Dark Star Critical Mass

What a fantastic beer! Increibly powerful in both aroma and flavour, really knocks you for six. Fruity with a little chocolate and a lovely tartness. I made the mistake of having 3 pints, that was my night over...

amazing christmas time beer. smell resembles cereal with berries. its sweet with a light toastedness. berries in the beginning and a whiney sourness. really a special beer.

Cask in Blackfriars. Aroma is Spicey rich malts, bittering hop comign through, small citrus hints. Taste is roasty fruity bitterness, peppery, grassy in the finish, no alc to be seen. Very drinkable indeed. A well made english strong ale indeed. RERATE: Been open a good few days longer now and all the hops have gone. Its turned into a seriously good fruity old ale/barley wine. Very thick and could get right ontop of you, but so drinkable and tasty id love to have it as a monthly special.

A Mes rate: Gravicask @ Planet Thanet. Black red colour. Chocolate malt aroma with nice alcohol notes and a little coffee. Sadly after what is a very pleasant nose its all down hill from there. Lots of nice stuff in there it just doesnt sit right and the alcohol is just too much. Palate is almost biting probably mainly due to the harsh alcohol. Each time I buy it I say this about it, now it’s finally rated I’ll proabably leave it alone. Turn it off mum I don’t like it.

Served from cask. Pours dark black with a thich off-white head. Smelled of malts, chocolate, and dried fruit (?), Taste was roasted malts, chocolate, with slight hop bitterness. Nice alcohol warming finish.

[Cask] Poured a near opaque, black color with a medium sized, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of raisins, nuts, earth, chocolate, with roasted malts, and light caramel as well. Taste of more chocolate, roast, vanilla beans, nougat, and a grassy hoppiness. Alcohol was undetected.

Cask-Mugs-Split They Skull-4 oz snifter. Second Western Hemisphere rater (only beaten out by Notalush who did not even realize, way to keep your eye on the ball Brandon). This is a weird ESA, poured very dark with a foamy light tan head. Overall there is a novel kind of cookie texture and flavor to it. Not sweet but take a nice cookie, get rid of any of the sweetness and leave the baked essence. A very cool maltiness. There is some detectable alcohol. Its not a heavy beer and easy drinking but I woud say the the mouthfeel feel very nice with the reduced carbonation on the cask, pillowy on the cheeks. There is a flavor at the end of the flavor which does not follow the flow of the beer, one coud say tartness but its really just something on the opposite end of the spectrum from the baked essence. At times cool... at times weird.

Cask at Mug’s Split Thy Skull - dark brown, nearly black pour, with a thick off-white head - lightly woody aroma, with some roasty notes, a rather prominent spice profile, and carmelized brown sugar - somewhat sweet up front, with the roasted flavors one expects from the style - this is quickly undercut by a strong, spicy hop profile, and a touch of tartness - a little thin on the palate - I was expecting a lot more from this brewery, but it’s still nice.