Burton Bridge Bramble Stout

Brewed by Burton Bridge
Style: Stout
Burton-on-Trent, England

Bottled. Black with a rich beige foam. Dryish, salty aroma of black coffee, burnt malts, black chocolate and dark berries. Dryish flavour of dark chocolate, anise, fudge, roasted and blackberries. Medium-bodied with strong carbonation. Burnt finish of black coffee with touches of grass, nuts and salt.

Cask (Kitty’s, Helsinki) Black, and with a thick bready head. Sharp crisp hoppy aroma, hints of coffee too. Smooth coffee-like initial taste, fills in with sharp sour bitterness. Slight saccharin feel but not in a way that detracts from the beer. Wonderfully full and pungent. (Allegedly, it’s like "snus")

Bottled@GBBF2007. Dark ambery brown color, mediumsized brown head. Aroma is roasted malts, parfume, fruity hops and some caramel. Flavour is mildly roasted malts, caramel, some hops and wood. OK, but the flavour was a slight disappointment.

Cask, GBBF 07. Very dark ruby, thin off-white head. Nose is massive roasted coffee malt, some chocolate. Mouth is roasted, slightly burnt maltiness. Some hops and winter fruit. Finish is slightly dry and sweet malty. Quite nice.

Cask at Duke of Wellington, Norwich. Gravity. Very deep ruby colour, off white head. Very roasted aroma, vergining on charcoal. Some dark fruits. Juicy in mouth, no real sourness, fairly good brambly fruit, lacks a little condition. Bit of powdery coffee on end. Nice fruit too.

500ml bottle conditioned. pours a very dark brown with a big, frothy, light brown head. aroma of chocolate with a hint of that blackberry. strong taste of dark chocolate, roasted malts, some coffee, a slight hint of fruit. very smooth, dry, bitter, chalkiness to the finish.

500 ml bottle, bought in Scarborough. ABV is 5.0%. Bottle conditioned. Pitch black colour, large tan head. Lovely aroma of bramble (blackberries) with vinous notes, also notes of chocolate and a mild roastiness. The flavour has a roasty and hoppy (Challenger) bitterness throughout, notes of coffee and berries (the latter are fairly subdued). Bitter aftertaste. Good beer!

Glugs from the bottle a satisfyingly thick and tar-like pitch. Chocolate, barrelwood and a hint of fruity sourness in the nose I wouldn’t have picked out as blackberry. There’s almost a lemony edge to it. Big, roasty and chocolatey with a distinctly sourish sharpness as it warms. Puckeringly bitter charred malt finish. Proper, grown-up, roastily bitter and full-bodied stout with an intriguingly fruity tang. A pint is plenty, mind.