Bottled. An opaque black coloured beer with a short lived beige coloured head. A nice aroma of coal, fruit and roasted malts. Same in the mouth. A little greasy and the fruit is a tad over the top, but it’s a nice stout.

Bottle from Sainsburys. Opaque, near jet black with a slight tan head and spritzy carbonation. Aroma of roasted malts, some caramel and dark chocolate. Flavour was roasty, with the ashy edge others mention and a short, bitter finish. Not bad, but a bit lacking in character.

Almost free bottle from Sainsbury’s. Thick-collared jet black beer wafting with smoke. Coal, black coffee and standard applepeely BCA aroma. Mouth forthright with chocolate, lingering ash and nutty malt, bramble, and a big dollop of yeast. Heartburn acidity- not good in a stout. Rapidly loses its collar. Lurking mushroom, but my fault for tipping all the bits in. No alcohol. Would benefit from a bit more thickness of body at 6%, but a tasty effort.

bottle from sainsbury. dark chocolate nose, bit woody and fatty smelling. Black in colour, tan thin head. Chalky, watery and boring. well hidden alcohol, but not very impressive.

BCA from Sainsburys. Black with a beige head, which disappeared fairly quckly. Great aroma, taste a little thin and not as hoped for although a nice stout - was hoping for more than nice, could have done wih having a bit more body, although it’s bite was full of roasty malts and flavours which I couldn’t quite distinguish. Would love to have this on draught and may revisit another bottle on a cold dark night