Bad King John
Ridgeway Brewing

Bad King JohnBad King John
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From:
Ridgeway Brewing
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Stout
Ranked #52
ABV:
6%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,698
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 11.32%
Reviews:
60
Ratings:
130
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 12, 2023
Added:
Jun 02, 2008
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  24
An unusual beer, it is neither a porter nor a stout, but a black ale. It is a proper English pale with the addition of heavily roasted grains. Only English hops are used, some of them later in the boil to leave behind essential oils and hop aroma. This beer tests the drinkers senses – the eyes are saying it’s heavy, the mouth says it’s light, perhaps sometimes dangerously so….
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Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.59/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Undated bottle; drank 10/11/23 @ the Yarchives.

Mostly opaque brown/orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice, noisy khaki head; a thick curtain of lacing remained.

Root beer, faint cream & faint smoke notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel. Root beer, coriander, mild cream & faint smoke flavors.

Earthy & interesting, but a bit odd as well. Not one I'll seek out again.
Oct 12, 2023
Photo of C-Stockwell
Reviewed by C-Stockwell from Rhode Island

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
L: transparent very, very dark brown. Starts off with a 1-2" thick khaki head
S: molasses, maple syrup, candied cherries, pine, and nuts
T: coffee, extra crispy creme brulee, and banana
F: a touch watery

Not sure of what to pair this with for food. Spicy wasn't a great combination.
May 19, 2023
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.87/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 500 ml. bottle with a BB date of 08/03/23. Sampled Oct 30, 3033.

It has a pleasant appearance of mahogany brown with reddish hues underneath a lacing-leaving tan. It looks jolly British.

Aroma of caramel malts, toffee malts, dark bread, dark cracker, and earthy hops.

Medium mouthfeel.

The taste is sweet and malty with a mild traditional bitter ending. I mean, it tastes like a British pub beer and I like those traditional British beers.
Oct 30, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Aug 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by Tenebris

Dec 15, 2021
 
Rated: 5 by OzmanBey from Massachusetts

Oct 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.65 by thatsmyspot from Italy

May 11, 2017
 
Rated: 3.6 by dcmchew from Romania

Jan 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by elamb106 from New York

Dec 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.33 by Allnzy from England

Nov 19, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by Euroglot from Belgium

Nov 05, 2016
Photo of Sergio_Nesmachnow
Reviewed by Sergio_Nesmachnow from Uruguay

2.43/5  rDev -34.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Got one in Mexico.
Look quite opaque, rather dark. Smell more like Porter than Stout.
Taste average for Stout. Aftertaste is better then first impression.
Sep 09, 2016
Photo of davidperez
Reviewed by davidperez from Mexico

4.04/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Served in a pint glass, it pours a very dark brown, seemingly black, with a one-finger head, sudsy, with low retention.

Very sweet bouquet.
Notes of raisins, figs, liquor, brown sugar, caramel, a hint of vanilla and a slight roastiness from the malts.

The taste changes somewhat from the nose.
Upfront a nice carbonation teases your palate, and short after an earthy, hoppy bitterness with a huge roasted malts character, almost charred, overruns your palate. Then, the sweet notes appear, moderate yet assertive. Caramel, dark fruits, vanilla and predominantly, dark chocolate.
The initial thrust of bitterness is nicely balanced by this sweet layer.

The aftertaste is long. It has a decaying sweetness, and it ends dry and earthy.
Medium body, high carbonation.
After warming up, a slight umami note appears, and the sweetness becomes more assertive too.

An nice english stout, a little nicer than its rating, IMO.
Jun 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.84 by cesarrdgz from Mexico

Mar 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3 by AlexAfonin from Russian Federation

Mar 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.48 by samEBC from Belgium

Feb 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.05 by mistahmojoryan from Canada (SK)

Feb 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.34 by BartMcStout from Belgium

Jan 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by PorterThwarter from Maryland

Nov 03, 2015
 
Rated: 2.75 by Lare453 from Florida

Oct 19, 2015
Bad King John from Ridgeway Brewing
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 130 ratings