Day 33, Beer 33 - Hawkshead's "Lakeland Gold"

Today's Beer

Name – Lakeland Gold

Brewer – Hawkshead

Classification – Golden Ale. (Well, I ain't so sure about that. Read on...)

Strength – 4.4% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Brown challenges yellow in a fight to the death. Yellow lies bleeding.

On the nose – Metallic fruits. A nostril-tingling treat.

On the tongue – Strong, well selected hops win through, but fine malts do get their moment.

On the subject – Started in 2006, and having long since outgrown their first home, Hawkshead's unbridled success has already left them looking at further expansion.

On the market – Spreading availability, but local is still best. Try the brewery online.

On the whole – 7/10

Full Review

For those who like their beer to be fiendishly bitter – this is lovely stuff.

It's got a no-nonsense sharp bitterness which literally demands your attention from the off.

It's got bags of hop-led character, and for a golden ale it has a surprising and lovely full bodied feel. Though, I do wonder how 'golden' this beer really is, when it looks to me more like a deep amber than a gold. In fact, if I'm to be slightly less diplomatic – its a heck of a closer to a shade of brown than a shade of yellow, and I think these things matter to the average punters stood scratching their heads at the pumps.

Anyway, whatever it is – its pretty darn good.

It is hop heavy, which is to be expected from a golden ale (even golden ales which aren't golden at all) but the precision engineered blend of hops is nothing short of magnificent, and there's enough of a malt presence to leave those who prefer the deeper flavour themes more than satisfied.

I'd reckon that more than two glasses of this might leave you reaching for the nearest desert menu or bag of sweets – so relentlessly sharp and intense is the bitterness at work here. It really is quite merciless.

But believe me, those two glasses would be among the best back-to-back beers you could ever hope to endure.

For us bitterness-junkies – that's exactly the kind of relentless punishment we live for.

Day 27, Beer 27 - Dent Brewery's "Aviator Ale"

Today's Beer

Name – Aviator

Brewer – Dent Brewery

Classification – Amber Ale

Strength – 4% ABV

Verdict - At A Glance

On the eye – Warm, deep orange. Tempting to behold.

On the nose – Creamed raisins and buttermilk.

On the tongue – Biscuits, bread, baked apples... not at all horrible.

On the subject – Nestled into picturesque the hills of Cumbria, the Dent Brewery's idyllic setting literally finds its way into the beer.

On the market – A very useful list can be found here. Being in Cumbria helps!

On the whole – 7.5/10

Full Review

There's a lovely 'bake-house' feel to this beer.

It's possesses the kind of malty deliciousness which brings to mind warm shortbread biscuits and freshly baked farmhouse loaves.

All in all, for a beer marketed very much the spirit of an adventuring pioneer, there's something paradoxically even-keeled and comforting about it.

But then, perhaps they had this sense of paradox firmly in mind when they choose an aeroplane-flying sheep as their mascot. I certainly had no inclination to board a jet after a couple of sips of this very decent brew. In fact, after a short while, a trip to the nearest comfy chair was about all I was planning.

There's even a soothing undercurrent of apple pie to further add to this wondrously 'fireside' appeal. I was left feeling a certain inclination to begin befriending random strangers, and it was as though this was exactly what the beer had in mind. I do admire that quality in an ale, and it's an increasingly rare quality to find.

If all this talk of domesticity, warm breads and kinship sounds hopelessly romantic, well, I would say it's very much a case of the 'beer talking' in this particular case, and for what it's worth – it is absolutely speaking my language.

For those who like their beers well hopped, deeply malted, but with the added appeal of citrus infused biscuit – this could well be the ale for you.

For those who like kicking off their shoes, finding comfy chairs and getting social....well, it's right up your street, too.