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Brewery: Theakston's

Brewer's Description: "Ruby coloured, richly flavoured, full-bodied with a deliciously complex hop aroma. Masham's little secret!

Brewed using the finest quality natural ingredients and over 178 years of brewing wisdom."

Alc: 4.5% vol

Overall Rating: 9/10

Uniqueness: 9/10

Refreshing? 7/10

Should you try it? This beer is refreshing, zingy and bitter - a fantastic drink, definitely worth trying. For someone unsophisticated in the vocabulary of beer, this is actually a really hard one to describe accurately. It is a sensation  to drink, a bit like sucking a lemon. You can almost feel the effect of the beer on your mouth. If that sounds odd, don't worry - I haven't had one too many of these! I just cannot think of a better way to explain the unique experience of drinking this beer.

So - enjoy!

India Pale Ale

Brewery: Marston's

Brewer's Description: "Marston's Old Empire is a true India Pale Ale - it has a strong hop aroma and flavour, a rich malty, bitter taste and is pale in colour.

During the 19th Century, Burton became famous for brewing the best beer for export to India. Sparkling spring water, a robust strain of yeast, high levels of hops and maturation in oak casks all ensured that the beer survived the three-month sea journey to India. The result was a beer with a tangy, clean bitterness and wonderfully refreshing character."

Alc: 5.7% vol

Overall Rating: 8/10

Uniqueness: 6/10

Refreshing? 7/10

Should you try it? If you like hoppy beers, you will not be disappointed. This has a fantastic strong flavour and a lovely dark golden colour, with plenty of hoppy flavour to boot. It would be perfect with a spicy curry (I had it with Trinidadian food, which worked pretty well). But don't try to drink it fast - at nearly 6% and with a strong bitter flavour, you will need to savour this one to enjoy it.

Black Sheep Ale

Brewery: Black Sheep

Brewer's Description: "This is Black Sheep Ale. The culmination of six generations of brewing expertise. Brewed at the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire - and nowhere else."

Alc: 4.4% vol

Overall Rating: 8/10

Uniqueness: 3/10

Refreshing? 8/10

Should you try it? At first, I was disappointed with this beer. I was expecting something really quite special - the Black Sheep brewery is widely known for excellent beers - but this was just a bit normal in flavour, a bit much of a muchness. But then as my pint glass started to empty, I picked up the amazing smooth texture of this beer. It is subtly, tastefully and deservingly one of the very best ales of its type. The simple Yorkshire goodness of it is just brilliant. Simply excellent beer.

Dark Lord vs. Broadside

Brewery: Batemans (Dark Lord), Adnams (Broadside)

Brewer's Description: Dark Lord - "Brewed to commemorate 'Black Tom' who fought in the English Civil War at The Battle of Winceby, Lincolnshire. It is rich and spicy and goes well with cheese and red meat."

Broadside - "Broadside is brewed to commemorate the Battle of Sole Bay, the fierce battle fought against the Dutch Republic in 1672 off the Suffolk coast. The English fleet was moored in Southwold with Admiral Edward Montagu & most of his sailors drinking in local ale houses when called to action! Broadside uses East Anglian malted barley and only one hop variety- First Gold. This dark ruby red beer is full of fruitcake flavours and is great savoured with some strong cheddar. Delicious served cool.

Alc: 5.0% vol (Dark Lord), 6.3% vol (Broadside)

Overall Rating: 8/10 (Dark Lord), 9/10 (Broadside)

Uniqueness: 8/10 (Dark Lord), 7/10 (Broadside)

Refreshing? 8/10 (Dark Lord), 9/10 (Broadside)

Should you try it?
I've decided to review these two beers side by side. I drunk them around the same time, and was struck by their similarity (not surprising given that they are both dark ruby beers).

Both are absolutely fantastic. Okay, I am biased here - I'm a huge fan of ruby ales and have never found one I didn't like - but these both have a satisfying sweetness to them which makes them very enjoyable to drink.

The Dark Lord has the more interesting flavour of the two, and is a beautiful balance between sweetness and a darker, burnt taste. This gives it a bit more balls than the Broadside, and possibly is the beer you want to linger on for a bit longer. So, why have I rated the Broadside higher overall? Simply this - I am not a huge fan of that burnt taste and aroma. I can appreciate it, but it's a bit like coffee cake - something is not quite right. I prefer chocolate cake. Just like I prefer the overall sweetness and less complex flavour of the Broadside, which is refreshing, drinkable, and satisfying.

As an aside, the Broadside is a fair bit stronger, at 6.3%. The artwork on both bottles is interesting, as are the themes (both, coincidentally, centred around battles local to each brewery). I'd say the Broadside has the slight edge for giving a more detailed description.

You may well disagree with my verdict. Whichever you prefer, it's hard to see either of these as anything short of excellent. I think a fairer comparison might have paired each one up with a block of extra mature cheddar (as both purportedly work well with cheese) - perhaps this can be my excuse to go and buy another bottle of each...

Hopping Hare

Brewery: Badger

Brewer's Description: "Hopping Hare is thrice hopped with three types of hop used during the brewing process. Aromatic Goldings and Cascade combine to provide an uplifting citrus-grapefruit and floral aroma, whilst First Gold carries the bitterness. The effect is a refreshing ale with a unique hoppy aroma and well-balanced bitterness that is bound to satisfy! It is a terrific match with roast lamb and spicy Thai dishes!"

Alc: 4.4% vol

Overall Rating: 8/10

Uniqueness: 5/10

Refreshing? 8/10

Should you try it? No. Not "you should". You must. This beer is just excellent, lovely hoppy aroma and taste but still a light easy-ish drink. Maybe this comparison is a bit loose, but this is what lager ought to taste like if it had more of a flavour.

Incidentally, this is one of the most accurate brewer's descriptions I have seen of any beer. Though, I didn't try it with lamb or a spicy Thai dish. Maybe next time I'll try it with the recommended cuisine and it'll be even better.

Late Red

Brewery: Shepherd Neame

Brewer's Description: "Shepherd Neame uses the finest blend of Kent hops and barley to produce this rich, red autumn ale. Enjoy Late Red on long balmy evenings before the onset of winter.

This handsome autumn ale mingles nourishing crystal malts with enchanted hop-garden scents. The pungent freshness of East Kent Goldings meets the exotic grapefruit and floral hints of Cascade."

Alc: 4.5% vol

Overall Rating: 9/10

Uniqueness: 7/10

Refreshing? 7/10

Should you try it? Yes, you should. The ruby red colour is gorgeous, the malty smell is delicious and the beer tastes wonderful. This beer is all about balance and character. It takes you right back to the heart of beer drinking - not taste, not a label, not even a unique and slightly humorous name, but the whole experience of enjoying a pint.

I am just gutted that I found this in January and will have to wait till next Autumn to find an excuse to drink it in larger quantities.

Best Bitter

Brewery: St Peter's

Brewer's Description: "A traditional best bitter ae brewed with Pale and Crystal malts and Goldings aroma hops. The result is a full-bodied ale with distinctive fruity caramel notes. Brewed with skill and patience in one of Britain's finest small breweries."

Alc: 3.7% vol

Overall Rating: 8/10

Uniqueness: 6/10

Refreshing? 7/10

Should you try it? Yes.

I should add a caveat here - I rarely say "no" to this question. I have never (I mean literally never) tried an ale that I later regretted. Try them all! The real measure is how emphatically it gets a "yes".

Let's tackle this head on. I may embarrass myself by saying this and will probably make some readers very annoyed. Here it goes: a lot of beers taste the same. I know. I can picture you now, slamming your Oktoberfest beer mug down in protest, and probably sloshing beer all over your laptop keyboard (sorry). But seriously, it's a bit like wine tasting. I like beer, I really do, but I am not a sophisticated beer taster and my beer vocabulary is limited.

With that in mind, this beer is a best bitter and as such is not far different from others of a similar strength and colour. But I would say the St Peter's is one of the very best. It has an interesting taste, worth savouring, but not too dark or bitter. This is a really great brewery, with several other beers well worth trying (Golden Ale and the IPA, to mention two).

To top it all off, feast your eyes on this traditional oval bottle (the design of which dates from 1770):