Haymaker

Brewery: Hook Norton

Brewer's Description: "Haymaker is a strong pale ale of distinctive taste, best served lightly chilled. Plenty of Goldings hops during the brewing give it a cerain something extra - like sunshine on the tongue. Why not try Haymaker with spicy food. Cheers!"

Alc: 5.0% vpl

Overall Rating: 9/10

Uniqueness: 5/10

Refreshing? 9/10

Should you try it? Yes, without doubt. This beer is exceptionally tasty, it has a wonderful strong and savoury taste which really makes you savour it in the mouth, much more so than most pale ales. It is easy to drink but without being boring - the kind of beer you can come back to time and again. A great option for a relaxing cold pint after a long day. I will be buying this again and am now contemplating how many bottles of this beer I could fit into my desk drawer at work (and whether my employer would mind this).

As if this wasn't enough, Hook Norton brewery is powered by a steam engine dating from 1899. As I write this, I am literally drinking over 100 years of British engineering history. Awesome.

Explorer

Brewery: Adnams

Brewer's Description: "Adnams Explorer captures the spirit of discovery by blending Chinook and Columbus hops from the New World. Brewed on the Suffolk coast, with hops from another East Coast. Adnams Explorer is a light, refreshing blonde beer, suffused with the aromas of a grapefruit grove. The citrus attack will burst on your palate. Fantastic served chilled."

Alc: 5.0% vol

Overall Rating: 9/10

Uniqueness: 5/10

Refreshing? 10/10

Should you try it? Yes! This beer is fantastic. Hoppy, refreshing, everything you could ask for in a blonde (beer, that is). Fairly strong, at 5%, and you can taste this in an entirely good way.

This is exactly my kind of beer, and even if it's not yours, it's one of the best of its kind, so try it anyway - you won't regret it!

(Incidentally, if you would like to try this beer in its natural Suffolk habitat, I would emphatically recommend The Anchor at Walberswick. This place is truly fantastic, great selection of beers, wonderful food, and true hospitality. It also happens to be a five minute walk from a sandy, unspoilt beach. Can't beat it. One word or warning though - consider booking a local hotel, as you will want to try more beers here than you are able to drive home on!)

Spooks Ale

Brewery: Shepherd Neame

Brewer's Description: "A classic beer of true quality, Spooks Ale is characterised by its huge biscuity malt palette, derived from three traditional, roasted barley malts used in the mash, giving a gloriously deep red hue. The excitingly complex malty flavours are wonderfully balanced by a huge citrussy, hoppy bitterness and aroma for a particularly fruity hop added at four stages in the brewing process.

The memory of this beer will haunt you for ever!"

Alc: 4.7% vol

Overall Rating: 6/10

Uniqueness: 3/10

Refreshing? 6/10

Should you try it? Probably. No doubt this is a good beer, it was a refreshing drink and actually worked very well on it's own (plenty of savoury flavours), though it would likely go well with a range of foods. Definitely one to enjoy.

I only hesitate because, well, it was very much the same as other "biscuity" and "malty" beers. The label was really something to behold (it even had a poem! see below), but this only added to the anticipation. I almost expected some kind of ghostly beer to come wafting out when I popped the cap. The reality was a beer that was very much down-to-earth.

Poem (as promised):

Brew of Protection

Gall of Shepherd,
Slip of Neame,
Silver'd in the
Kents moon dream


Double double boil and bubble,
Hops brown and barley stubble