 5/5] - 8.6% black ale,roasted liquorice smell,sweet dark choc coffee liqueur taste,boozy roasted finish
Buy Partizan ales from Ales By Mail

Weihenstephan Hefe Weissbier

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Weihenstephan Hefe Weissbier [baron rating 5/5] - 5.4% gold ale,banana wheat smell,lemon bubblegum custard herbal taste,long fruity finish
Note: This also had a touch of fresh coriander at the end giving a lovely herbal lift to the long fruity finish.
Buy Weihenstephan from Tesco

Valhalla Island Bere

Not bottle conditioned
Valhalla Island Bere [baron rating 4/5] - 4.2% gold ale,sweetish grassy smell,mild apple caramel taste,long slight apple skin sour finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Thank you to Chris for bringing this round for a baron rating! He visited this most northerly brewery this summer on holiday and brought back a selection for us to baron rate, he also got a chance for a quick tour!

Buy Valhalla ales direct