A right plum

I guess it's the success of Titanic Plum Porter that led Aldi GB to commission a version of their own: Harper's Plum Porter at roughly the same strength of 4.8% ABV. I'm used to the Titanic one smooth on cask, whereas this has a prickly carbonation. The aroma is dry and minerally while the flavour goes porter first -- chocolate, toast, hazelnuts -- with just a vague jammy fruit sweetness to speak for the plums.

It meets the basic requirements, although all that fizz is a major lack of chill. I thought it might have smoothed out as it warmed and flattened but it doesn't really. This sort of beer really needs to be smooth, and cask dispense is unfortunately beyond Aldi's remit.

As a home substitute for pub plum porter this doesn't really work, but at least it's inoffensive and, doubtless, cheap.