Ridgeway Bad King John

This is one i picked up a couple of months ago, and its been sitting my leaky and dusty shed, but i got it out this weekend. Its listed as a 'very english black ale' on the bottle, which has a beautiful label, really in keeping with its description and gives it a tapestry 'ye olde beer' impression. Its 6.0% abv 500ml and bottle conditioned. It also seems to be a bottle thats for US import originally judging by the label information.

Is it black ale? what is a black ale? i'm not sure how one is defined and i've certainly had beers similar which described themselves as stouts, and i notice some rating websites also call it a stout. Anyhoo its a beer and i drank it. What did i think.

It has a small off white bubbly head that soon goes to just a ring, and its colour is pretty black, with its carbonation its appears almost cocoa cola like.
It has some sour notes and ash, and tasting, well its bitter, coming with some coffee, and dark chocolate. These keep on going throughout the bottle, and its has smoke down to the last drop. It has a thin not quite medium body, and some fruits keep popping through, lovely blackberry, certainly blackcurrant involved in its bitterness. Overall though not bad, i'd have i again it offered.