OHanlons Royal Oak

Slight fruity aroma. Cloudy brown-copper colour. A bit bitter with some light sweet fruit taste. Very enjoyable.

Really enjoyed this beer, i’ve been feeling like a west country beer for a while so this was extremely welcome. pours with a pillowy head and the nose on it is extraordinary, reminds me of stewed rhubarb and apples in a crumble, gorgeous! doesn’t look that great in the glass, i had a bit of trouble controling the pour and there’s a lot of sediment! I’ve had this on cask and this tastes very similar, it has the same astringent quality that balances out the malt presence. all in all a great beer!

500mL bottle purchased from LCBO in Toronto iwth a best before date of March 2009. Pours a cloudy light brown. Lots of sediment at the bottom which I shake up, and causes a neat two-colour head at the end of the pour. Lots of floaties. Very interesting colour. Aroma is a bit lacking, but slightly hoppy. Flavour is a little thin and tinny, with a bit of ESB bitterness, but not a lot. I’m not enjoying this one as much as either of the LCBO’s English bitter releases from last season.

Purchased today at Sam’s Wines, Downers Grove; "Best by 02/28/05." Okay, Sam’s definitely has a problem keeping their shelves updated. But it was in the bargain tent at a dollar off, and I just couldn’t resist.

Pours a big load of tannish-brown foam into a pint glass. Very cloudy, coppery beer beneath it. Smell shows a lot of malt that has aged out and is a bit medicinal, but that’s to be expected. And yet, there’s still some fine English hop bitterness to be found here. A bit of iodide, true, but also some prune and raisin. I knew this might have problems going in, but it’s still pretty drinkable.

Dark Crimson with a pillowy enthusiastic white head. Aroma features rich toffee malt, complex fruit, strawberry, ripe plum, an over all effect like that of sniffing a roses chocolate box. On the palate there is chewy sweet malt, a profound fruit medley of strawberry, peaches and apricot leading to a firm bitter finish.

Cask at Charlies. Hazzlenut brown and with a little off-white head. Light fruity aroma. Flavour is light acidic with a nutty note and a light caramel. Ends slight acidic and light bitter.

Cask @ Charlie’s bar. I can’t believe how smoky this place really is. I had no enjoyment at all with this beer, and that is a petty. Really think they should make this place smoke free, so we can actually taste the beers that are being served. Small creamy beige head that mostly diminished. Fair display of lacework. Somewhat cloudy amber color. Aroma was killed by cigarette smoke, what I could pick up was light fruit, hint of toasted malt, light floral and citrus notes as well. Over the palate the hops becomes a bit more evident. Light to medium bodied with a soft carbonation and light dry texture. Light bitter and sweet flavor in fairly good balance. Light dry and bitter finish.

Pretty good label and bottle. Goldings, slightly cigarette-y aroma. Peaty malt, yeasty, a little metallic, generally gave a pretty dry impression. Copper color. Medium body. Sticky bitter aftertaste. Pretty good.