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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Saturday and the sun is out and I’m out in the garden with a nice bottle of Clouded Yellow.
Up until this bottle came along, my only exposure to Wheat beer was that Hoegarden stuff which I didn’t really have a lot of time for.
This St Austell wheat beer is a far different kettle of fish.
Worth [...]

My three favourite bottle brewers right now would have to be Bath Ales, Hook Norton and St Austell.
St Austell make some cracking bottles. And their HSD is no exception. It is ‘… a traditionally brewed Strong Cornish Ale’ that comes in at 5%.
HSD stands for Hicks Special Draught – and is named after the Brewery’s [...]

It’s the weekend !
While people are stranded at airports and worrying about who to vote for in the election, my only real concern right now is what bottle of ale I am going to crack open first.
Hook Norton Brewery are based in Oxfordshire and I’ve previously sampled most of their range and Tweeted about [...]

Brad and I have previously raved about the Bath Ales via Twitter, both out of the bottle and on the pump. I figured it was time to write a proper review.
I became familiar with the Bath ales when the Trading manager at Ocado gave me a selection of their range to sample. They were all [...]

My local Farm Shop (yes I live out in the country) sells City of Cambridge Brewery ales.
Hobson’s Choice is one of the 4 bottles I bought last time I was there. Atom Splitter, Parker’s Porter and Boathouse Bitter are the other ones I’ll try sometime soon.
Hobson’s Choice headlines as a light golden ale with [...]