McMullen Stronghart

Light oak & caramel in aroma. Brown w/ tan head. Sweet toffee dominates with some fruity notes and a dry finish. Smooth medium-full. Nice stuff.

Cask@St Albans BF. Pretty nice. Strong woody character. Caramel/toffee and quite rasiny, on the sticky side, but theres a nice dryness towards the end, this was really tasty.

Beers from this small brewer in Hertford are rarely seen outside their own estate and neither of their London pubs seem to serve their occasional/seasonal brews. I had always found their beers to be solid, but unexciting. This beer was something of a revelation. The colour is a deep brown with a reddish hue. Plenty of fruit and sweet hops in the aroma - almost Belgian in feel. Rich mouthfeel, with dried fruit (mainly raisins), candied bitter orange, plums, burnt malt and a woody edge. Not too sweet. Excellent, warming, stuff. Cask (gravity dispense), St Albans Beer festival.

Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - St Albans Beer Festival. A very dark brown beer with aroma of spicy raisins and Christmas cake. Tons of fruit and malt in the taste. Very good indeed.

Cask Conditioned @ the Saturday session, St Albans Beer Festival 2004. Beer #37. This one popped up towards the end of the day. It was really nice, decent malt character, sweet, not too many hops and chocolate.

Cask Fresh @ McMullen's Millstream, Herts Liquid Christmas pudding! Dark. Thick. Sweet. Tembling Joy. Orgasmic. The oral sex of ale! Christmas beers are what makes Christmas special. [5]
And again... Cask Fresh @ McMullen's Millstream, Herts. Seductive darkest scarlet black appearance. Plummy aroma with orange peel, port, alcohol, opal fruits, etc. Lovely soft fulsome mouthfeel - washing around the mouth in a satisfactory yet stimulating manner. Perfect. Flavour remains gorgeous throughout. This is the perfect Winter Warmer. Licorice, opal fruits, sweet and bitter in harmony. Quality throughout. It hits the mouth and explodes out, spreading, warming, lingering. Wonderful. An absolutely stunning ale.