This is the special bottling of Kriek beer from the excellent Cantillon brewery. They use two year old lambic, to which is added 300g of cherries per litre of lambic. This was bottled in September 2006, so hasn't really had much bottle age. We are told these beers can last forever, but I've never seen the point.

Cantillon Kriek 'Lou Pepe', 5%
This is a very deep red colour, looks like fresh cherry juice. The nose has a pleasing cherry character, and the slightly off flavours of lambic are there too. A taste... hell's bells! Am I drinking vomit? No, no, the entry is really aggressive and very acidic, but once you get over the absolute horror of that there is some nice cherry fruit on the finish. OK, there is no real charm here, and perilously little that is nice, but it is really interesting and rather complex. No I don't like it, but this is by no means 'sub-interest' and I will drink some more.

Again, purchased from Waitrose (they do have some really good beers) this is made by the Goose Island brewery of Chicago. It is a very good IPA, but not a patch on the really great Meantime Brewery IPA that comes from just down the road from me.

Goose Island India Pale Ale, 5.9%
The nose bursts with hoppy aromas. It is full of life and smells most inviting. The palate has good richness from the alcohol, but is wonderfully bitter. This tastes very refreshing for a beer so strong. Really most enjoyable.

This is an award-winning, bottle conditioned beer from Hogs Back Brewery in Surrey. I've been wanting to try it for a while so was very pleased to see some sitting in Waitrose.

Traditional English Ale (T.E.A.), 4.2%
A very rounded, full-favoured nose. Plenty of maltiness there, so much so that there are hints of Ovaltine about it. This is not unattractive, though, this smells like quite a lively, complex ale. The palate is very full flavoured, round and malty again, but perhaps lacks a tiny bit of bitterness to cut through this and make it refreshing. It is nice and characterful, but just a bit ponderous.