RCH Brewery - Firebox 6%

Taste: It tastes like not much. But it's strong. It tastes like its doing me wrong. Some sweet toffee flavours in there somewhere. I'll score this after I've finished it.

Appearance: red panda

Would you buy 2? Yes!

Would you buy 4? Maybe too strong for one sitting.

Rating (out of 7): 4**** not without tasty bits

The Kernel Brewery - IPA Double Citra 9.7%

Taste: Wow!!!! Zing!!! Too much flavour! Time travel taste buds. The smell is wonderful. If I drank a litre of this I'd come through the other side and the curse would be broken.

Appearance: Cloudy tagine dish.

Would you buy 2? Yes

Would you buy 4? Yes, to impress my guests or a lover.

Rating (out of 7): 6***** double threes all round.

Tiny Rebel - Hadouken Amplified IPA 7.4%

Taste: Mmmmm spicy cream soda or strong caramel. Battery acid finisher. I love it.

Appearance: it has the fireball move on the bottle. Great stuff.

Would you buy 2? Yes.

Would you buy 4? Yes.

Rating (out of 7): 6****** this ale's really got us talking!!!

Highland Brewing Co. - St. Magnus 5.2%

Taste: Sterile. In a good way. Medicinal like old germoline. Citrus. People are keen. Copper mine?

Appearance: crystal clear.

Would you buy 2? We bought 6.

Would you buy 4? No.

Rating (out of 7): 3***

Location:Stoney Street,Camberwell,United Kingdom

Stone Brewing Co. - Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale 8.7%

Taste: I'm wildly excited about drinking this one. Pricey at £12 so the stakes are high... It has an incredible smell of sweet, hoppy booze. My god. Do you remember the scene from Indiana Jones when the guy drinks from the wrong Grail and melts to his bones? That just happened to me. This is fiercely hopped with some deep fruity flavours and a some malts too.

Appearance: I've been told off by the brewery. Apparently the character on the labels of their beers is a Gargoyle. Not Satan. (Although I asked my wife what she thought it was and she said "it's clearly the devil". Beer is a dark, handsome brown.

Would you buy 2? I wish I could afford to.

Would you buy 4? Again. I'd happily accept a crate of these from the kind folk at Stone.

Rating (out of 7): 6****** Worth the price tag.

J.W. Lees - Manchester Star Ale 7.3%

Taste: Thick, sweet molasses. Selsig Blasus. Darkness engulfs me. Chocolate, malt and alcoholic sweetness are laying me down and putting coins in my eyes.

Appearance: Calypso Coffee Black.

Would you buy 2? Yes I would.

Would you buy 4? I'd buy 4. I might not drink them all in one sitting though.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** right up my ale alley. But not a six.

Fuller's - 2012 Vintage Ale 8.5%

Taste: Strong booze and orange aromas on pouring. Okay! This is good. It has tons of flavour, and packs a hit like whiskey. I have the sensation of instant face warmth. This would be incredible with some cheese... Hold it, I'm cutting a slice.... I can confirm that it goes well with a stinky slice of Caerphilly, but I can tell that the ale wants me to get some blue cheese. A well-rounded gulp with very few edges.

Appearance: Fizzy Fox's tail. It comes in a nice card box for storing. Which makes you feel nice inside. Each bottle is numbered (mine is 18638) from a not-so limited 125,000!

Would you buy 2? I will, I want to tuck one away in my cupboard and see what it's like in five years.

Would you buy 4? I'd like to.

Rating (out of 7): 6****** right up my ale creek. A lovely ale-based surprise.

Exmoor Ales - Beast 6.6%

Taste: Syrupy and rummy. Ooooohhhhhhh that's nice. The last time I had this was in the Ifor Davis in Cardiff. What a morning that was!!!! It's strong enough to relax your legs and tasty enough to relax your mind.

Appearance: look at the label! Perfect. I'd like to see a beast if Bodmin Ale.

Would you buy 2? Of course!!!

Would you buy 4? At your peril. But yes!

Rating (out of 7): 6****** Hooray for ale!!!

Location:Stentaway Lane,,United Kingdom

Hepworth & Co Brewers - Iron Horse 4.8%

Taste: It's never good when your beer explodes on opening. But whilst trying to stem the flow of spouting foam with my mouth whilst mopping up the spillage, I caught a taste and scent of autumn leaves. Oak leaves particularly. But let's not dwell on such things. Getting down to the taste proper, i have a nice and malty, strong English ale. Biscuity too with some hops to see me off on my journey.

Appearance: I can't lie. The Iron horse name drew me to this ale. Finding out that it wasn't a robotic horse, but a steam locomotive dampened spirits some what.

Would you buy 2? Yes, i'd have two.

Would you buy 4? I could drink four!

Rating (out of 7): 5***** it's delicious! It's a welcome reminder of how classic ales can still be tasty.

Bosteels Brewery - Pauvel Kwak 8.4%

Taste: Brewed for over 100 years, still tasting pretty good. It's given me a warm feeling after the first sip. I don't know about Belgium beer tastes, but i'd liken it to honeyed rum with vanilla'd raspberries. Nice!

Appearance: Almost pink. Fancy!

Would you buy 2? I would. It's delicious.

Would you buy 4? Four at this strength would be trouble.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** real smooth

Location:Wimbledon Common

Monteith's Brewing Co. - Doppelbock Winter Ale 6%

Taste: It has a real jammy taste! Robinson's Blackcurrant I believe. Or those little jam tarts that you may have eaten at the beach in the eighties. The red ones. It's charmingly malty, with only a hint of ash.

Appearance: Red ruby brown. Smart bottle.

Would you buy 2? Maybe at Christmas, but I'm riding the sweet British Summer Time (BST).

Would you buy 4? Not sure? To share?

Rating (out of 7): 5***** great stuff from everyone's favourite oceanic island.

Dark Star Brewing Co. - Festival 5%

Taste: Strong, dead-end taste. Like a bludgeoning weapon. A bat. A beery assault.

Appearance: chestnut dreams.

Would you buy 2? Not tonight. I'm too full.

Would you buy 4? Maybe not. It's strong.

Rating (out of 7): 4**** it's all alright.

Location:Prince Albert St,,United Kingdom

Burton Bridge Brewery - Thomas Sykes Ale 10%

Taste: The strongest beer at the festival.... It's go time!.... Sherry and mustard smell apparitions. This is worrying stuff. Especially at 5pm. Woah, fermenting earth worms... Argh! Alcoholic plough juice. Just a feeling of being in the earth. Ethanol and earth. Fermented Labrador. It's all a bit wicker man... Farmyard soil and opal fruits.

Appearance: Iron Bru. Red Panda.

Would you buy 2? We have.

Would you buy 4? If you're facing tough times in your life, you might need to.

Rating (out of 7): 6****** perfect ale for stomping blues!! Incredible!

Location:John Archer Way,London,United Kingdom

Triple FFF Brewery - Comfortably Numb 5%

Taste: This is not sweetly strong, it is earthy as can be. In fact the word being thrown around is 'Bark'. Tree bark, and warm water. Not without pleasure.

Appearance: Dense. Opaque. Pink Floyd based.

Would you buy 2? Not today. The choice is too great.

Would you buy 4? Unlikely.

Rating (out of 7): 3*** An odd ale. But we finished it.

Meantime - India Pale Ale 7.4%

Taste: Disaster! Mike spilt stout all over the carpet and then used 'stain slayer' so now the whole lounge smells of lemon peel. It's hard to taste anything anymore. We'll carry on regardless. Sorry, Meantime... It's very wheaty, almost Belgium in style. Wild tasting. Hoppy too. This is good. Now, if only our curry would turn up!

Appearance: giant champagne style bottle is most welcome! Strong too.

Would you buy 2? We have. £10. I don't regret it.

Would you buy 4? Come on. No one has that kind of money.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** a really nice, strong gulp.

Black Sheep Brewery - Celebration Ale 6%

Taste: I'm expecting to taste the difference here... Sainsbury's have sold this to me, it sounds right up my street; with port and raisins mentioned.... Let's see. First sip is a woozy journey through about 10 tastes. I had a flashback to eating a lot of christmas cake and gorging on marzipan. The port and fruitiness is there, but it's been locked in the basement. This is halfway to tasting like a fine cigar and would probably be a fine pairing.

Appearance: Guinness and Port. Sainsbury bottle shifting units for black sheep.

Would you buy 2? I actually would. Not bad.

Would you buy 4? I don't know about four. Some of my friends don't like liquorice and probably wouldn't get such a big bang out of this.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** A generous score for some nice work. Huzzah!

Visit Black Sheep Brewery Website

Dark Star - Winter Meltdown 5%

Taste: A real Christmassy blast on this clement spring day. Oranges with cloves. Vending machine squash from the 80's (think brown cups and leisure centres). It's a spicy beast.

Appearance: Chestnut brown. Red label.

Would you buy 2? I have two next to me. I have no regrets.

Would you buy 4? I don't think I'd be ashamed with four.... Proud?

Rating (out of 7): 4**** I fine shot indeed.

Location:Windmill Walk,London,United Kingdom

Celt - Bleddyn 1075 5.6%

Taste: Celery monoxide. Market garden in London. It's getting hard to breathe. Why is the smell so overpowering. Celeriac stench.

Appearance: Surprisingly orange.

Would you buy 2? Why? You tell us!

Would you buy 4? Never. We have to be honest. Why would you. Tell me!?

Rating (out of 7): 3 unusual but not in the best way. Not that enjoyable.

Location:Warwick St,Cardiff,United Kingdom

Pen-Lon Cottage Brewery - Ramnesia 5.6%

Taste: Double first sip. I'm distracted. Tastes a little soapy. Alkaline. PH8. (after some discussion) a pear drop linger.

Appearance: slightly cloudy or is that just the glass?

Would you buy 2? I would. That's really nice actually,

Would you buy 4? Ummm. I wouldn't not buy 4.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** I'm on it. A sheep. But of west Wales.

Location:Wentloog Ave,,United Kingdom

The Kernel Brewery - Export Stout London 1890 7.1%

Taste: Tastes natural. Like a pine cone encrusted with soil or a pair of well loved gardening gloves. It's enjoyable. I'm going to savour this one. It's a confusing one to drink on the precipice of spring. It tastes very autumnal.

Appearance: I'm hoping that this is a recipe from 1890. I'd get a real bang out of a thing like that. Beer is too dark to see.

Would you buy 2? I'm going to buy one and store it for 60 years. It should do the trick when I'm ninety.

Would you buy 4? I could buy four to share, or to savour over 4 nights.

Rating (out of 7): 5***** Well done!

Location:The Chase,,United Kingdom