Cleared in bottle quite quickly following the transit through the Royal Mail. In the fridge showed signs of chill haze but this went away when it was warmed up. Bottle opened with a good hiss, and poured well . . . . perhaps a touch more carbonation than the King Robert IPA, which along with my not so gentle pouring lead to a good head formation. The sediment stayed in the bottle more or less but I missed the stop point, and some of the sediment made its way into the glass which was a shame as the beer would have been crystal clear otherwise . .. there is a fine haze of large yeast particles otherwise a clear pass of the Feck test..
A very good looking brown beer, with its magnolia head, hot much in the way of hop aroma, but a fine toffee malty note. I was surprised at just how bitter this beer was initially, certainly it appeared to be more bitter than the King Robert. The taste lingers well, bags of malt, and bitterness with little hop flavour and aroma. I also get a fruit flavour (which I'm having difficulty identifying) and a slight piney note. Given the malty character of the beer it is quite dry and astringent on the finish. . . this is not the tannic notes that you get through over sparging, but comes from the darker malts used, so not a flaw.
Its very much in the lines of a traditional best bitter, and certainly is a good example of the style.
I decided to just wing it. 
