Moorhouses Pendle Witches Brew (Cask)

Brewed by Moorhouses
Style: English Strong Ale
Burnley, England

Unsuspecting excellent ale with sweet but full flavor and a wonderful mouthfeel. This is a great ale I look forward to trying again.

<i>Cask Conditioned at Doric Arch, London</i>
Hazy amber color. Breadish malt aroma. The aroma is not impressive, but it has a far better flavor (between a 7 and an 8), with good malt, light fruitness, strong bitterness. The final (long and boldly bitter) is lightly metallic. Very good.

Hadpulled cask at JDW Watford. Amber/orange with a white head. Good robust fruity best bitter, not particularly northern in characture.

From cask at Guildford Arms. Pours dark and slight cloudy deep orange with a small white head. Mild malty fruity aroma. Flavour has mild smoke note on the back of the nose to a slight breadish malt flavour. Ends medium flat and malty. Has a mild smoke note of the back of the nose.

apple and banana on the nose with a creamy citrus and honey flavour. full of hints of raisins and fruit with a dry bitter finish. I was a bit nervous rating this as was one of the first real ales i ever had. Yep its still as good as always.

Cask at 5.1% (apparently through a sparkler) at The Four Candles in Oxford, 2-10-08. Plain copper with dense cream head. Vague soft chalk aroma, little stingy pinch of farmy hops. Sweet, simple malt flavor, with the rumor that a hop cone or two had fleeting contact with it at some point in the process. Not bad. Just...meh. The sort of beer dull enough that the slightest distraction (an 80 year old at the next table filling in a crossword puzzle) and you would forget about drinking it at all. An elevator music of beer.

The Griffin Inn, Shustoke. Think this was actually listed at 5.5%? It certainly drank at that strength. Deep gold with milky lace. Slick and curranty with loads of wood and subtle peaty malt richness. Delicate vine fruit and marzipan. Not to my personal taste, but pretty well done.

Cask-conditioned at The Wenlock, 1/8/08. Amber with a slight, off-white head. Fruity malt and nuts aroma. Sweet flavour with plenty of caramel, some grassy hops and a decent bitter finish. Good.