Downton Brewery - Dark Delight 5.5%

Taste: vanilla, caramel. Balsamic nose. Really yummy.

Appearance: molasses

Would you buy 2? Four again

Would you buy 4? Yes

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

Location:La Gothique

Windsor & Eton Brewery - Canberra 4%

Taste: This has a really evocative smell. This is more like it! Has a delicious slatey taste. When I smell it it feels like I'm in the days of the Raj. A multi-layered ale.

Appearance: it's really dark.

Would you buy 2? We bought 4.

Would you buy 4? Yes!!!

Rating (out of 7): 6****** best of the festival so far.

Location:La Gothique, Wandsworth

Naylors Brewery - Merlin's Revenge 4.3%

Taste: Floral Squash. Kiaora. Again, freezing. It's okay. Coppery. Pennies and two pence pieces.

Appearance: dusty Danny glover,

Would you buy 2? Four.

Would you buy 4? Yes.

Rating (out of 7): 4****

Location:La Gothique

Skinner's - Cornish Scream 4.3%

Taste: minerally. Quite eggy. Sharpened pencils. Nice.

Appearance: egg mist. If you look from underneath the head, it looks like the Puzzler's Beard from Numberjacks.

Would you buy 2? We bought 4.

Would you buy 4? Yes then.

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

Location:La Gothique

Downton - Nelson Delight 4.5%

Taste: smells like pickled eggs. Sulphur. You can taste the rum. Smooth. Again, ice cold.

Appearance: yellow

Would you buy 2? 3!!!!

Would you buy 4? Not now!

Rating (out of 7): 4****

Twickenham Fine Ales - Strange Brew 4.1%

Taste: Ice cold. I can't tell. But it's my first ale after a week of gastroenteritis. Tastes great!

Appearance: amber

Would you buy 2? I did

Would you buy 4? Not now

Rating (out of 7): 4****

The Kernel Brewery London - India Pale Ale Scanners 6.9%

Taste:  This is exactly how I hoped it would taste.  Strongish, hoppy flavours that seem to occupy your whole mouth.  It's floral, but I don't know which type because I don't eat many flowers.  This makes me want to go out in the garden and give it a try.

Appearance: It's crystal clear and bright yellow/orange.  Doesn't look dissimilar to a certain brand of vitamin drink.  Amazing, I guess that means it's good for you.

Would you buy 2?  Given the opportunity yes.

Would you buy 4?  In a flash.  Not to drink all at once though.  This is a 2 in a sitting ale for me.

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

Ringwood Brewery - Boondoggle 5%

Taste: Not sure how this one missed our attention? Yeasty electric fence buzz and waxy lemon peel tastes doing a duet... There's a raw radish flavour lurking in there too... there's things going on. That's good because I'm relaxed by the ale excitement.

Appearance: weak gold. Fans of metal alloys may call it Tumbaga in fact.

Would you buy 2? Yes, yes I would.

Would you buy 4? There's a fair chance I would consider this.

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

Bristol United Brewer's - Collaboration 2012 Smoked Porter 6%

Taste:  Oh my it's thick, and chocolatey!  Ale, chocolate, smokey goodness.  Wait, there's something else, I think it's citrus....This one's complex!

Appearance:  It's dark, really dark.  A bit rusty if you hold it to the light.

Would you buy 2?  I certainly would.

Would you buy 4? Only to share, this one's quite rich!  2 would be welcome, but enough.

Rating (out of 7):  4****

The Kernel Brewery - Imperial Brown Stout; London 1856 10%

Taste: Woah. A lot more planty than their other IBS (imperial brown stout, not irritable bowl syndrome, which this might give you if you drink too much). Like getting down and gnashing on the very stalk of a soft shielded fern. It's strong, sweetly boozy and it makes my lips sticky. What's not to love?

Appearance: it's too dark in here. I'm sure it's dark.

Would you buy 2? I have. Not both for myself.

Would you buy 4? I would. I couldn't drink them consecutively.

Rating (out of 7): 6******

Stone Brewing Co. - Ruination IPA 3.7%

Taste: This smells like my heaven. Oh yeah! It tastes incredible! So much hoppy flavour and at a strength which would allow you to drink this from am to pm.

Appearance: Yellow. It's sticky, like hop flower sap. I think they just put hops in a liquidizer. The devil on the bottle is a nice touch at this time of year.

Would you buy 2? I wish. This was the last in the shop.

Would you buy 4? If I can find them, I'll buy them.

Rating (out of 7): 6****** Incredible!

Moorhouse's - Pendle Witches Brew 5.1%

Taste: Liquid toffee. American candy. It's soooo sweet. It's like chewing sugar cubes. Christ, it's like a pudding, liquid pudding.

Appearance: Thick golden treacle with a light sprinkling of rusty nails and burnt pennies. There's a nice witch on the label... I wonder where she's flying off to?

Would you buy 2? Absolutely no way. It's too sweet and sticky.

Would you buy 4? Merlin's beard! Are you drinking drugs? No. You'd swell up like a big Sunday pudding and burst.

Rating (out of 7): 2** Too sweet and too gloopy. This is a real mission to finish actually. It's just not what I want from a Halloween based ale.

Location:Wimbledon

Wychwood Brewery - Pumpking 4.2%

Taste: A fizz festival. Whoa! You sure this ain't yellow governor? It certainly don't taste like any brown this kid has tried. It makes my insides gurgle and pop.

Appearance: Orange. Pumpkin orange. Amazing label art.

Would you buy 2? Maybe. If I was feeling hyper.

Would you buy 4? Slow down mate! 4 of these would have you bouncing off the walls!

Rating (out of 7): 3*** A Halloween based ale appropriately chocked up on fizzy sweets and whizz-bangs. Enjoy it and go nuts but know when to put it down.

Location:Wimbledon

Fuller's - Red Fox 4.3

Taste: Red Fox! Like a car I used to own! Hmmm, it's fresh. Too fresh though. This ale is FREEZING! It's not yellow, why are you chilling the bones off her?! It might taste like rain and wind; I think it does.

Appearance: It's actually brown. Wow. Maybe red now.

Would you buy 2? Not at this temp. Silly pub.

Would you buy 4? No way!

Rating (out of 7): 3*** We'll never know the true potential of this ale served at these Siberian temperatures. Shame. Goodbye Red Fox. We loved you.

Location:The Wellington Hotel, Waterloo

Batemans - Combined Harvest (4.7%)

Taste: pleasantly crisp. Imagine myself harvesting corn on a beautiful summer's day while drinking this. Possible appearance of lemons. I'm eating flowers. Munching a hedgerow.

Appearance: amber like a prehistoric piece of amber.

Would you buy two? I would.

Would you buy four? Ooh, that's a lot of ale.

Rating( out of 7): 4