Milestone Newark Castle Brown

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

Robin Hood, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		03 Oct 2026	Presented with good head and lacing and lasting all the way almost on this brown ale from Milestone Brewery which only got its skates on in 2004, with their first drops reaching thirsty souls in 2005, and out of Cromwell village, on the Great North Road, just a few miles north of Newark, Nottinghamshire, and naming their whole lark after an old roadside milestone. A malty first hit on this mahogany-brown hued ale that glowed like a newly polished leather boot under the gas lamps. A fruity bitterness rising from traditional English foliage, predominantly Challenger and Fuggles hops: Challenger behind a crisp, smooth bitterness, while Fuggles provided me with a woody, earthy and herbal flavours. I noted an assault of subtle, dark winter berries right before it hit my whistle. A malty note prevailing from its traditional British Pale Maris Otter malt combined with heavy dollops of Crystal and Chocolate malts. The pale grain lending a sweet, bready biscuit base for me, while the chocolate and crystal malts dropped massive punches of deeply roasted cocoa, toasted nuts and sweet toffee. My tongue was delighted with a velvety and unashamedly nutty foundation that nearly blew my neckcloth off! I was left with a lingering crisp bitter aftertaste sailing out. Served in slap-up form.

The River Ale House, East Greenwich, Greater London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling	Not Tried	09 Feb 2025
Philip Pirrip		09 Feb 2025	Good condition, mediocre flavouring
Hogan Sampling		08 Feb 2025	Good head and lacing on the second day still for this Newark brown ale, north-east of Nottingham. A very malty first hit. A moreishly dry aftertaste.
Hogan Sampling		07 Feb 2025	Fresh on this evening from Newark, north-east of Nottingham. Good head and lacing on this brown ale. A very malty and bitter first hit with a maltiness lingering in the mouthfeel. It looks like an ESB but minus the sweetness of most strong bitters I have sampled and not a hint of it. A very dry, moreish but not overly malty finish.

The New Inn, Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Jack William		25 May 2024