GAVIN AITCHISON finds some dark beers perfect for autumn drinking.

I’VE been having dark thoughts this week. I always do at this time of year.

As winter looms large, temperatures drop and nightfall creeps earlier and earlier into the afternoon, I abandon the crisp, refreshing pale ales of summer and go in search of something dark.

A rare Tuesday off work followed by a meeting with a friend on Wednesday allowed me to visit four pubs and to try four excellent beers.

First up was The Gillygate on Gillygate. I had tried a recce in nearby shops, with an early eye on Christmas shopping, but gave that up as a lost cause so headed to the pub instead.

This place re-opened in June after a £500,000 refurbishment inside and out. It boasted a renewed commitment to cask ale, but there was limited choice on Tuesday afternoon, admittedly not the busiest time for any pub.

In the absence of anything darker, I opted for a half of Caledonian Autumn Red, a 4.4 per cent ABV ruby ale from my native Edinburgh. It had an underlying generic fruitiness and a bittersweet malt body, but was pleasant rather than spectacular, so I headed along Gillygate, down St Leonard’s Place and on to Museum Street in search of something deeper and darker.

Thomas’s had just the thing. Colonel’s Whiskers by Batemans of Lincolnshire (4.3 per cent ABV) was described on the pump-clip as a black & tan, and a “nose-tickling beer”, and the barmaid said it was the darkest beer she had ever seen – an odd classification, but good enough for me on the day.

It was a seriously roasted beer, with an intense charred bitterness. Those new to dark beers, or fussy in their choices, would possibly struggle with this as an entry-level choice, but if you have a taste for chocolate malt then this will be a hit. The brewery describes it as creamy, but there was little evidence of that here; instead, I found it cheerfully chewy.

From there, it was a short amble down Lendal to Harkers in St Helen’s Square which, like all Nicholson’s pubs, has been taking part in an autumn beer festival since October 31, showcasing 16 darker beers.

Café Phoenix by Brains of Cardiff was the most intriguing on the bar, its pump-clip promising a rich, dark toffee and coffee porter.

It was my third pub, my third half and a clear winner. The toffee was more dominant than the coffee; the taste and above all the smell being a powerful punch of caramel and chocolate. Forget sanctimonious hints of this and undertones of that: this one had all the character of a melted Lion Bar – a sweeter beer than I would ordinarily choose, but smooth, rich and very moreish.

If you don’t find it at Harkers, then York’s other Nicholson’s pubs are The Punch Bowl in Stonegate and The Cross Keys and The Old White Swan, both in Goodramgate.

Finally, a day later, I found myself in Pivni, always a haven for those seeking new beers. I struck black gold at the far end of the bar with Phantom Dennis by Arbor Ales, an unusual but easy-drinking porter with berry-like flavours, a fruitful pint and a fitting end to a fruitful two days.

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