To celebrate my 42nd birthday at the weekend, Brad and I bought up nearly all the ales in Tesco.

Among the selection was Tesco Finest Belgian Wheat Beer. Although I have sworn allegiance to Ocado you clearly can’t buy this beer from them – so sorry guys – please don’t fire me!

Label headlines tell us this will be ‘… fruity and aromatic with a crisp finish’.

Bottle notes go on to say ‘… this traditional cloudy beer is light and highly refreshing with a hint of coriander, bitter orange and mixed spice’. Good with fish and seafood apparently.

So – the verdict?

It’s a bit ordinary. Mine was cold – straight from the fridge. Although you could drink lots of this on a hot day, you probably wouldn’t because there is just so much more out there that actually tastes of something.

Yes it’s refreshing – you do pick up the orange and the coriander – but it just doesn’t have enough substance. It probably would go well with seafood as it would be unlikely to overpower anything apart from water.

I’d give it 2 out of 5 – but only because I needed a drink – and it isn’t nasty. I’m sure there’s a place for this – but it’s just a bit Hoegarden for me.

Mug, originally uploaded by LondonBrad.

This is not what Tony calls me, but for the international of you, it’s a kind of mug that’s–depressingly–less common in British pubs these days. Whilst I love the way they look, they are a little ungainly and really don’t look right unless you’re smoking a pipe. Quite a few pubs keep them behind the bar and will only serve you in them on request. So if you fancy a retro look whilst supping a pint of Best, go for it.

St Austell Admiral Ale won Supreme Champion in the International Beer Challenge 2008.

This ale celebrates Nelson’s 200th anniversary at Trafalgar in 1805. Apparently ‘… it was St Austell’s Blue Anchor Inn that the King’s messenger carrying news of the bottle, first stopped for refreshment on his long journey from Cornwall to London’.

Anyway, this premium bottle conditioned ale has been brewed with Cornish Gold malt.

Bottle notes tell is this is ‘… a truly complex beer to savour, best enjoyed when decanted carefully leaving the sediment behind’. Oops! I should have read that before I poured it – but there is nothing here leaving lumps in your ale. Nothing at all.

This ale is brewed with both Styrian Golding and Cascade hops which gives the ale a deep bronze colour and a biscuity flavour and a spicy aroma.

Oh and it’s a 5.0% ale.

The verdict? It’s not hard to understand why this ale has won awards. It’s fruity, malty and downright gorgeous. I’m not really sure what ‘biscuity’ means (I don’t eat biscuits) but it’s irrelevant to me. It’s really great. I’m just upset that I only have one bottle.

This is a great bottle. I’m going to check out hostelries in Cornwall because I can’t imagine how great this would be on tap (if they do that).

I’d score this 4.5+ out of 5. I doubt I’ll find a bottle as good as this for a long time. It really hits the spot and ticks all the boxes. Get some !

Whenever I am in a Fullers pub I usually go straight for the draught ESB and drink it until I can drink no more.

ESB has been winning award for years – twice voted World Champion Bitter, three times voted Champion Beer of Britain, and is acknowledged around the world as a one of the World’s Greatest Beers.

This ale is strong. 5.9%. If you’re in a pub watching rugby or some other 90 minute sport you fail to realise the affect this will have on you as the pints come pouring in while you are distracted by the TVs.

Bottle notes say “… smooth, full bodied and bursting with flavour, with marmalade fruitness throughout’. Also that ‘… rich malty notes are balanced by a unique blend of Northdown, Target, Challenger and Goldings hops’.

I love ESB on tap – and ESB in the bottle is equally good once you’ve knocked the gas out.

Their bottle notes are spot on. This is truly smooth and full bodied and certainly does have an orange twang to it.

I love this ale but I tend to not to buy the bottles – maybe out of complacency more than anything. You know this is a good ale so you try and find others that are up to its standard – so sometimes you just forget about it.

This really is a great bottle and could not score less that 4+ out of 5. It’s hard to be objective because I’ve drunk this ale for so long that I have just gotten used to it and taken it for granted.

If you’ve never had it – get some.

Hook Norton Haymaker is a 5.0% Pale Ale.

Headlining as a ‘… distinctive pale ale’, this ale is brewed with Goldings Hops is one of those that sits in the ‘take it or leave it’ category for me.

This isn’t dissimilar to having a Cobra or another of those beers you get in an Indian restaurant and I am sure that – served chilled – this would be great with a curry.

I thought it was a bit too gassy for my liking and – even after giving it a few minutes degassing with a fork – was just a bit too gassy for me.

It’s got a nice bitter taste with a sweet honey after-taste (it isn’t honey but it’s something like that) but it’s just a bit too gassy for me and I was too impatient for it to go flat.

It’s an OK ale – 3 out of 5. As I’ve said before, the more malty, flat ales are more my cup of tea – but this one just doesn’t float my boat.

I’ve always steered clear of Discovery when I’ve been in a Fullers pub. Obvious reasons are usually the alternatives – one being ESB – but also my ale snobbery makes me not want to drink something that looks like lager.

Discovery is a Blonde ale head-lining simply as ‘Refreshing’.

Bottle notes tell us ‘…this superb premium blonde beer is the perfect combination of unbeatable flavour and refreshment’. Also, it has ‘… a unique blend of malted barley and wheat for a delicious malty taste bursting with rich, biscuity flavours’.

The ale is made with Liberty hops which give the ale a ‘… zesty character and fruity bite’ and Saaz hops which add ‘… gentle bitterness for a clean, refreshing finish’.

That’s a lot of bottle notes ! But the verdict?

This 4.5% Blonde ale certainly is refreshing – and was necked in next to no time. In fairness I have been pruning trees with a not so sharp saw – so I needed it – but it really is refreshing. It’s subtly malty and a nice hint of bitterness. Very enjoyable – and spot on for a sunny day in the garden.

I’d give this a 3.5 out of 5. Nice bottle indeed.

Drinking ale at home, originally uploaded by aleFinder.

Essential equipment for drinking at home. Ales just don’t taste right out of anything but a pint glass (or mug). Personally, I really don’t like the metallic taste of pewter tankards either.

Sunday and still sunny and – I know a lot of people aren’t – but I am loving the lack of aeroplanes in the sky. I can listen to music and garden without comstant background noise.

Today’s first bottle is Fullers 1845. 1845 headlines as ‘… matured to perfection for 100 days’.

1845 is pretty strong at 6.5% and has won many awards as a strong ale.

Bottle notes say ‘… being bottle conditioned and matured for at least 100 days before being released for sale, helps bring out the delicious fruit cake aroma from the amber malt and Goldings hops’.

And that ‘… this time allows wonderfully complex, yet smooth and mellow flavours to develop’.

1845 is recommended with rich foods like game. I’ve got a very rich Bolognaise on the go right now courtesy of a Valentina Harris recipe but it will be gone by the time it is ready !

This is the first of the Fullers bottles that I is too gassy out of the bottle for me – and even after I’ve knocked the gas out I had to leave it for a while before it was ready for me to enjoy. I wonder if it is as gassy on the pump. I’ll have to find out.

I don’t mind this ale but it isn’t as good as the previous two Fullers I’ve reviewed this week. You can tell it is strong and it is a bit too bitter for me. I can certainly pick up the fruity taste and aromas but it just ranks lower than the Old Winter Ale for me. I obviously can’t compare it to the Honeydew as they are totally different ales.

It’s nice – but not nice enough to score more than a 3 out of 5 for me. Sorry Fullers.

Bottle Three today is Fullers Organic Honeydew.

Honeydew is a ‘… refreshing golden beer’ and is 5%.

Bottle notes say ‘… this award winning premium beer is delightfully sweet, golden and refreshing’. Apparently it is ‘… the UKs leading organically produced ale’.

Honeydew is brewed ‘ …using English malts and the finest honey to give a mellow, rounded character which is deliciously balanced with zesty hops’.

There’s even a recipe idea on the bottle – which I’ll mention sometime if it turns out to be any good.

Fullers recommend you drink this cold – but mine is at room temperature and the taste of honey is amazing. I doubt it would be so full on if it was colder.

It is incredibly refreshing – perfect for today’s sunny day – and it is hard to believe it is a 5% ale. No sooner had I opened this than I had drunk it. It is certainly mellow and I reckon you could easily drink too many of these and be hammered before you knew it. It is just so easy to drink.

This is definitely an ale for a sunny day in the garden or at a BBQ.

Fullers do some great bottles (I have 1845 and ESB for later) and this is one of them. I imagine some people might be put off by the name and the label – but you shouldn’t. This is a great ale.

I’d score this 4 out of 5.

I know it seems like I am drinking a lot lately – but gardening and DIY is thirsty work and the weather just right for ale.

Another St Austell – this time Tribute – headlines as ‘… The South West’s favourite’. and ‘… a delicious beer that captures the essential character of Cornwall’.

I’ve not been to Cornwall yet – but if they have St Austell on tap down there it might not be a bad idea to take a drive down there one weekend !

Tribute comes in at 4.2% – so not too heavy – and is very moreish. I thought this before I read the bottle notes – which say ‘…Tribute is a moreishly drinkable beer’.

Further label notes say Tribute has ‘… delicious, full bodied malt flavours and a citrus aroma’.

Tribute is brewed with Cornish Spring water, Cornish Gold and Maris Otter, Fuggle, Willamette and Styrian Golding hops. That’s a lot of different hops.

There is certainly an orange aroma to this ale and this carried through in the taste of the ale. This ale is neither bitter nor sweet and is just so drinkable. It’s malty, fruity and hoppy – everything I love in an ale.

This is another 4+ out of 5 ale for me. I’m going to have to revise my scoring or I’ll never be able to have a top 5.