Hopdaemon Dominator

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.

The Music Shop (formerly The Made Inn), Ashford, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Andrew		08 Mar 2019	A bit cold but very drinkable.

The Mash Tun, Dover, Kent

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2019, Dover, Kent

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2016, Dover, Kent

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2015, Dover, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Mick		06 Feb 2015
Philip Pirrip	Not Tried	06 Feb 2015

The Elephant, Faversham, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Philip Pirrip		22 Jan 2015
Pedro	Not Tried	15 Feb 2013

The Cock Tavern, Hackney, Greater London

The Phoenix, Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Alenomore		16 Dec 2012	Again, in top condition.
Andrew		25 Nov 2011	Top stuff
Blair		13 Apr 2011	Malty, chocolatey beer. Tasty but not the dominator I remember from a few years ago.

Artillery Arms, Ramsgate, Kent

Parrot, Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Blair		23 Nov 2012	A top notch pint of dominator.
Andrew		17 Nov 2012	Rich fruits and hints of Christmas pudding
Ian		20 Oct 2012	After a couple of years when it's not been quite right, this was fantastic.
Andrew	Not Tried	29 Nov 2011
Brian		21 Nov 2011	This was served lager-cold, but Dominator in a Shep's pub, you can't really complain! Excellent, once it warmed up a bit, malty, a bit low on fruit, alcoholic warmth, not too syrupy as it can be sometimes.
Ian		11 Dec 2010	Malty and best pint of this that I have had for some time

The Flower Pot, Maidstone, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Pedro	Not Tried	18 Nov 2012
Dosser	Not Tried	17 Nov 2012
Pedro	Not Tried	09 Dec 2011
Alenomore		09 Dec 2011	Had to give it a 5*. Excellent.

The Just Reproach, Deal, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Ian		16 Nov 2012	Back to its best. Malty hoppy warming. Perfect winter warmer. Just lovely.

The Butchers Arms, Herne, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Mick		03 Nov 2012	Full rich malt with syrupy fruits, good depth of body, very drinkable.

The Conqueror Alehouse, Ramsgate, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Philip Pirrip		01 Nov 2012	Once one of these has been tasted nowt else is on the menu tonight
Ian		04 Dec 2010	A bit like the Gadds 5, this is too cold and also feels like its been kept too cold as well so the condition does not come through properly and therefore release all the flavours. Very little condition even swirling the glass. Some syrupy fruity malt. Gravity can expose lack of conditioning

The Man of Kent Ale House, Rochester, Kent

The Lifeboat Ale & Cider House, Margate, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Blair		22 Mar 2012	Awesome, haven't had a pint of Dominator this good in years.
Andrew	Not Tried	22 Apr 2011

Bell & Crown, Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Martin the Mildman	Not Tried	27 Dec 2010
Andrew	Not Tried	22 Dec 2010
Andrew	Not Tried	20 Dec 2010
Andrew		11 Dec 2010	First from a new barrel. Good malts but a bit too clean.

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2010, Dover, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Blair		05 Feb 2010	I always try this beer to see if it's as good as it was when I first had it and it's yet to do it. Rich and fruity, still a very good ESB.

The Chambers, Folkestone, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Ian		22 Jan 2009	OK let's get some things sorted out. The first run of this beer was good, but lacked the hop impact that previous vintages had expressed. And Andrew will back me up on this, this year's was good, and we really wanted to rate it well, but it just lacked the hoppiness. Well this had the requisite hops, but still wasn't quite right. But that was something to do with my palate on the day I think as the bottle of Fullers Winter Ale on the train on the way home, bought from Sainsbury's had the the same taint. I blame the couscous royale I had for lunch. Still, a fantastic beer and if you see it, have it.
Ian		09 Jan 2009	Still very good, but just not quite there yet. Very full in the mouth, slightly grainy, but overall, I really do like this beer to session in the winter.
Ian		29 Dec 2008	Interested to have this again after the Old Brewery Tavern in Canterbury, where is was good but not as good as I had remembered from previous years. This however, was a slightly different pint. More syrupy fruit, but again, just not the hop I remember, if it had that biting grapefruit edge it did 2 years ago at Dover BF I would be very happy. Still a very full in the mouth, fruity, malty extra strong bitter, and still enormously creamy and drinkable. But just not as good as I remember.

The Parrot (Young's), Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Andrew		13 Jan 2009	Really nice. A strong toasted syrup (can you toast syrup?) bite to it with vanilla and strawberry coming out to play.
Brian		10 Jan 2009	This was much better than at the Tavern a week or so ago. The bitter orange marmalade bite was back as I remembered it. Malty, crispy at the back and a burst of juicy fruits up front. Most of the regulars were asking about the lack of Incubus though, maybe the strength of this puts them off, or maybe they were looking for a velvet pulse!

Coastguard, St Margaret's at Cliffe, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Dubbel		28 Dec 2008	My first crack at this and most impressive. Deep brown and robust strong ale. Does everything your tongue wants it to do. Reminiscent of Grainstore Ten Fifty.

The Old Brewery Tavern, Canterbury, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Ian		20 Dec 2008	Good ESB style beer.
Andrew		20 Dec 2008	Really nice to see this on. Mahogony brown-red colour. Rich, smooth, strong, reedy, creamy beer with strawberry hints. Like Ian and Brian have said before me, it's not how it used to be. Still good though.
Ian		17 Dec 2008	Enormously drinkable, but lacked that lovely grapefruity lime hoppy bite of last year. Good though. Just poured down.
Brian		11 Dec 2008	Weird this, very nice but not how I remembered it. This was roasted malt, chocolatey mouth and lacked any significant bite. Still fine, but I remember this being exceptional at the Yew Tree.

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2008, Dover, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Andrew		01 Feb 2008	Strawberry, hint of hay and a touch of lemon. Had this twice
Ian		01 Feb 2008	Drinkable beer, but not as exceptional as 2 years ago.

The Yew Tree Inn, Barfrestone, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Andrew		01 May 2006	Rich plum and strawberry with dark cherry and base bitter finish.
Andrew		21 Mar 2006	Another great beer. Tasted of water mellon with bitter cherry.
Andrew	Not Tried	18 Mar 2006
Brian		28 Feb 2006	Jason was drinking it as well and he agrees that it's great.
Andrew		11 Feb 2006	Sharp lemon and tangerine with a warm strawberry background flavour. Sharp bitter finish. I had this last week at the Dover beer festival and gave that a 5/5. This was better!
Brian		10 Feb 2006	I missed this at the Dover beer fest last week, so I was pleased to see it here. Dark brown in colour, slowly disappearing foamy head, grapefruit and tangerine peel bite. Utterly fantastic.

The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton, Central London

Who	Score	When	Notes
Ian		31 Mar 2006	Alright I'm biased, I happen to think that this is a cracking pint. I can see why someone would rate the Dark Star APA here better than this. This is a bit more syrupy and less hoppy than at the Dover BF. Difficult to score it having had the Dark Star first as it destroys your taste buds. Good malt strawberry/hop on aroma. Strawberry malt in mouth. Sweetish fruit and dry hop on finish. I really really want to give it a 5/5, but it isn't. This is a 4/5

Blakes of Dover, Dover, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Brian		24 Feb 2006	What can I say? This is absolutely fantastic - tangerines in the nose, sharp acidity but smooth finish. I can't think of anything I've had that is better than this.

White Cliffs Beer Festival 2006, Dover, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Andrew		03 Feb 2006	Subtle grapefruit with sharp but mottled lemon. Stewed plum dominated.
Ian		03 Feb 2006	Beer of the festival for me. Deep brown with lasting beige head. Lovely hop on this with good malt base. Hops are excellent and fresh