Dark from J W Lees Review

I found Dark from J W Lees in one of my all time favourite pubs, The Sheffield Tap. The brewery is based in Manchester which is probably just a little too far from Sheffield for me to claim it's a local beer, but it's not too far off. The brewery has been going for close to 200 years, but I think this is the first of their beers I've tried. Dark from J W Lees is not surprisingly a dark ale. It clocks in at 3.5% alcohol, is a very dark brown, and has a pretty nice creamy tan head. I don't know about you but I think this looks like a proper old beer.

Dark has a malty caramel aroma which just lures you in. The texture is seriously smooth and quite thick, as a dark ale should be, and the taste is roasted malts, coffee, liquorice, and a bit of caramel, it's all rather nice. I'm so used to drinking stouts, porters and IPA's it's nice to just have a proper old dark ale, and this one is so smooth and tasty I could happily drink several pints, and at 3.5% I could get a few down. I'm going to give Dark from J W Lees 8.5 out of 10. It's a seriously nice, proper English dark ale. Enjoy.