I had not heard of this one, but it was on at the pub tonight. According to the beer menu it was first available in the US on 1/12/12. I don’t have a regular Newcastle for comparison, but it appears to ne the same color. They served it really cold (though not a frosted glass). Seems drier that the regular and just a tad more bitter. More of an English Pale Ale than a brown and I get just a very slight bit of diacetyl, but it is not detrimental to the flavor at all.
Wish I had not had a Celebration to start the night, but this might fall in line as a nice bitter. I just noticed the ABV is listed at 4.8%. Very quaffable, but certainly a session beer.
I thought when it hit the table it was gonna be a brown, what a surprise to find a bitter. Anyonw tried it with a clean palate?
PS: excuse my spelling, working off my phone.