Welcome to Britain's Oldest Brewer | Shepherd Neame Find a Pub Our vision is to be a great British brewer and run the best pubs, providing our customers with a great and memorable experience. We have more than 300 pubs and hotels across London and the South East, from characterful, traditional pubs in London’s West End and The City, and picturesque country pubs, to large contemporary seafront hotels in Kent, with a diverse range of sites in between. Find your perfect pub searching by location, or by the facilities on offer such as accommodation, live music, real log fires and more. Join us We are always on the lookout for great people to join our award-winning team. Whether you're completely new to the industry, or if you have lots of experience and are looking for a new challenge, we want to hear from you! VIEW AVAILABLE JOBS READ ABOUT OUR ROLES run your own pub Stay with us Relax in style at one of our hotels or inns, each with its own unique character, located in some stunning locations around the South East. Unwind in high quality accommodation, while enjoying the warm welcome, delicious food and distinctive Kentish ales for which we are renowned.

Search accommodation Discover our beers You may know us best for our traditional Kentish ales such as Spitfire, with its cheeky advertising campaign, but we also brew award-winning lagers including Asahi and Samuel Adams and the popular new Whitstable Bay Collection. Our brewers have been also busy experimenting in our pilot brewery for our limited edition No.18 Yard Brewhouse range. FIND A BEER BREWING IN FAVERSHAM The Faversham Brewery is home to Shepherd Neame, Britain’s Oldest Brewer. Nestled in the medieval market town of Faversham in Kent, brewing has continued on this site for centuries. Shepherd Neame Shepherd Neame, Britain's Oldest Brewery By J.M. Towers When you think of Great Britain, the first things that come to mind are its capital, London , The Beatles, Queen Elizabeth II, tea time—and beer, of course. Beer is a centuries-old tradition in the British Isles, and Shepherd Neame is one of the country’s most representative breweries. Founded in 1698, it is the oldest firm of Great Britain; but its origins date back to even earlier times. Shepherd Neame Brewery.

Shepherd Neame has its headquarters in Faversham , a town in the Swale District in the county of Kent in England. The relationship between this city and beer is quite intricate. Many of its inhabitants work in a factory that bears its name since 1864 when the Neame family took control of the town. Already in the 12th century, the monks of Cluny in France were attracted here by the quality of the Faversham water, excellent for beer production. So much so, that, in 1147, they decided to build a monastery in this area. By the 16th century, there were 250 industries in the city, and 84 of them were engaged in the production of beer. Enjoying a pint outside the brewery Shepherd Neame is considered one of the oldest beer factories in England, and throughout its long history, it has never stopped production. For Shepherd Neame, the sense of preservation of tradition and an illustrious past persists in the art of brewing, which currently uses steam equipment and barrels dating from 1910, made of debarked teak for the malt infusion.

The factory sits on an artesian well that provides high-quality water, and local hops are added to the hoppers during the process of cooking the wort. After that, an excellent type of yeast is used to finish the fermentation process, which once completed will rest in barrels or bottles, for a time that can vary according to low or high fermentation beers, lager or ale. Hops are one of the emblems of Kent County, and Charles Dickens himself quotes it in his novel The Pickwick Papers when he says that the region produces "apples, cherries, hops and women." More than 30 different brands are produced daily in the Faversham brewery, including labels as suggestive as the Spitfire, Bishop's Finger, Master Brew, Generation Ale, or HMQ Celebration, which are exported to every corner of the globe. The most famous, and best-selling, are Spitfire and Bishops Finger. The first is a tribute to the Spitfire fighter aircraft and to the heroic pilots of the RAF (Royal Air Force) who, during the Battle of Britain flew to defend their country from Nazi air attacks during World War II.

Bishops Finger takes its name from the finger-pointing signals that showed pilgrims the way where the tomb of Thomas Becket was located, in Canterbury. Stewart Main Inside the brewery Both beers, made with high-fermenting yeast, are of the ale type—so popular among the British—and represent the best of a family business that continues to produce beers with the same taste and care of yesteryear. ■ More on this topic Get 20% off at Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham during English Tourism Week Get 20% off at Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham during English Tourism Week 11 March 2015 joannaroberts@thekmgroup.co.uk Ever fancied a tutored tasting of Kentish ales and lagers? If so then take advantage of a reduced price thanks to English Tourism Week. Shepherd Neame, based in Faversham, is taking part by offering 20% off its daytime brewery tours from Saturday, March 14, to Sunday, March 22.

During the tour of the historic site, dating back more than 400 years, visitors will see the traditional mash tuns, taste natural mineral water from the brewery’s well, try some malted barley and smell locally-grown Kentish hops. Shepherd Neame beers They will also be able to see bygone delivery vehicles and enjoy that tutored tasting. The experience lasts two hours, and usually cost £12.75 for adults and £8.90 for children. During English Tourism Week only, visitors can apply the 20% discount to £10.20 for an adult and £7.12 to a child if they book online using discount code ETW15. Visit or call 01795 542016. Beers | Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay Red IPA Bishops Finger Bishops Finger Kentish Strong Ale is a connoisseur's beer with excellent credentials and pedigree and is a silver medal-winner in the Daily Telegraph Taste of Britain awards.

It takes its name from the finger-shaped signposts which pointed pilgrims on their way to the tomb of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury and was the first strong ale to be brewed by Shepherd Neame after malt rationing was eased in the late 1950s. It is also one of the UK's oldest bottled beers, brewed since 1958. Bishops Finger Heritage Ales We are proud to be Britain’s oldest brewer and continue to brew many of the beer styles which made the UK the brewing capital of the world. Many of our historic recipes have been revisited in recent years, but not until we had cracked their coded entries in our brewers’ logs. Kentish Saison Logo Master Brew Master Brew is brewed using only the finest Kentish barley and hops and is Shepherd Neame's flagship beer in the brewery's Kentish heartland. The "Local Hero" is a distinctive, mid-brown bitter ale, with all the hoppy aroma you would expect of a beer brewed in the heart of the hop country. Hand-crafted by the Faversham brewery's talented team of experienced brewers, it is a well-balanced traditional ale.

MASTER BREW Our Lagers With nearly 50 years of lager brewing heritage, it’s no wonder that some of the biggest names in beer trust us to brew their beers for the UK, such as leading US craft beer Samuel Adams Boston Lager and the number one Japanese lager Asahi. Oranjeboom Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider Angry Orchard was first introduced in the US in 2011, and its Crisp Apple style soon became the country’s number one hard cider. Crisp Apple is made from traditional cider apples for a blend of sweetness and bright acidity, just like biting into a fresh apple. ANGRY ORCHARD CRISP APPLE CIDER Limited Editions No restrictions, no compromise. These beers are the pinnacle of our brewers’ art. In celebration of once-in-a-lifetime occasions such as the signing of the Magna Carta and HM The Queen’s 90th birthday, these beers are something to collect and savour. Our Limited Edition Beers Our Beers The iconic hop gardens of Kent surround our Faversham Brewery, inspiring our brewers to create award-winning, distinctive beer.

If you're looking for cask, keg or bottled ales, whether using traditional or perhaps more unusual ingredients, we have something that will intrigue and delight in equal measure. Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham, United Kingdom (Google Maps) - Virtual Globetrotting Shepherd Neame is an English regional brewery founded in 1698 by Richard Marsh in Faversham, Kent. Google Maps Spitfire (Premium Ale Export) | Shepherd Neame Ltd | BeerAdvocate 3.49/5 rDev -3.9% look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 Enjoyed this on the ferry from Calais to Dover. Nice and tart , like a bitter should be. Nut brown color with thin head, bitterness nips the tongue right from the get-go. Liked this a lot....

191 characters 3.13/5 rDev -13.8% look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3 Purchased at the LCBO for just over $2.00 for a 500ml can. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass A- Opens well and pours a 1" high white head that films out within 2mins. Very dark gold almost brown colour and filtered clear S- Has that malty character you expect from an English ale. T- Not so good. Bitternes abounds. Light and malty without much hops at all. Pretty simple brew that does not excite me at all M- Dry and uninspired O- Not so good. Will not buy again. Lucky if this one doesn't go back to LCBO. Food Pairing This not so good brew went ok with...... chips, pretzels or anything salty that will help this one go down.

Enjoy 3.75/5 rDev +3.3% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 From bottle, This beer has a dark amber appearance, with toffee and dried fruit aromatics. A full and textual mouth-feel leave a lasting spicy bitter after taste. 162 characters 4.28/5 rDev +17.9% look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 Nice malty sweet flavor. Not too heavy on the carbonation and caramel hints not as strong. Mellow hops at just the right balance so as not to be the dominant flavor profile the way I like it. Very drinkable. One of my go-to beers when I'm indecisive.

250 characters 4.45/5 rDev +22.6% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5 This was once a favourite of mine, I still drink it but there is a heck of a lot of quality beers and ales competing for top spot. Spitfire is in the top 10 English beers in my opinion. Problem with Shepherd and Neame is they produce so many excellent beers the drinker is spoilt for choice. So its Spitfire for the session, Early Bird and Late Red to match the seasons. 375 characters 3.55/5 rDev -2.2% look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5 L: crystal-clear, burnished tawny liquid... fairly tall, downy head that slowly slinks away...

might as well be no lace S: fairly typical for these bottled imports from the UK - bread crust, grassy earth, mildly nutty yeast, dull dried apple, and a touch of black peppercorns T: almost like whole wheat bread and a little drier than expected... in the middle, some soft notes of an unripe pear covered in field dust... toasty with browning dried hop cones on the outer edges, moderately bitter for the origin, with perhaps a tiny nip of dusty dried yeast... touch of sweetness and hop left in the aftertaste F: clean, about medium-bodied, with a smooth, dry finish... quite easy to put back, and hardly filling with its quite mellow carbonation O: though the taste may be ever so slightly off here (no bottle date), this has an assertive, pleasant-enough English hop flavor with arguably a slight edge over the clean yet depth-y malt foundation... you're still not gonna find many American breweries making a pale like this 1,027 characters look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5 Bro' got this and gave me one.

Here goes: A: Light, clear brown with sufficient carbonation. Some lacing and an OK head that readily dissipates. Nothing special - generic EPA. S: Generic pale ale. Very grainy but toasty malt (some caramel). Lots of baker's yeast; in fact, the baker's yeast is probably the more prominent flavor. Yeast imparts some fruity, phenolic scents, like in Bass's pale ale. In sum, grainy malt and fruity baker's yeast. T: Follows the nose. Grainy malt followed by bready baker's yeast. Good, but I think Bass is better. F: Toasty, good carbonation. O: Good beer. Nice to kick back with and drink with the folks. 658 characters look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5 Served in two times in half pint glass from 500ml bottle (Tesco), temperature 12°C.

Look: Deep amber colour with thick persistent off-white head Smell: malt and fresh fruit Taste: caramel and grassy, very pleasant bitter aftertaste Feel: medium carbonation, medium body, quite dry and pleasant Overall: pleasant drink, not particularly overwhelming and complex (not a bad thing) like all the beers from Shepherd Neame 423 characters Giuseppina , Nov 01, 2014 4.25/5 rDev +17.1% Spitfire has a big British malt nose with some biscuit, earthiness, treacle and a hint of ripe fruit. It pours brilliant copper brown under a rich, softly bubbled 1" foam cap that produces thick lace. British malts also shine on the palate with creamy dryish biscuit, a hint of chocolate, light fruit, becoming slightly sweet in the middle with light fruit proceeding to a mild bitter and fruit on the finish. Medium body, medium low carbonation 447 characters pat61 , Oct 15, 2014 4.65/5 rDev +28.1% Drank in two servings from a Half pint glass in Northern Ireland (UK).

Poured from a 500ml bottle at 8*C. Appearance – Dark amber with minimal carbon activity in the glass. A single finger of cream head that dies fairly quickly to a lace cover and leaves web lacing down the sides of the glass. Smell – Heavy musty and bitter hop aroma similar to coffee filters is the first and most dominant aroma. This is followed by oak and pine wood. Taste – There is a clear burnt toffee like taste that combined with the bitter coffee element makes this beer taste rather like a coffee cake however in this beer there is a final bitter folourish that is really quite special. At the back there is a final phenolic smokey spice that, to continue the metaphor, is just icing on an already well make cake. Mouthfeel – Reasonably full in the mouth and rather creamy! This beer has long lived linger and a lovely pinch that tingles in the gums and back of the throat for ages. A cracking overall sensation. Overall – This Ale is really special. It is very like a bridge between a standard Ale and a good Bitter. This beer pleases, excites and satisfies in equal measures. I can best describe this by saying it is a great ambassador for British brewing.

1,252 characters 3.25/5 rDev -10.5% look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25 Pours a deep clear amber with a medium off white head. Aroma and Taste is sweet toasted caramel malt and grains, mild fruity notes and light bitterness. Palate is a medium crisp body with good carbonation. Finishes with toasted caramel malt, grains, and a mild hops bitterness. Overall a good easy drinking session brew. 320 characters $39.99 case at Shangy’s in Emmaus, PA Best before Sep 14 11.2 oz bottle at 45 degrees/70degrees into standard pint Aroma cold – none.

Aroma warm slight earthy aroma of Kent hops Head cold - small (2 cm), off white, creamy, rapidly diminishing to 2 mm ring and partial layer Head warm large (6 cm), off white, frothy, slowly diminishing to 2 mm ring and partial layer Lacing cold good – partial rings of mostly tiny to large bubbles the length of the level change Lacing warm good – partial frothy rings 4 mm thick, mostly tiny bubbles Body orange/amber, clear Flavor cold – none Flavor warm – some. Earthy flavor of Kent hops with malt coming through; no alcohol, no diacetyl Palate light to medium, watery, soft carbonation Appearance 3.5, Aroma 2.75, Flavor 2.75, Palate 3, Overall 3. Final weighted score: 2.8625 This bottle’s too cold. This bottle’s too warm. There isn’t one in my hotel room that’s just right. This isn’t my first dance with Spitfire and I must say it didn’t live up to my expectations. Both the flavor and aroma are very weak, not what I like in Kentish ales.

It’s definitely short dated, sometimes marked on the bottle neck, sometimes not. This is not up to the usual standards of Shepherd’s Neame. 1,263 characters Ozzylizard , Aug 24, 2014 3.2/5 rDev -11.8% Poured pint from the Royal Air Force Club on Piccadilly by Hyde Park. No, you can't get in, but feel free to live vicariously through me if you must. Clear amber with half-inch head (overpour in large pint, so head would naturally be thicker with a different pour/glass). Subtle nose...but of musty English hops and biscuit...but not much. Taste had reasonable malt and slight hops, but again, not much backbone. True to style, which personally I find underwhelming, but a pretty good beer. Typical English pub beer for downing a few. Good but not great.

563 characters 3.82/5 rDev +5.2% look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 Brewed originally to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this English Ale is a standout brew that pours a dark amber color with a creamy white head that doesn't dissipate quickly. The taste is a tad hoppy, but not to the point of overpowering with plenty of bitterness and it's a refreshing and pleasant Ale that goes down quickly and demands a second sip straight away. The beer takes its name from the famed fighter aircraft that fought over the skies of Britain during the Second World War. One of the finest English beers I've tried in awhile. 568 characters 3.95/5 rDev +8.8% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4 I am now committed to reducing, if not eradicating, my backlog of bottles. This one was part of a local, in-person trade with tone77.

From the bottle: "The Bottle of Britain"; "This 4.5% Kentish Ale was first brewed in 1990 to celebrate the Battle of Britain which was fought in the skies above Kent 50 years earlier." One wag told me that its unofficial motto is "Spitfire - downed all across England!" Ha! If it is only "Kentish", what might a full-on Kent beer be like? It was a small, 11.2-fl. oz. bottle, so I thought that I could invert it until the pseudo-cascade began and foam began approaching the top of my glass at an alarming rate. It settled into two puffy fingers of tawny head with good retention. Color was a solid amber (SRM = 13) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a soft, buttery quality, undoubtedly from using hard water in its production. Biscuit malts were also present and I watched the head slowly fall, leaving some nice lacing in its wake as I anticipated that first sip. Mouthfeel was medium and the flavor was bready, biscuity, buttery and slightly sweet. I am guessing East Kent Goldings hops for a mild grassiness.

In keeping with the style, this was much more restrained than its American counterparts and as such, was a nice change of pace for yours truly. I rarely truck in either imports or bottles and so this was a rare treat. Its relative mellowness was like a cup of tea after that coffee porter. Warming, the taste took on a nice nuttiness that only enhanced its mellow flavors. Finish was semi-dry and quite refreshing. Well done, lads! 1,581 characters look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5 Modest head with some spots for lace. Gold color and nearly clear. Creamy caramel malt start. Little hop nose. This is quintessential mass produced pale ale from the UK. Low carbonation with a rich body, this beer leans to the malty side. I do catch a modicum of hop flavor in the swallow but it doesn't last long.

318 characters 4.37/5 rDev +20.4% look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 Pours with two fingers of tan, white head. Blood orange color Smells of Malts and earthy Hops. Tastes of Malts and marmalade, with nice earthy Hops and citrus. This is a world class Kentish Ale so glad it is in the states. I love the Plane and I now love the brew named after it! Overall I give it a 4.50 304 characters 4.23/5 rDev +16.5% look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5 This is what beer should look like. Awesome appearance with a deep blood orange/ amber color that begs to be drank. Moving onto the flavor, it's exactly what I would expect. Slight caramel flavor, marmalade and spice. It is smooth and slightly creamy.

This is one of the few British beers with full body flavor and easy to drink that I enjoyed. I hope to see more of this beer now that it is available here in the States. 421 characters 4.36/5 rDev +20.1% look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25 I ordered this one because it was a different style - The Kentish Ale. This was really hard to compare to any other English Style Ales that I have had before. There was a really sweet - deep malty note to this beer but a solid hop not on the back end. Really unique beer and easy to drink with a lower ABV. 306 characters 30 English Ales You Must Have Before You Die - News and Features - Ratebeer 30 English Ales You Must Have Before You Die A summary of some famous English bottled beers Styles & Seasonals February 5, 2004 Written by SilkTork Southampton, United Kingdom, ENGLAND - Beers come and beers go. Breweries open and breweries close.

Todayï¿½s must have brew for which youï¿½ve driven 1,000 miles; been blindfolded, tarred & feathered and led down to the monkï¿½s back toilet; knelt and recited the Clinton Denial Speech three times backwards; and allowed unspeakable things to be done to your body with tangy marmalade, a rubber hose and a donkey, will be tomorrowï¿½s drain pour. That microbrewery rave turns out to be a one-off miracle due to the weekend cleaner dropping his stash into the mash by accident. And that rare Tibetan Llama Pooh Beer really was just that - liquid camel diarrhoea. So what beers are easily available in the bottle and have acquired a name that even a spotty beer novice still drinking with stabilisers would recognise? Well, here are thirty English beers that through a combination of luck, drunken raving and sheer endurance have earned the reputation of classic.

Love them or loathe them - nod knowingly at the subtlety of that hedgehog and whale-oil tang or rant for hours in your pyjamas at the sheer nerve of any brewery to call that gnatï¿½s piss a beer - these are thirty brews you canï¿½t ignore and must face up to trying - at least once, just for sanityï¿½s sake - before you die. 1) Newcastle Brown Ale: Dating back to 1927, this is now the best selling bottled beer in Europe, and is one of Britainï¿½s most well-known brews, famous for being the first Northern-style Brown Ale. Jim Porter, the brewer, had tried for five years to produce a beer to rival the clarity and purity of Bass. Even though he failed, he did come up with something new which has been much-copied since. This Northern Brown Ale is not to be confused with the standard British Brown Ale, which is a Mild beer in a bottle. Expectations of any classic beer are high, but this one disappoints more than most. Drinking it chilled robs it of any character.

There is a ï¿½nutty delicacyï¿½ (Michael Jackson) about it that many drinkers find and enjoy, while others regard it as ï¿½the most overrated beer in the world.ï¿½ (Bov) 2) Bass Ale: Brewed since 1777 in Burton-on-Trent. When dark stouts and porters were the most popular beers, William Bass set out to copy the London brewer Hodgson and make a pale coloured beer. He was fortunate that the waters of the Trent were perfectly suited to his hoppy ale, and soon other brewers flocked to Burton to make the new and successful Pale Ale. When served in the cask, drinkers found this Pale Ale more refreshing than the malt-accented ales they were used to, but also more bitter, so the term Bitter was soon used to describe this popular new beer. When Bass received instructions to supply the troops in India with his Pale Ale, he increased the strength and added extra hops to help it survive the journey. The term India Pale Ale is still used in England to describe a premium bitter. The history and importance of Bass cannot be denied.

But sadly, its quality in the bottle these days is not very good. There are two bottled versions available in Britain. The version called Our Finest Ale is the tastiest and closest version to the original, though even that is not an excellent beer. The version sent to America is stronger, but blander than the British versions. The Belgian version is without a doubt the best of the bottled beers carrying the Bass name.

The blandness of the American version is reflected in Oakes comment: ï¿½English ale for people who donï¿½t actually like the taste of real English ale.ï¿½ While Gusler goes a bit further and in noting that ï¿½it has lost its robustnessï¿½ he cries out that itï¿½s ï¿½a crime to let the pond scum sucking, money-grubbing cretins take over and ruin such a fine breweryï¿½ and that the current brewers should ï¿½burn in Hades with their money as the fuel that feeds Satanï¿½s furnace.ï¿½ 3) Worthington White Shield: Dating back to 1829 and changing brewers several times since then, White Shield is now owned by Coors, though brewed at the mostly autonomous Museum Brewing Company. This is the genuine Burton Pale Ale. When Bass took over the Worthington brewery in 1927 they began to filter and pasteurise their own Bass Pale Ale, but kept this going as an example of the real thing.

Still bottle-conditioned and still produced (though not in great numbers) in Burton-on-Trent, this is, in the words of legion242: ï¿½One of the most amazing things that I have put in my mouth. Positively the best English ale to pass my lips.ï¿½ It has a legendary status in the UK, being for many years one of the few bottle-conditioned ales available, and barmen would pour it carefully with pride and a practised skill to prevent any sediment from reaching the drinkerï¿½s glass. Most who try this rave about it, but billb found a ï¿½borderline sickening aroma,ï¿½ and hey_kevin, while acknowledging it is a ï¿½good beer,ï¿½ just didnï¿½t get on with ï¿½the bakers yeast flavor.ï¿½ 4) Galeï¿½s Prize Old Ale: With its ï¿½dried apricots in vinegarï¿½ flavour (motelpogo) this beer divides opinion.

argo0 sums up the difficult nature of Prize when he says, ï¿½basically, the beer looks like shit and has a crappy mouthfeel, but has a great aroma and decent flavor. Tough beer to rate.ï¿½ England does have a reputation for huge, complex beers that need to be laid down for a few years. Sadly, Thomas Hardyï¿½s Ale and Courage Imperial Russian Stout are no longer made (editorï¿½s note: Thomas Hardyï¿½s is being resurrected this year by Oï¿½Hanlonï¿½s). Prize Old Ale, from the small, regional brewery of George Gale in Hampshire, is the only genuine example still in regular production. Not a beer to be drunk young, unless you want to waste your money, Prize Old Ale is best after 20 years aging. 5) Theakstonï¿½s Old Peculier: Englandï¿½s best-known and most popular Old Ale. Despite the breweryï¿½s insistence on the beerï¿½s long history this is a relative newcomer to the beer world.

Ready to drink and not overly complex, this is a tasty brew which is ï¿½acidic, dry and nicely hopped, leaving a long lasting dry aftertaste.ï¿½ (Gusler) 6) Morland Old Speckled Hen: The yeast for this ale dates back to 1896, though the beer itself dates from 1979 when it was launched on the anniversary of the founding of the MG car factory. The beerï¿½s strength (1050 OG) reveals that it was the 50th anniversary; while the name refers to the old, mud spattered factory runabout which the locals dubbed ï¿½old speckled ï¿½unï¿½. The beer has proved to be so popular that bottled sales are overtaking those of Newcastle Brown in the UK. Big marketing has helped its popularity, but the big marketing only came after it had established a reputation as a quality beer.

Issoroku_Yamamoto found an ï¿½exemplary hop character set off against a strong caramel-ish malt core.ï¿½ But many people, like muzzlehatch, discovered that the clear glass meant it was ï¿½light-struck, skunky of course.ï¿½ 7) Harveyï¿½s Imperial Extra Double Stout: Also known as A. le Coq Imperial Stout, this beer has a long history. As with IPA, Imperial Stout developed its strong flavours in order to survive long journeys. During the 18th century reign of Porter, the stronger ("stout") version was exported to the Baltic region. It was given extra hops and a higher abv in order to survive the journey. A Belgian, A. Le Coq, was the man in charge of these exports. Thraleï¿½s Anchor Breweryï¿½s Entire (the contemporary name for Porter) was the one chosen by A. Le Coq to send to the Empress of Russia. The brewery was eventually bought by Barclay Perkins, and then in 1955 by Courage.

The Courage Imperial Stout is rarely made these days - it hasnï¿½t been brewed since the 1990ï¿½s, and may never be made again. Bottles that do exist can fetch high prices. However, Le Coq was also responsible for another Imperial Stout that does still exist. Because of the high import duties on the beer, Le Coq had arranged to have a version brewed within Russia. Brewing began in 1912 in what is now Estonia. After a few ups and downs, brewing of this famous stout ceased in 1969. However, during the 1990ï¿½s, when it became clear that production of the Courage Imperial Stout had ceased, the Lewes brewery Harvey & Son, with the supervision of the Estonian brewery, Tartu, revived A. Le Coqï¿½s Imperial Extra Double Stout. It is only brewed once a year, and then allowed to age for a couple of years before being released.

It comes in a corked bottle, and some people have reported problems of poor corking, but as ecrvich says, ï¿½when this shit is on, baby, it is *ON*.ï¿½ The beer is very challenging and complex. Bov found it ï¿½not an easy beerï¿½; argo0: ï¿½a complex beer that takes some doingï¿½; PhillyBeer: ï¿½dense, and difficult to isolate flavoursï¿½. But joet discovered that this beast ï¿½isnï¿½t a self-starter;ï¿½ it requires some work to get through krisbierjaegerï¿½s ï¿½primordial swamp ooze comprised of composting dinosaurs and rubber trees crushed and baked for a geological age or two under the weight of the continental mantleï¿½ to MartinTï¿½s ï¿½glassful of lustï¿½. 8) Robinsonï¿½s Old Tom : An Old Ale is a tricky style to pin down. At its simplest it is an aged beer, sometimes mixed with a younger beer, and often has an oaky, wine quality.

It can be close in style to a barley wine, but is more complex than that. Old Tom is a famous Old Ale, its initial production going back to an unknown date around the start of the 1900ï¿½s. The cat on the label is Old Tom himself, the Robinsonï¿½s original brewery cat. This is not a big selling beer, but it is hugely respected, winning Supreme Champion at the CAMRA Winter Beers 2000 festival. These days the brewery calls Old Tom a Barley Wine as Old Ale seems to have slipped out of fashion. Not everyone likes it, Nuffield found it a ï¿½flat and more unpleasant blend of ale, barley wine and bitterï¿½, but TrappistAlesRule ï¿½loved the sweet/acidic interplay.ï¿½ Less assertive than most beers of this strength, Old Tom will yield up its treasures to those who look for something more interesting than simple strength. SilkTork Rating: 4/5 - A must try World Classic.

9) Wadworth 6X: The Wadworth brewery was founded in 1875 and still delivers its beers around Devizes in a horse-drawn cart. The 6X, however, a traditional bitter thatï¿½s been brewed in the same manner for over 80 years, was taken up in the 1980ï¿½s and marketed first by Whitbread - who wanted to buy the brand outright, but Wadworth sensibly refused to sell, and then by Interbrew who eventually sold the rights to 6X back to the brewery. Though the beer is big in the UK - popular both on cask and in the bottle and found in every shop - it is not exported to America.

Roger Protz acknowledges that itï¿½s ï¿½a brilliant example of traditional ale at its best.ï¿½ The aroma is quite a feature, Nigos has got it down as: ï¿½wood, toilet water and rotten egg.ï¿½ While austinpowers found that it: ï¿½smells like asparagus pee.ï¿½ 10) Mackeson Stout: The XXX that is exported to America has a higher abv than the original British milk stout which is 3% abv. Because of its low strength, sweet taste and supposed nutritional value, Mackeson has long been a beer associated with little old ladies. However, it was originally marketed at pregnant and nursing mothers. In the early 1900ï¿½s many stouts, including Guinness, were marketed as being ï¿½Good For Youï¿½.

Mackesonï¿½s famous line was ï¿½It looks good, it tastes good, and by golly it does you good!ï¿½ The British government decided to clamp down on brewers marketing their products as being healthy and put a ban on the name ï¿½Milk Stoutï¿½ - but the milk association is still there in the picture of a milk churn on the label! Mackeson was a Kent brewery that was taken over by various other companies until the brand name ended up in the hands of Interbrew. Now available mostly in the can, bottles can still be had in some pubs. Not many people have experienced the delicacy of the original 3% beer; of the few that have, Joeh noticed the ï¿½light coffee and chocolate flavours,ï¿½ while Ol_Juntan_64 got the ï¿½faint deep roasted malt and vegetable soup stock aroma.ï¿½ 11) Courage Russian Imperial Stout: Probably the most revered English ale, with well-aged examples fetching over $100 at auction. For those who donï¿½t mind spending money on a fine ale, bottles are sometimes available on E-bay.

And for those able to get across to the Kulminator in Antwerp, you can get ï¿½a 6-pack of the 1983 ... for $7!ï¿½ (squidget). There is debate among those who know about this sort of thing and have tried a few vintages as to which year is the best - but much depends on the quality of storage. Itï¿½s availability at this yearï¿½s GBBF is a promising sign that it could return to regular production. Oakes has the 1983 vintage down as ï¿½one of the top 5 bottles of beer Iï¿½ve ever had.ï¿½ but austinpowers found the same year to be ï¿½A pretty big disappointment.ï¿½ aofoxxy also had a bad experience, summing it up as ï¿½FLAT SOUR GRAPES.ï¿½ Big hype, high prices and small samples are a dodgy combination. Approach with care.

12) Charles Wells Bombardier: The Charles Wells Brewery was founded in 1875 when Charles Wells took over an existing brewery which had been in operation since 1816. The beer is named after ï¿½Bombardierï¿½ Billy Wells, the first British heavyweight boxer to win the Lonsdale Belt, back in 1911. Billy Wells is the man seen banging a huge gong at the start of old Rank films. Many notable British beer writers including Jackson and Protz, have written favourably about this beer. DougShoemaker describes it as ï¿½malty and mellow,ï¿½ but fiulijn was disappointed by the ï¿½simple taste,ï¿½and found it ï¿½a bit metallic.ï¿½ 13) Lees Harvest Ale: J.W. Lees are a Manchester brewery of some distinction; founded in 1828 they are still family owned. The annual Harvest Ale was started in 1985 and has been issued every year since.

This is a beer overladen with flavours, ecrvich found ï¿½notes of alcohol, apple, cinnamon, prune, raisin, date, brown sugar, toffee, and tawny port.ï¿½ Cobra inhaled deeply to discover that: ï¿½every kind of fruit you can imagine was present in the nose of this beer. Kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, and I smelled the mint notes as well.ï¿½ DaSilky1 enthused that it is: ï¿½a black licorice lovers freakin wet dream ... simply amazing.ï¿½ But not everyone likes it, marinaro500 reported that it ï¿½ tastes so close to corn syrup that I poured the rest down the drain.ï¿½ Oakes, however, neatly sums it up with: ï¿½Great balance - a quintessential English barley wine.ï¿½ 14) Manns Original Brown Ale: The Southern England brown ales are mild ales bottled with bit of extra sugar - and Manns is the first and original brown ale.

Sweet and malty and ï¿½like a schwarzbierï¿½ as austinpowers points out, this ï¿½coca cola with a kickï¿½ (RichardGretton) was developed in 1902 at the Albion Brewery in Whitechapel by Mann, Crossman and Paulin. At first this new style of beer with its modest alcohol and gentle, rounded roasty sweetness was out of step with public demand. But this ï¿½sweet & maltyï¿½ (Joeh) beer, rich in calcium chloride from the chalky downs and ideally suited to London water, took off like a rocket in the 1920ï¿½s when it was marketed as ï¿½the sweetest beer in Londonï¿½. As Geoff Callum writes: ï¿½It was the right product at the right time. Its low gravity attracted low taxation in an era of low prosperity, while the full flavour made it a reassuring beer in difficult times.ï¿½ Now mostly drunk by little old ladies, it is in danger of being phased out as drinkers turn to lighter, crisper beers, or dark ales pumped up with alcohol steroids.

As rauchbier says, ï¿½At 2.8% abv, you would get more of a buzz from drinking coffee.ï¿½ But for those who have climbed down from the trees, and whose knuckles donï¿½t scrape the floor as they walk, this may prove to be a yummy little gem. Drink it as a piece of brewing history, or drink it for the flavoursome and fascinating beer it is. 15) Marstonï¿½s Pedigree: Brewed using the famous Burton Union system of linked oak casks in the room that Protz called a "cathedral of brewing - vast, echoing chambers where the only sound is the hiss of fermenting beer.ï¿½ The yeast likes the open wood casks and doesnï¿½t work in modern containers. When Bass switched to modern equipment in the 1980ï¿½s they also had to switch yeast, which may be why Bass fails to live up to its historic acclaim. Although all Burton ales were once made using the Union system, only Marstonï¿½s still continue to do so.

Pedigree is still made in the manner that made Burtonï¿½s Pale Ales famous across the world. As far as Oakes is concerned this is ï¿½One of the finest pints in England.ï¿½ But as eczematic observes there are ï¿½no sharp edges to this beer, itï¿½s all rounded and a bit muted.ï¿½ Nuffield in his calm, dignified manner steps in the middle and sums it up nicely: ï¿½A beer about which there is some divergence of opinion. Mellow enough that I had a hard time distinguishing flavors, although I had a sense of woodiness.ï¿½ 16) Thomas Hardyï¿½s Ale: Brewed by Eldridge Pope as a one off celebration of the writer Thomas Hardy in 1968 this proved so popular it was decided to continue brewing on a regular basis.

The recipe was an attempt to recreate the Dorchester Ale that Hardy loved and described as: ï¿½of the most beautiful colour that the eye of an artist in beer could desire; full in body, yet brisk as a volcano; piquant, yet without a twang; luminous as an autumn sunset; free from streakiness of taste; but, finally rather heady." Bottles dated 1968 cost the same as Ethiopiaï¿½s national debt and can be used to pay for trips into space on Russian rockets, but other vintages are within the financial reach of the beer obsessed. ecrvich found aromas similar to those in Lees Harvest Ale: ï¿½notes of alcohol, cask wood, tawny port, sherry, apple, prune, peach, plum, brown sugar, nutmeg, etcï¿½ But not everyone enjoys it - it gets slammed a few times, and a typical example comes from Kevbo: ï¿½I had a bottle of the 1997 vintage and one word describes it...swill. Maybe piss too.

Look at prostmanï¿½s description of it.H he thought it was good because he was already messed up when he drank it.Take it from me, you want a good barley wine go for a Bigfoot Ale. Itï¿½s ten times better.ï¿½ Ringo has extensive knowledge of this beer and has come to the conclusion that ï¿½Hardyï¿½s is best around 4-5 years old. The newer ones are a little raw, and the older ones are too thick and syrupy, and generally oxidized.ï¿½ 17) Whitbread Gold Label: Gold Label is Englandï¿½s best-known barley wine. Long before super-strength lagers took over, Gold Label was the favoured kick in the head. Although barley wine only really emerged as a style in its own right toward the end of the 19th century, brewers had always made a strong beer for mixing with younger ales in the Old Ale tradition. Although these strong ales were not offered for sale to the public, there was a brewery custom of offering employees a nip of the strong stuff at Christmas time.

Gold Label, with its attractive pale gold appearance, was the first pale barley wine to be offered to the public in small bottles. The original market would have been the well-to-do such as retired colonels and barking-mad lords of the manor. Somehow, over the years, the customers have shifted down-market, so that this has become the drink of tramps and old ladies with no teeth nor knickers. neilrichards found there was ï¿½a bit of spice about it,ï¿½ and rauchbier discovered a ï¿½raisin and fruitcake bodyï¿½. But like most others, leaparsons found it, ï¿½syrupy and sweet with not much finish.ï¿½ 18) Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild: Milds these days are low alcohol beers, but that wasnï¿½t always the case. The term Mild refers to subdued hopping rather than alcohol strength, and - as this beer brewed to an original 1921 recipe shows - the original Milds could be quite strong. Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild clocks in at a very respectable 6%.

The beer is brewed behind the Beacon Hotel in the Midlands - and the Midlands is the home of Mild. The Beacon Hotel brewpub started up in the 1860ï¿½s, though Sarah Hughes didnï¿½t take over until 1921. Brewing stopped after her death, until her grandson, John Hughes, revived it in 1987, quickly establishing Ruby Mild as a classic beer. joet enthuses, ï¿½This is closer to a faro and not like anything Iï¿½ve tasted. Itï¿½s challenging, complex and rewarding.ï¿½ But some, like CaptainCougar, complain that ï¿½the body is very thin and watery.ï¿½ 19) Shepherd Neame Bishopï¿½s Finger: Shepherd Neame proudly declare themselves to be Britainï¿½s oldest brewery (dating from 1698), though the Shepherd family only took over in 1741.

However, Youngï¿½s assert that they are Britainï¿½s oldest by stating that ï¿½traditional draught bitter has been produced on the site of Youngï¿½s brewery since 1581.ï¿½ Adnamï¿½s have a counter-claim that they should be Britainï¿½s oldest brewery as brewing has taken place on the same site since 1345. The jury is still out. However, Bishopï¿½s Finger was launched in the 1980ï¿½s as a bottled beer but proved so popular that Sheps also put it out in a cask version. The bishopï¿½s finger is the name of a style of Kentish signpost rather than the ï¿½nunï¿½s delightï¿½ by which some locals refer to it. JPDIPSO got some ï¿½hints of raisins, licorice and vanilla.ï¿½ Duff, in his straight to the point style, declares it ï¿½pretty darn goodï¿½.

20) Sam Smithï¿½s Nut Brown Ale: Sam Smithï¿½s being a favourite of the young Michael Jackson, he featured the brewery strongly in his 1970ï¿½s classic The World Guide to Beer - a book that the USA-based wine importer Merchant du Vin found so inspiring they decided to start importing beers featured in MJï¿½s book. The result is that many of the fledgling American craft brewers based their beer styles on these early, Sam Smithï¿½s dominated, imports. At the last count I noticed something like 90 different beers produced in America under the name Nut Brown Ale. If you drink an American Nut Brown today it is thanks to this often ï¿½skunkedï¿½ (Dogbrick) and ï¿½overpricedï¿½ (urbnhautebourg) original.

Many feel that in comparison with the American interpretation Sam Smithï¿½s original is not quite right - as aceofhearts puts it: ï¿½the nutty taste just didnï¿½t mix with the maltiness right.ï¿½ Comparisons are also made with Newcastle Brown - duff found it ï¿½much betterï¿½ because there was ï¿½no disgusting butter taste.ï¿½ And as far as Volgon is concerned, ï¿½You couldnï¿½t ask for a smoother beer,ï¿½ but ï¿½you could ask for more taste though.ï¿½ 21) Sam Smithï¿½s Old Brewery Pale Ale: Select any of the Sam Smiths products and they come across as well behaved interpretations of the style named on the bottle - there will be rougher, more interesting examples around, but at least Sam Smiths are tasty and reliable. And, as with the other Sam Smiths products, this Pale Ale sparked a revolution in American craft brewing. The Old Brewery in Tadcaster still uses the Yorkshire stone square system, which allows the yeast to get plenty of access to the air.

Thriving in this atmosphere the yeast develops a fruity acidic quality, the hallmark of a classic English bitter, and adds a noticeable third flavour component to the malts and hops. Indra found an ï¿½amazing balance and interplay of flavors,ï¿½ while Aurelius asks you to ï¿½pull up a chair and enjoy.ï¿½ 22) Double Maxim: First brewed in 1901 by Vaux brewery to celebrate the coming home from the Boer War of the soldiers of the Maxim Machine Gun Unit of the Northumberland Hussars led by Major Ernest Vaux, son of the brewery owner. Pre-dating the launch of the ï¿½firstï¿½ Northern style brown ale by 21 years, this muddy pale ale was not named a brown ale until after Newcastle Brown became popular. The Vaux brewery closed down in 1999, but the beer was saved when two of the breweryï¿½s managers set up the Double Maxim Brewery Company a year later especially to keep Double Maxim alive. Brewing is done at Robinsonï¿½s Manchester brewery under supervision of the Vaux Breweryï¿½s ex-head brewer.

joet noted ï¿½some sour and apple tones and some dusty hop character.ï¿½ beerguy101 felt that the finish was ï¿½champagne like,ï¿½ BeerLimey enthused about the ï¿½raisin plum aroma with mild smokiness,ï¿½ and found the ï¿½flavors sweet, a little chocolaty with subtle fruit cake notes.ï¿½ But DaSilky1 gets to the important point when he declares that itï¿½s ï¿½cheaper than Newcastle.ï¿½ 23) Hook Nortonï¿½s Old Hooky: Hook Norton is a good traditional brewery still using steam engines to help make the beer, and horses to deliver it to pubs in the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside. Old Hooky has established itself as a classic premium bitter alongside Abbot Ale and Bishopï¿½s Finger as one to linger over rather than just throw down the back of the neck.

omhper found it a ï¿½very fresh and exceptionally fruity cask ale.ï¿½ And eczematic noted, ï¿½big herbal hop flavours mingle with rich fruity flavours (mango, pawpaw?) ï¿½ 24) Fullerï¿½s ESB: Fullerï¿½s is claimed by Michael Jackson as one of Britainï¿½s two world class breweries - the other being Youngï¿½s. He obviously hasnï¿½t been drinking enough of Woodfordeï¿½s beers! The ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, denoting a premium bitter. A premium ale in Britain can go under a variety of names depending on tradition and location - IPA, Pale Ale, Strong Ale, Special, Country, County, Best, Extra Special, etc - each mean the same thing, a bitter with a fuller body and higher alcohol than the Ordinary session bitter, but they are not styles in their own right.

The influence of Fullerï¿½s ESB as an import into America, however, has caused over 100 breweries to produce a beer with the name ESB, suggesting that there is something distinctive about Fullerï¿½s interpretation of a premium bitter. alcfron says that this is ï¿½the ESB that I use as a standard for comparison;ï¿½ Kaya161 ï¿½the quintessential British bitter,ï¿½ and ravidesai ï¿½the classic ESB,ï¿½ so there must be something in it. Aubrey goes into detail with: ï¿½complex malts get all the attention in this beer. Caramel-toffee goodness! And maybe even a little peanut brittle?ï¿½ But bierkoning is a little fickle with his affections: ï¿½Sorry my love, I still like you, but I have another sweetheart brew now!ï¿½ 25) Fullerï¿½s London Porter: Porter belongs to London, so it is appropriate that one of Londonï¿½s famous breweries does an example of it.

The Pitfield brewery does a more authentic example, and it is brewed in the right area - only about 500 yards from The Old Blue Last, the first pub to actually sell porter (though these days it only sells keg beers and lager). There is no clear evidence for which came first, stout or porter - however, the term stout, meaning a strong beer, predates porter by some thirty years. The beer that came to be known as porter was first made by Ralph Harwood of the Bell Brewery in Shoreditch, and he named it Entire. It was a ready mixed version of the ï¿½three threadsï¿½ beer that was popular at that time. ï¿½Three threadsï¿½ was a blend of cheap, low alcohol, highly hopped beer (possibly Bitter or Small Ale); expensive, sweet, high alcohol but mildly hopped beer (either Mild or Stout - take your pick!) and an older, stale ï¿½stockï¿½ beer (possibly thinner and weaker than a traditional Old Ale) that would add an acidic, wine quality. It is the addition of that stale beer with its oaky, acidic, winey and refreshing notes that marks a porter out from a stout.

The ingredients of the original porters would vary, including at various times tobacco, hemp and poisonous berries - but it was the stale beer, in which the brewers invested vast sums of money to build the huge vats in which the beer was aged, that was a constant. The actual nature of the mouthfeel of this beer creates interest - jazz88 has it as, ï¿½a very smooth porter that does not overwhelm;ï¿½ PsychProf enthuses that it is, ï¿½creamy, creamy, and yet still more creaminess;ï¿½ but pivo feels that it is ï¿½thinner than expected and kind of monodimensional.ï¿½ Ol_Juntan_64, meanwhile, reflects that, ï¿½perhaps any bigger bodied or thicker a texture would possibly make it too cloying.ï¿½ 26) Youngï¿½s Double Chocolate Stout: Stouts often have chocolate flavours, usually gained from the chocolate malt, but this monster also contains chocolate essence and real bars of Cadburyï¿½s chocolate melted into the final boil (the colour of the label is the same as the wrappers on Cadburyï¿½s chocolate).

Despite this over-abundance of chocolate, MartinT obviously felt cheated when he noted that ï¿½the name sounded much more fun;ï¿½. However, he wasnï¿½t the only one who found this stout lacked in chocolate; Lizabeth cries, ï¿½Whereï¿½s the chocolate? I couldnï¿½t smell or taste any in this brew.ï¿½ Meanwhile others raved about how much there was; Sigmund says, ï¿½Aroma is all chocolate ... loads of chocolate but never sickly.ï¿½ But it was the promise of so much chocolate which prompted legion242 to claim that itï¿½s ï¿½a great way to get chicks to drink a stout.ï¿½ But one notable chick with a good taste in beer, Yogi_Beera, lamented that it had ï¿½a watery finish,ï¿½ which was, ï¿½too bad. You want to have this chocolate feeling for longer in your mouth!ï¿½ 27) Batemanï¿½s XXXB: Batemanï¿½s is a third generation family brewery dating back to 1874.

XXXB was first brewed in the 1980ï¿½s and quickly established itself as a British real ale classic. In fact, it was due to increased sales when XXXB won the first of its six CAMRA awards that allowed the brewery to remain independent. The three Xï¿½s show that this is a premium bitter - an X has long been used in British brewing to indicate strength; the more Xï¿½s, the higher the strength. A few people, such as Hopistotle420, noticed the ï¿½nice bittering and herbs in the finish.ï¿½ Others, like Spiesy, picked out the ï¿½sweet honeycomb aroma, raisins & prunes, soaked in rum or brandy.ï¿½ While for omhper this beer ï¿½more or less defines the style strong bitter in my point of view.ï¿½ 28) Greene Kingï¿½s Abbot Ale: Greene King first brewed Abbot Ale during the 1950ï¿½s and its popularity has never waned. Abbot Ale gets its name from the connection between brewing and the great Abbey of St Edmundsbury.

There has been brewing in Bury St Edmunds since at least as far back as 1086 when cerevisiarii - or alebrewers - were chronicled in the Domesday Book as servants of the Abbot. Reports vary according to container, but not surprisingly the top ratings tend to come from those who had it cask conditioned while the lowest ratings are mostly from those who had it from the widget can. In fact DrunkAsASkunk starts his rating of the can with ï¿½Ok, Iï¿½ve spent a couple of minutes here trying to figure out what the hell this one is all about but i just about give up.ï¿½ and concludes with ï¿½canned products that have widgets just suck!!!ï¿½ Many comment on bottle versus can or can versus cask, such as ravidesai who discovers that itï¿½s ï¿½better on draft than the nitro can.ï¿½ Meanwhile, ClarkVV gives a detailed account of the beer itself: ï¿½Opens up full and malty, with some fruit tones making their way in quickly - cherry, peach, maybe a tiny bit of orange.

There is a brief glimpse of hops (very brief) and something more than that, a sugary yet spicy flavor that I canï¿½t name (very fleeting, maybe apple blossom?).ï¿½ 29) Everards Tiger: Everards are a Leicester brewery founded in 1849 who, like many other breweries, went over to keg production in the 1960ï¿½s, and stopped making real ale entirely. However, with the success of the CAMRA campaign, Everards went back to brewing real ale in 1975, and this zingy citric bitter, named after the local rugby team, has now acquired a reputation its flavour does not seem to deserve. Spiesy declared it ï¿½thinly flavoured with a thin unimpressive body.ï¿½ While Oakes concludes that ï¿½it seems the most popular English ales are always the blandish, malt-accented ones.

To each his own I guess.ï¿½ But austinpowers found that ï¿½after sampling several lackluster UK microbrews, Iï¿½m finally eager to partake in an ale worthy of all the CAMRA hype.ï¿½ 30) Badgerï¿½s Tanglefoot: The badger has been the symbol for the Dorset based Hall & Woodhouse brewery since 1875, nearly 100 years after the brewery was founded in 1777. In Dorset the pub signs still have the Hall & Woodhouse name, but in the bottle the beers are always called Badger. The name Tanglefoot supposedly came about when the head brewer stumbled after sampling a few pints of his new creation. Michael Jackson regards it as "a robust and delicious brew," but Oakes counters with a claim that it is ï¿½very simplistic.ï¿½ Most non-British raters agree with Oakes, while most British raters seem to side with Jackson.

Quaffmeister, a British rater, states ï¿½I love this beer on draught, but was disappointed with the bottled version.ï¿½ An opinion shared by myself when I said, ï¿½I love this on draught where it is less bitter, and more like an old ale.ï¿½ However, a reputation gained in the cask can often lead to increased sales of the bottled version, despite a drop in quality - and this has happened to this beer. So there you are - 30 classic English bottled ales. Each style of traditional English ale is represented in this sample from all areas of Englandï¿½s green and pleasant land. Not all the beers are well known beyond the White Cliffs of Dover, and not all are to my taste - but anyone who has drunk all 30 can claim they have a grasp of Englandï¿½s mainstream beer tradition. A tradition upon which both the English and the American micro-breweries were launched. A tradition in which modern styles of English beers are now merging with that of the classic styles from Belgian, the Czech Republic, and to a lesser extent Germany and the USA, but can still hold its head up high on the world stage.

A tradition of which the English are very proud. How many have you tried? ................................................................

Question: In which English county is Shepherd Neame brewery?
Answer: Kent