Celt Experience Dark Age

Cask: Regular. Also available bottled.

Dark-Age is a delicious full bodied Welsh dark beer. The beer has a special blend of coffee and chocolate flavours, which are balanced with a smooth aroma with subtle notes of caramel and dark fruit, leading to a bitter finish.This beers name comes from the Dark age. Folklore has highlighted many stories of Celtic warriors and kings that waged successful battles against the intruding Anglo-Saxons. None more than King Arthur, who legend has it, fought in 12 battles in the late 5th and early 6th century.

3.4

216 reviews

Caerphilly, Wales

Community reviews

3.6 Bottle from friend, many thanks Daniel.Dark brown color with medium beige head. Dark malt, citrus hops in aroma. Taste, coffee, roasted malt, light citrus hops. Good.

3.4 Bottle by Cuso, thanks! Almost devoid of any aroma and flavour. Rather dry and slightly roasty. Easy drinking and even tasty. The lack of more points is because of the sheer simplicity of this beer.

3.3 Bottle from a Welsh Tesco. Pours mahogany with a big frothy cream head. A very mild fruity malt aroma. The taste is light spice with a hint of red fruits before a pine finish with a hint of coffee coming late to the party. Quite decent.

3.3 Bottle from a friend. Malty, some caramel and some resiny hops to balance, with a little earthiness. Good beer.

3.3 (Bottle) Dark brown colour with big, frothy, beige head, leaving traces of lacing. Malty, slightly roasted nose with dried fruit, caramel, chocolate, orange peel, toffee and hints of smoke. Malty, slightly roasted taste with notes of chocolate, coffee, dried fruit, orange peel, caramel, toffee and a generous cocoa bitterness. Medium body, quite dry. Well balanced and tasty. Quite nice.

3.3 Gravity cask at St Albans beer festival. Clear amber color, beige head. Aroma of burnt caramel. Taste has light smoke, burnt toast. Very nice.

3.3 Great beer with nice deep colour and long lasting head. Very clear malty notes. Nice one

3.1 Bottle was over carbonated with a very lively head. This is an interesting beer & not what I expected from a mild - tastes more bitter than the quoted 23IBU but with a heavy, caramel & burnt toast backbone. Rated by BrewTom

3.3 Bottle. Very dark beer with large frothy head and floating bits. Full nose of blackcurrent and lemon. Taste is a bit watery and fizzy with earthy tones and a bitter, smokey finish. -- rated with beerbasher/winphone

3.6 Courtesy of Jaghana Couleur noire, forte mousse beige cremeuse. Nez malté, fruits noirs caramelisés et houblon épicé. Gout malt grillé, café, caramel et bonne amertume houblonnée (tourbe) et grillée avec réglisse en fin de bouche. Superbe pour juste 4c°

3.4 Cask at The Green Dragon, Leek (JDW) A deep brown colour with a medium off white head. Aroma of roasted malts, liquorice, nuts, subtle coffee, blackberry, some chocolate, raisins, slight smoke and earthy hops. Taste of liquorice, nuts, roasted malts, some chocolate, raisin, blackberry, burnt toast and loads of earthy hops. Light bodied and soft carbonation. A dry, roasted, fruit bitterness in the finish. Well flavoured for a mild. Fruity, roasted and earthy flavours. A good beer from a good brewery.

3.5 Bottle 50cl, a cloudy amber brown beer with huge head, good retention. Nose is on toasted malt, honey and hops resin. Aroma is on toasted malt, honey, good caramalt notes, bit spicy, touch of yellow fruits, bit tannic, good bitterness, toasted caramel, leather, vanilla hints, honey, chocolate, light hops resin, good body and complexity for the alcohol level. Nice toasted caramel malt duration on aftertatse.

3.6 Bottle from Morrisons, pours a coppery red amber colour with thick frothy tan head which lingers. Aroma of mild coffee and chocolate with dark fruits and molasses plus slightly woody. Taste is medium sweet and bitter and slightly sour, long lasting and rather good. A bit watery in the mouth feel but also quite lively carbonation. Decent mild ale

3.5 500ml; Drank from a tulip; Resiny hop and dark malt/roast malt nose ..Large beige head above kinda purple black. Flavours of raisin, blackcurrant , roasted malts , coffee and resiny hops having sex.

3.5 Bottle from asda. Chocolate, coffee, caramel. Nice foamy head. It has a strong grapefruit kick to it. Plenty of flavour despite only being 4%.

4.6 Must try a second pint another day as already have had something else. That said good dark chestnut appearance. Coffee and chocolate aromas. That carries on into the taste and delightful bitterness. Good one. Even better at second tasting.

3.2 Bottle. Pours a dark brown color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty caramel hoppy aroma. Fruity malty caramel hoppy flavor. Has a fruity malty caramel finish.

3.8 Cask at st Mathews hall Walsall. Black ok head. Aroma is roast malts blackcurrant taste same nice hoppy bitter finish. Decent mouthfeel. Bipa notes I think. V tasty.

3.4 Cask conditioned at a Wetherspoons. Dark chestnut with cream head. There is a roasty, toasty element to this from the off. Rich, dark malts to the fore, hints of chocolate bitterness alongside a plummy fruitiness. Good stuff.

3.8 Cask pint at The Captain James Lang (JDW) in Dumbarton. A dark colour without much head. Caramel overtones.

4.0 Clear black beer with a thick and bubbly beige head. Light aroma of malt. Flavour has a lot going on. Fruit up front very briefly, malty chocolate, a bit of coffee in there but then a nice dose of bitter, grassy hop to mix things up. Has a nice, rich body too. A great beer.

3.5 Aroma: roasted coffee beans. Appearance: brown, clear, rocky head, tan foam. Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness. Palate:light body, thin feel, average carbonation, bitter finish.

3.3 Aroma: chocolate, citrus. Appearance: dark red liquid with thick frothy tan head. Taste: lightly bitter, lightly sour, roasted malts, citrus. Palate: light body, thin feel, lively, long bitter finish,

1.9 Roasty, toasty taste, but not wholly pleasant. Completely impossible to pour - even on an angle, on the second pour, glass was 2/3 head Off-day for the QC team, or it’s a pretty bad beer.

2.7 bottle at home from ales by mail Dark brown with fluffy beige head. Quite subdued nose, moderate body and carbonation, fairly roasty and dry. A little bland really...disappointing given the rave reviews. Maybe need to try on cask.

1.3 Aroma: Medium raisins, metallic. Light roasty. Grassy, resin as the beer warms up. Light buttery. Appearance: MASSIVE rocky, long lasting, tan head. Clear, dark amber body. Flavour: Medium bitter chocolate, nutty. Medium bitterness, resin, light sweetness. Dry finish with lingering cacao, bitterness and resin Mouthfeel: Medium body, medium-high carbonation. Overall: Pours a MASSIVE head. I couldn’t get more that 100 ml into a 700 ml glass! According to the bottle this is a Mild, but the bitterness is not to style! The metallic and massive carbonation may indicate infection. 500 ml bottle, poured. Thanks Andre! 11A. Mild

3.4 Shared bottle at local tasting. Pours very dark clear ruby with a huge frothy beige head. Aroma is weak roast,some dark fruits and light smoked. Taste is light sweet dark fruits, easy roasty and smoked notes as well, very well composed, a very good one, dry lingering finish.

3.6 Shared 500 ml bottle at local tasting, from Oddbins Chiswick. BB 28.07. 2014. Ruby colour, large and fluffy beige head. Moderate but nice aroma of dark but not heavily roasted malts. The flavour is also malty, but fairly dry, with moderate roasty notes and hints of chocolate. Sufficient bitterness. Nice beer.

3.1 Shared bottle at RBHD Bjørnøy February 2015. Deep caramel clear body with a foamy large brown head. Pleasant hoppy caramel and wood nose. Sweet and bitter caramel with toasted notes. Medium bodied. Long finish.

3.5 Shared bottle at RB/HD 07.02.15. Dark brown. Foamy, brown head and lacing. Fine aroma of dark malts and blackberries. Also dark malt in taste, with chocolate and cofee. Evident hop bitterness. Quite dry mouthfeel. Good drinkability.