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 very good and now they sell them all.

Anyway, for this review we have Dark Hare. It headlines as: ‘Our Deliciously Wholesome Stout’. Dark Hare is 4.0%.

Bottle notes say it has ‘… a roasted barley aroma, a deep, dark colour, and a smooth-yet-dry taste’ and that Dark Hare ‘… uses a blend of dark roasted malts and the Fuggles hop’.

It certainly does live up to its bottle notes. This is a lovely porter indeed and I could drink it all night every night. Many stouts are a bit chocolatey and it kind of makes bottled stouts very predictable and not something I usually go for – but this one has no chocolate aftertaste at all – which makes it far more drinkable.

It’s a very smooth stout too and – although the brewery suggest it be served cool, mine is kitchen temperature – just the way I like it.

If you like stout (and I don’t mean that Extra Cold nonsense from Dublin) then you’ll love this bottle. I’d put this in my top ten bottles and score it 4.5 out of 5. It only doesn’t get 5 because there is another Bath Ales bottle that I like more – review on its way!