The (*) means I particularly liked it.

1. Fuller's 1845 (6.3%) — Tues 1 Jan, bottle from Ocado
   Strong, bitter, full-bodied, lovely. I think I might like to have this with some really good dry Spanish ham and the tomato-rubbed bread they do at El Faro. (*)
2. Badger Golden Champion — Wed 2 Jan, bottle from Ocado
   I poured this at fridge temp, much to Bob's disgust (he says it hides the flavour). It's a bit fizzier than I like directly out of the bottle.
3. Badger Tanglefoot (5%) — Tue 8 Jan, bottle from Ocado
   Had this with a root vegetable crumble. It was good.
4. Golden Glory (Badger, 4.5% ABV) — Tue 8 Jan, bottle from Ocado
   Drank after about 20 minutes chilling in the fridge, so not quite at fridge temp. The bottle describes it as "floral", and it certainly is.
5. 005. Courage Best — Sun 13 Jan, two pints in the Oakwood Tavern
   It was the only real ale they had. That is all I have to say about this beer.
6. 006. Bellevue Kriek — Mon 14 Jan, three pints at De Hems for Richard's birthday
   
   If I'm drinking Belgian beer, I usually go for Kriek. I like the fact that it's generally not too sweet, though I think I may have had an over-sweet one once (can't remember the brewery). Bellevue is just fine. It's also one of the more affordable options at De Hems, since they have it on draught. Four quid a pint, but it's better value than the ones in bottles. (*)
7. 007. Peche Lambic (Timmermans, 4% ABV) — Mon 14 Jan, De Hems Richard's birthday A peach beer. It didn't taste of peach, and it didn't taste of beer. Smelt nice though. Ingredients said 14% peach juice.
8. 008. Floris Passion (3.6% ABV) — Mon 14 Jan, De Hems, Richard's birthday I'd not had passion fruit beer before — this was good, and I'll order it again. It doesn't smell very delicious, but it does taste good. Ingredients said 30% passion fruit juice. (*)
9. 009. London Pride at the Shooting Star Pride is Pride. A decent pint.
10. 010. Timothy Taylor Best — Bricklayers' Arms, Putney
11. 011. Downton Chocolate Orange — Bricklayers' Arms Quite excellent, both chocolatey and orangey. (*)
12. 012. Timothy Taylor Ram Tam — Bricklayers' Arms Can't remember if I particularly liked this, but I certainly didn't hate it.
13. 013. Swordfish at the Trafalgar, South Wimbledon Sort of chocolatey but not all dense and stouty — quite light. V nice. (*)
14. 014. Bombardier at the Castle in Tooting With retrospect, this was quite likely an entirely unnecessary pint. We were already a bit drunked. I don't really mind Bombardier but I'd not seek it out either.
15. 015. Triple FFF Alton's Pride at the Carpenters in Marylebone, 12 Feb 2008 Too bitter for me — poss because I'd just had dessert wine
16. 016. Gravesend Shrimper at the Carpenters Less bitter than the above — I liked it (Bob swapped)
17. 017. Landlord at the Wickham Arms in Bromley A reliable if unexciting pint.
18. 018. Tinner's Cornish Bitter at the Holly Bush Bit too weak for me. Not really unpleasant, just not my thing.
19. 019. Harvey's Sussex Best at the Holly Bush Preferred this to the Tinner's. Seemed to have a bit more flavour, though it might just be that it was a bit less, hm, "tart" isn't quite the right word.
20. 020. Batemans XXXB at the Holly Bush. My favourite pint of the evening, bit more body and flavour to it than the others. Also very little carbonation. I had a couple of these.
21. 021. Penny Black (Hampshire? 4.5%), Brockley Barge, Mon 18 Feb 2008 1.89/pint. Chap drinking it at the bar said it had a burnt taste, but in a good way. I see what he means. It's more cigarettes than caramel, but it works.
22. 022. Ecaussines Brewery Belgian fruit beer, Brockley Barge, Mon 18 Feb 2008 This was pretty bad. Tasted like Vimto and artificial sweeteners. On tap, not bottle, not sure of the price.
23. 023. Young's Ordinary, Greyhound, Carshalton, Thu 21 Feb 2008 Not a bad pint. Quite liked it even though I usually prefer the higher alcohol contents. I don't know how many pints of this I've drunk this year, but it's a lot. When it's in good condition it's quite enjoyable.
24. 024. Young's Special, Greyhound, Carshalton, Thu 21 Feb 2008 Generally prefer this to the Ordinary.
25. 025. Tempus Fugit, Prince of Wales, Ilford, Fri 22 Feb 2008 Is this the only place in Ilford that does real ale? A fair enough pint, anyway, and worth braving the stares of the locals for.
26. 026. Good Night Out (Iceni, 4.5%), bottle from Mr Lawrence, drunk Sat 23 Feb 08 "Flavoured with half a bottle of port per firkin" according to the bottle. Unfortunately I wasn't quite careful enough with pouring, and ended up with some sediment in my glass. A pleasant pint. Looked quite lively when I was pouring it, and is in fact quite lively — too gassy to quaff, really — but it's kind of "small-bubble" carbonation, rather than aggressive fizz. Would happily drink this again. (*)
27. 027. Red Ale (Pitfield, 4.8%), bottle from Mr Lawrence, drunk Mon 25 Feb 2008 Very lively — started escaping from the bottle the moment I opened it, even though it'd been sat still for a while. Calmed down after a bit though. Quite dark, with a slight red tinge. Fairly bitter — on the edge of "too bitter" for me. Slight tarry taste.
28. 028. Pressed Rat And Warthog (Triple fff, 3.8%), Market Porter, Thu 28 Feb 2008 They'd run out of this by the time I was ready for my second pint. Decent enough beer — I would happily have had another one. I was liking it more towards the end of the pint than towards the beginning. (Apparently this is "a mild that's slightly too hoppy and bitter to be a classic mild").
29. 029. Pitch Black (Everards, 4.3%), Market Porter, Thu 28 Feb 2008 Actually the only reason I asked for this was that the Pressed Rat And Warthog had run out, the bar was two deep in people, and the only clips I could see were this, Sussex Best (which I've already had this year) and something called "Ice Queen", which looked from the pint that was being poured to be a bit too much on the golden side for me. I was prepared for it to be fairly heavy-tasting, but in fact it wasn't. I think I need to drink more of this to decide if I actually like it. It _is_ fairly black in colour, and it is a stout.
30. 030. Edgar's Pale Ale (Nethergate, 3.5%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 6 Mar 2008 This is their house beer. It's basically Nethergate IPA with extra hops. Bit too hoppy for me, I think. Somewhat carbonated.
31. 031. Moletrap (Mauldens, 3.8%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 6 Mar 2008 Less hoppy and less carbonated than the EPA. I liked it better.
32. 032. Black Pearl (Wooden Hand, 4.5%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 6 Mar 2008 It was black. And it was good. Would happily have had another, if there weren't so many others to try. http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/11/wooden-hand-black-pearl-stout-with.html
33. 033. Cornish Mutiny (Wooden Hand, 4.8%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 6 Mar 2008 Reddish-brown colour, slightly sweetish. Nice enough.
34. 034. Chimay Blue (2007, 9%), bottle I found in the hallway, Fri 7 Mar 2008 I don't know who this beer actually belonged to, but it had been there long enough to get very dusty. So I drank it. It's too fizzy.
35. 035. Chiswick (Fuller's), Jack Horner, TCR, Tue 11 Mar 2008 Bob is very down on Chiswick, but this one slipped down really nicely. It's less full-on than Pride, and less golden than Discovery. It was exactly the beer I wanted after an afternoon of walking and an hour and a half sat listening to a (very interesting) talk.
36. 036. Stoodley Stout (Little Valley Brewery, 4.8%), bottle Bob got from hippie shop in Chiswick, 14 March 2008 Very dark, fairly carbonated, almost gassy (wasn't too lively in bottle like the Pitfield Red Ale I had recently but impossible to avoid large head — settled down quickly though). Almost metallic aftertaste. Didn't really like this.
37. 037. Trafalgar (Nelson), pint at the King Eddie in Stratford, Mon 17 Mar 2008 Nice. Reminded me of the Cornish Mutiny at the Edgar Wallace, but less full-on — liked it better.
38. 038. Deirdre of the Sorrows (Iceni, 4.4%), bottle from Mr Lawrence, Tue 18 Mar Light carbonation, fairly light body. Fizzier than I like, really, which is a shame as I like the taste.
39. 039. Pieces of Eight (Nelson, 3.8%), bottle from Mr Lawrence, Tue 18 Mar Quite lively in the bottle; tried to escape, though not very fast.
40. 040. Double Chocolate Stout (Young's), bottle at the Windmill, Wed 19 Mar Rather tasty — more chocolatey than the last one I tried four or five years ago? Could be my imagination. A little bit too fizzy for my liking; but they serve it at fridge temp so letting it sit worked both to take out some of the fizz and let it warm up a bit. (*)
41. 041. Waggledance (Young's), bottle at the Windmill, Wed 19 Mar Er, can't actually remember what I thought of this one. Too distracted by conversation. Had it on handpump at the Windmill on Mon 21 Jul (4%) and liked it a lot.
42. 042. Queen Bee at the Claret, Fri 21 Mar Thought this was going to be too golden for me coming out of the tap, but it was actually excellent. Very very slight carbonation, good flavour. Would seek out again. (*)
43. 043. Fine Fettle at the Claret, Fri 21 Mar Actually quite similar to the Queen Bee — I wish I'd overlapped them a bit so I could compare. Liked the Queen Bee better though.
44. 044. St Cuthbert (Durham, 6.5%), bottle from Mr Lawrence, 2 April 2008 Too fizzy. Apart from that, I suppose it was OK. Didn't really have much going for it other than strength.
45. 045. 6X (Wadworth), Salisbury, 3 April 2008
46. 046. Broadside (Adnams), Bridge House, 3 April 2008
47. 047. Oyster Stout (Adnams), Bridge House, 3 April 2008 Nice. Faint smokiness.
48. 048. Discovery, the Dove, 10 April Actually this is not as golden as I remembered it being. And not too fizzy. I kind of like it.
49. 049. Duchy Originals Organic Ale (5%), bottle from Ocado, 13 April 2008 Too damned fizzy.
50. 050. Old Peculier, Round Table, Wednesday 16 April 2008
51. 051. Wyre Piddle, Bree Louise, Saturday 19 April 2008
52. 052. Hook Norton Hooky Bitter, Bree Louise, Saturday 19 April 2008 Liked this better than the above; more interesting.
53. 053. O'Hanlon's Yellow Hammer, Coach and Horses, Monday 21 April 2008 Liked it.
54. 054. Fuller's IPA, Old Pack Horse, Wednesday 23 April 2008
55. 055. Black Sheep bitter, George IV, Thursday 24 April 2008 I don't usually hate this one.
56. 056. Sparta, Pembury, Wednesday 7 May 2008 Barman recommended this to me because I said I liked the Queen Bee they also had on. It is pretty good. Quite light, would be fairly easy to drink quite a lot of it. [There were some more in here that I didn't take any notes on, and I've forgotten all about them now so I'm not counting them.]
57. 057. Tiger (Everards), Duke of Sussex W4, Tuesday 13 May 2008 Went down very easily but then it's a warm day. Slight carbonation.
58. 058. Spitfire (Shepherd Neame), Freemasons Arms, Wednesday 14 May 2008 [There was a bit of a gap here — I was drinking beer but not noting it down.]
59. 059. SS Great Britain (Cottage Brewing, 4.0%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 5 June 2008 I am getting frustrated by not having the vocabulary to describe what I'm tasting. This had a flavour that wasn't tangy, wasn't fruity, but... something. The pump clip said "celebrating 200 years of Isambard Kingdom Brunel".
60. 060. Anchor (Titanic, 4.1%), Edgar Wallace, Thu 5 June 2008 The flavour I noted in the previous beer was here too, but ameliorated by another flavour that made me think of dried sage for some reason - it's not sage, and it doesn't actually taste like sage, but it's a flavour that shares some quality with the flavour of dried sage. [I think I may have missed one or two here as well.]
61. 061. Nuptu'ale (Oakleaf, 4.2%), Castle Furnival Street, Thu 19 June 2008 The pump clip said "originally brewed for the wedding of Edward and Gail, 2nd September 2000". I don't know who Edward and Gail are. This was fairly light in colour, very little carbonation, had a "sharp" (not the right word, see musings on vocab above) flavour that I didn't really like.
62. 062. Betty Stoggs (Skinners), Castle, Thu 19 June 2008 I liked this better than the previous. Mid brown colour, light carbonation (just right for me).
63. 063. Harveys light mild, Royal Oak, Mon 23 June 2008 Light carbonation. Faint aniseedy flavour that I'm not so keen on. Don't want a second pint.
64. 064. Harveys dark mild, Royal Oak, Mon 23 June 2008 A bit nicer than the light mild.
65. 065. Cameron's Castle Eden, Raven W6, Tue 24 June 2008 I'd skipped lunch so only had a half of this, along with a bag of cheese and onion crisps. I liked it so much I had a second half. Can't remember specifics though.
66. 066. Adnams Regatta, Narrow, Fri 27 June 2008 A bit Leffe-like. Very light carbonation. I liked it but wasn't sure whether it was actually supposed to taste like this.
67. 067. Abbott Ale (Greene King, 5%), Camel and Artichoke, Mon 14 Jul 2008 This cannot possibly be the first time I've drunk this this year, but I keep thinking "oh, I must have had this already" so didn't write it down. Abbott is the one half of an ubiquitous pair — the other half being Greene King IPA — that turns up over and over again. It's not actually bad.
68. 068. Sam Smith's OBB (handpump), Princess Louise, Mon 21 Jul 2008 Only had a half of this — wanted another but needed to get on. It's not bad. It grows on you. Quite light — a quaffing beer.
69. 069. Wherry (Woodeforde), King Eddie's, Wed 6 Aug 2008 I'm certain this is not the first time I'd had this this year. It's a perfectly decent session beer, just interesting enough to be tasty. Not too heavy. (*)
70. 070. One For The Road (Archers, 4.1%), Black Lion, Plaistow, Wed 6 Aug 2008 Didn't like this. Quite sour. There was a flavour that I liked which came out if I really concentrated, but it was overwhelmed by the sourness. I now suspect that it might have been off. [argh, I have lost some. I knew in my head that I was up to 72 by the GBBF.]
71. 071. Harveys Armada, Royal Oak, SE1, Sat 9 Aug 2008 Not bad. Boak and Bailey describe it as being like a weak IPA, which makes sense — I suspect that I really don't like IPAs at all, but I need to test this out properly. There was a flavour (and a body) to this that I generally don't like, but there wasn't enough of it for me to be unhappy.
72. 072. Courage Directors, Good Samaritan, Wed 13 Aug 2008 Dark brown. Light carbonation. The body's more substantial than the flavour. Faint tarriness? Wouldn't go out of my way to drink this.
73. 073. Theakstons Best, Good Samaritan, Wed 13 Aug 2008 Preferred this to the previous. Similarly weak flavour, but less body so more coherent overall.
74. 074. Blandford Fly (Badger, 5.2%), bottle from Ocado, Friday 15 Aug 2008 Very metallic smell. The blurb on the bottle makes much of the use of ginger and maple syrup. I can certainly taste the ginger! The carbonation isn't extreme, but in combination with the ginger I think it's a bit too much. I wouldn't have detected the maple syrup unwarned, but I can believe it's there. Overall it's OK, but if you were drinking it with food you'd want something pretty robust to stand up to it.
75. 075. Pale Gold (Ossett, 3.8%), Star Tavern, Friday 22 Aug 2008 Golden colour, light carbonation, no head to speak of. Fairly light flavour but not uninteresting. I kept changing my mind about how bitter it was, and whether I'd drink another pint of it. I think by the end of the pint I'd have been happy to have another, but I needed to move on elsewhere.
76. 076. Boon Kriek, Porterhouse, Thursday 28 Aug 2008 Just on the edge of too gassy for me. faint metallic aftertaste. not too sweet, in fact it dries the mouth out a little. Not much body. Not sure I'd have another as I'm not keen on the aftertaste.
77. 077. Porterhouse Red, Porterhouse, Thursday 28 Aug 2008 Didn't like it. Served very cold, fizzy, tasted of bitterness and not much else.
78. 078. Tribute (St Austell), Cornish pub in Covent Garden, 28 Aug 2008 Fairly sure this isn't the first time I've had this this year. Liked it and indeed had a second pint (*).
79. 079. Ruby Mild (Rudgate, 4.4%), Bear, Camberwell, 29 Aug 2008 Dark in colour, very light carbonation. Goes down very smoothly but not devoid of flavour. Liked it — had a half and would happily have had more if I'd not been running late. According to a poster in the ladies', it won a Silver in the Milds category of the 2008 GBBF awards (*).
80. 080. Ruddles County, King's Arms, Tooley Street, 6 Sep 2008 Nothing wrong with this, it just doesn't really taste of anything. Another go of it at the Abercorn in Stanmore — it does have some bitterness and perhaps a hint of malt.
81. 081. Extra Stout (Samuel Smith's), Anchor Tap, SE1, 6 Sep 2008 Served very cold, tastes of very little except fizziness.
82. 082. Whitstable Bay (Shepherd Neame), Ship & Whale, 8 Sep 2008 Not very interesting. Couldn't think of anything to say about it except that it wasn't very carbonated. Not bad, just boring. We swapped to wine after the first pint. I think it probably wasn't too well-kept either, as it didn't taste very fresh.
83. 083. Kent's Best (Shepherd Neame), Ashburnham Arms, 9 Sep 2008 I generally find Shepherd Neame beers pretty boring. This was well-kept though, and tasted good and fresh. I wouldn't choose it over a more interesting beer, but it was certainly in a pleasing condition.
84. 084. Masterbrew (Shepherd Neame), Ashburnham Arms, 9 Sep 2008 As above. Exactly as above.
85. 085. TEA, Cock and Bottle W11, 12 Sep 2008 Not bad. A bit too much of that-beer-flavour-I-don't-really-like.
86. 086. Iron Brew (Freeminers), Alfred Herring, Palmers Green, 14 Sep 2008 Described as a "red ale". I do like this kind of beer.
87. 087. East Green (Adnams), Bridge House, 16 Sep 2008 Not bad at all. Bit tangy, slightly citrusy? I think I enjoyed the sip of Bob's I had when we were last in a bit more. Perhaps a better second-beer-of-the-evening than first?
88. 088. Canterbury Jack (Shepherd Neame), Bishops Finger, 16 Sep 2008 My goodness. A Shepherd Neame beer I actually like. Pale colour, light carbonation.
89. 089. Combined Harvest (Batemans), Ranelagh, Bounds Green, 17 Sep 2008 A bit too sweet/malty/cloying. Also kind of fizzy, though that dissipated quickly. A beer for dads who drink beer from cans.
90. 090. Seafarers, Elephant, Finchley, 17 Sep 2008 Liked it well enough.
91. 091. Oracle (Salopian), Crosse Keys, Gracechurch Street, 17 Sep 2008 Liked this quite a lot. I drank some other beers here too but I was too tired to really notice them — this one stood out. (*)
92. 092. London Olympia Golden Ale (Harveys), Royal Oak, 18 Sep 2008 It was fine. I was too tired to figure out if I liked it.
93. 093. Black Cat (Moorhouse), Bear SE5, 20 Sep 2008 Tasty. Black, low alcohol, mild. Not quite as great as the ruby mild I had here last.
94. 094. Icarus, Bear SE5, 20 Sep 2008 Dark brown, not bad.
95. 095. Scapa, Bear SE5, 20 Sep 2008 Golden colour, mild flavour, fine.
96. 096. Oxford Gold, Bear SE5, 20 Sep 2008 In a bottle. Bit fizzy.
97. 097. Arundel Special Bitter (4.5%), bottle bought by Bob (Tesco, I think), 23 Sep 2008 Smells quite metallic, though this isn't really present in the taste. Quite fizzy, which is a shame as I'm getting hints of a decent flavour underneath it somewhere. Once "persuaded" to go flat, it has a reasonable balance between sweetness and bitterness; the sweetness comes through more as it gets flatter. Wouldn't choose it again though because I don't like fizzy drinks. Drank this with a slice of oat/almond/linseed bread spread with baba ganoush — these things tend towards bitterness, so perhaps beer was not precisely the right choice. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7092/44269 http://www.siba.co.uk/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=1244
98. 098. Broadside Burning Gold, bottle bought by Bob, 26 Sep 2008 Fizzy when it came out of the bottle, but settled down nicely once it went a bit flat. Wasn't paying much attention to it, but I wouldn't say no to another bottle.
99. 099. Dark Star Best, Dog and Bell 100. Doom Bar, Dog and Bell 101. Firefly (O'Hanlons), Man In The Moon, Stanmore, 3 Oct 2008 Not much carbonation, not much bitterness, drinkable enough but unexciting. 102. Rebellion Red, Man In The Moon, Stanmore, 3 Oct 2008 Even less carbonation than the Firefly, a bit more flavour, a bit darker. 103. Pearl of Kent, Dog and Bell, 4 Oct 2008 Golden-coloured ale, quite nice. 104. Sunburst/Starburst/something, Dog and Bell, 4 Oct 2008 Similar to the above but with a bit more flavour. 105. Kriek (Lindemanns, 3.5%), bottle from Ocado, 5 Oct 2008 Carbonation not excessive, and easy to remove by pouring without tilting the glass. More body than the Boon kriek I tried in August, and I like it rather better. Sweetness and sourness both evident. The ingredients list includes "sweetener" and "aroma". I'll buy this again, though I don't think I'd want to drink two bottles in succession. Except actually I did. 106. Rauchbier at the Jolly Gardeners SE11, 11 Oct 2008 107. Braunbier at the Jolly Gardeners SE11, 11 Oct 2008 108. Single Brew Reserve 2007 (Sharp's, 4.5%), bottle from Ocado, 17 Oct 2008 Tasty enough. Had it with leek soup and cheshire cheese. 109. Rebellion Secret Agent, Hinds Head, Bray, 22 Oct 2008 OK, but boring. Bob didn't like (said it tasted like pill casings). 110. Red Fox (Fuller's), Whistle & Flute, Putney, 24 Oct 2008 This is a style of beer I quite like. It's not amazingly interesting, but it's fine. Dark reddish brown, very little carbonation. 111. Fursty Ferret (Hall & Woodhouse), Railway, Mortlake, 24 Oct 2008 Like the above but with a bit more flavour. 112. Explorer (Adnams), Ladywell Tavern, 31 Oct 2008 Dark gold, fairly refreshing. [there were some more in here] 113. Radgie Gadgie (Mordue), Southern Cross, Watford, 13 Nov 2008 Light brown, low or no carbonation. One of the types I like, and a reasonable example thereof. 114. Jack O'Legs (Tring), One Crown, Watford, 13 Nov 2008 OK but boring. 115. Ruby mild (Sarah Hughes), Watford beer festival, 13 Nov 2008 Nice, but not as good as the last ruby mild I had. A sharpness or something that I didn't really like? A couple of other milds at the same place. http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/11/stonchs-london.html http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/02/city-beverage-company-hoxton-pitfield.html WLTT: http://stonch.blogspot.com/2008/03/brew-dog-edge-at-london-drinker.html http://stonch.blogspot.com/2008/03/rons-porter-verdict.html Namyslow Original Plum Beer Shops: - Mr Lawrence - Nelson Wines - Kris Wines - Jacks on Stroud Green Road - Borough Market (Utobeer on Fridays) - Quaffs, Spitalfields Market, Sundays http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/07/quaffs-new-bottle-store-for-london.html http://knutalbert.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/candid-camera-ii/ http://stonch.blogspot.com/2008/01/pint-in-food-court.html Beer and food: http://www.yoursforgoodfermentables.com/search/label/cheese Tickers: http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=6&storycode=62104&c=1