Slater's Top Totty

Not bottle conditioned

Slater's Top Totty [baron rating 3/5] - 4% gold ale,wheaty slight sweetcorn smell,crisp mild sweet lemon bitter taste,bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

Not bottle conditioned

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 7.2% dark amber ale,raisins brown sugar smell,coffee dark sugar taste,roasted bitter finish Baron Orm

Note: 140 characters just isn't enough to describe this beer - it's got a wonderful balance of medium to dark brown sugars with a touch of coffee and dried fruit but balanced by a super powerful bitterness which makes this quite sweet beer so very moreish!

Buy Stone ales from Ales By Mail

Southport Carousel

Not bottle conditioned

Southport Carousel [baron rating 3/5] - 4% copper ale,leafy wheaty smell,floral fruity caramel bitter taste,dry floral bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Southport ales from Holborn Ales

Stevens Point Point IPA

Not bottle conditioned

Stevens Point Point IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 5.6% amber ale,fruity floral smell,caramel citrus bitter taste,long harsh bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Stevens Point ales from Morrisons

Siren Broken Dream

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Siren Broken Dream [baron rating 4/5] - 6.5% black ale,choc burnt smell,rounded roasted choc milky taste,mellow milky finish Baron Orm

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to eeBria (@eeBriaUK) for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Siren ales from EeBria

Beavertown Gamma Ray

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Beavertown Gamma Ray [baron rating 5/5] - 5.4% copper ale,fresh mango smell,freshly squeezed orange & tropical taste,piney dry bitter finish Baron Orm

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Buy Beavertown ales from Ales By Mail

Marston's (Morrisons) IPA

Not bottle conditioned

Marston's (Morrisons) IPA [baron rating 3/5] - 5.8% gold ale,flinty mild floral smell,balanced bittersweet flinty taste,earthy floral finish Baron Orm

Buy Morrisons own-brand ales direct

Birra Moretti Grand Cru

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Birra Moretti Grand Cru [baron rating 3/5] - 6.8% gold beer,honey apricot smell,peppery mild medicial slight caramel taste,bitter finish Baron Orm

Bought whilst on holiday in Lake Garda, Italy

Looking forward to baron rating Honest Brew ales

Honest Brew are a fairly new brewery only starting to commercially brew sometime in 2013, they've got big plans though and have already set themselves up with an online shop selling not only their beers but also a range of other breweries which they consider deserve a place on their site. Andrew from Honest Brew contacted me recently to ask if I would like to try a number of their beers by placing a complementary order on their website. The beers arrived promptly and well-packaged, here is my 'order':

Very smart, consistent looking labels

Honest Brew

• Cool For Cats -6% milk stout, sweet milk & velvety dark chocolate. Brewed with London home brewer Darren Walker
• Knotted Stem -5.3% cherry stout, Punchy Morello cherry is complemented by chewy mouthfeel & lingering bitterness. Brewed with Tom & Sam from Signature Brew
• Riwaka Hop Mule -5.3% India Pale Ale, a tropical explosion, pinching your palate with the passionfruit & lychee goodness coming from the rarest of New Zealand hops
• Smuggler's Gold -7.1% Black IPA, slick, warming black IPA that leaves you craving that next sip. The richness of this style-defying brew is courtesy of a stolen dash of rum added during maturation
• Southern Stars - 5% India Pale Ale, full of the best hops from down under & staple English malts. Huge late hopping has given this beer a stern bitterness and a taste of the southern stars. Brewed with Chris Kay from Bristol Beer Factory

Look out for 'baron ratings' of these Honest Brew beers soon, and a big thank you to Andrew from Honest Brew for sending these through to me!

Buy Honest Brew ales direct

Conwy Clogwyn Gold

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Conwy Clogwyn Gold [baron rating 4/5] - 4% gold ale,grassy herbal floral smell,lemon & lime citrus bitter taste,citrus bittersweet finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Conwy ales from Beer Hawk

Ilkley Joshua Jane

Not bottle conditioned

Ilkley Joshua Jane [baron rating 4/5] - 3.7% amber ale,earthy caramel smell,peppery spicy mild burnt caramel taste,nutty bitter finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Ilkley ales from Beer Hawk

Buxton Jaw Gate

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Buxton Jaw Gate [baron rating 5/5] - 5.6% amber ale,piney citrus smell,caramel fruity mild syrupy chewy bitter taste,fruity bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Buxton ales from Holborn Ales

Black Sheep All Creatures

Not bottle conditioned

Black Sheep All Creatures [baron rating 4/5] - 4% copper ale,savoury grassy blackberry smell,mild pithy chalky taste,chalky bitter finish Baron Orm

Hawkshead IPA

Not bottle conditioned

Hawkshead IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 7% copper ale,tropical aroma,fresh resinous sweet tropical fruit taste,fruity bitter finish Baron Orm

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to  Gemma from Hawkshead Brewery for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Hawkshead ales direct

Williams Bros Chieftain Pale Ale

Not bottle conditioned

Williams Bros Chieftain Pale Ale [baron rating 4/5] - 4% gold ale,lemon cereal smell,citrus honey bittersweet taste,fruity bitter finish Baron Orm

Buy Williams Bros ales direct

Beartown Bearskinful

Not bottle conditioned

Beartown Bearskinful [baron rating 4/5] - 4.2% amber ale,sugary leafy smell,sweet sultana balanced bittersweet taste,mild bittersweet finish Baron Orm

A Dark Star Imperial Stout journey (2007, 2008 & 2009)

Bottle conditioned in various states but all fine!

Listen to what Chris, Baron, Stephen & Leigh have to say about it

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Thank you to James (@darkstarbrewco) from Dark Star Brewing Co. for handing me these at various points, I've been hoarding them until it was the right time to share them!

Buy Dark Star ales direct or from Ales By Mail

Mastri Birrai Umbri Cotta 21

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Mastri Birrai Umbri Cotta 21 [baron rating 3/5] - 5% pale gold ale,grassy peach smell,mild fruity bittersweet taste,dry mild fruity finish Baron Orm

Bought whilst on holiday in Lake Garda, Italy

BrewDog Libertine Black Ale

Not bottle conditioned but lively carbonation

BrewDog Libertine Black Ale [baron rating 5/5] - 7.2% black ale,roasted choc sweet fruity smell,oily coffee blackcurrant taste,fruity finish Baron Orm

Thank you to Chris France (@TheBeerHawk) from Beer Hawk for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy BrewDog ales from Beer Hawk

Looking forward to baron rating Hawkshead's new ales soon

Gemma from Hawkshead got in touch just before Christmas asking if I would like a little beery package to arrive in the New Year, just perfect to cheer me up after all the festive season is over and packed back in the loft...

These three lovely looking bottles arrived on Tuesday this week, all are bottled in-house using their new micro-bottling plant (I wonder just how micro it is?). The Brodie's Prime Export and the Dry Stone Stout are bottle conditioned and the IPA is un-filtered (hopefully retaining a lot of the lovely freshness and hoppy goodness).

Hawkshead Brewery

• Brodie's Prime Export - 8.5% The original ruby brown premium beer, Brodie's Prime, brewed to export strength & bottle conditioned to create a rich, complex, strong dark ale
• Dry Stone Stout - 4.5% dry oatmeal stout. Aroma of chocolate & coffee, complex rich deep flavours from a blend of 7 malts, moderate bitterness and a long dry finish
• IPA - 7% modern IPA, amber in colour, with huge, complex hop flavours from a blend of American & New Zealand hops, including Cascade, Columbus & Motueka, and balanced by sweet malt

Look out for 'baron ratings' of these Hawkshead beers soon, and a big thank you to Gemma from Hawkshead Brewery for sending these through to me!

Buy Hawkshead ales direct

Siren Limoncello IPA

Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Siren Limoncello IPA [baron rating 2/5] - 9.1% pale gold ale,lemon sweet grapefruit smell,huge bitter lemon taste,sour lemon finish Baron Orm

Note:I didn't like this very much, Chris on the other hand had different views. We also pulled in Chris's wife as she's a bit of a cocktail person and is familiar with the real Limoncello liquor

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to eeBria (@eeBriaUK) for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Siren ales from EeBria

BrewDog Riptide

Not bottle conditioned

BrewDog Riptide [baron rating 5/5] - 8% black ale,vanilla coffee choc peaty smell,vanilla custard smoky choc taste,choc liquorice finish Baron Orm

Buy BrewDog ales direct