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BEER TASTING!

This page was last on 07 October 2007 14:29

This page is not restricted to what would strictly be called real ale.  Bottled beer can be bottle-conditioned (similar to real ale sold in a cask) or filtered and pasteurised so that the yeast is killed off.  If filtered the beer should be unchanging (in the short term after bottling) in the bottle and have no sediment - the beer can be poured easily or even drunk from the bottle.  Bottle conditioned beer needs to settle by standing upright, then poured carefully in one movement into a large enough glass.  Both draught and bottle beers are included together with some cider and lager.  Ciders have their own section below beers.

As I work for Freeminer, no Freeminer ales are included in the list below.  Descriptions of the Freeminer range can be found on its website - www.freeminer.com

This is no reflection on Freeminer beers - in fact the main benefit of working there is that I love the product!

All tasting is subjective, mine probably more than most.  If you have any comments, or would like to contribute to this page, please let me know.  If you give the same info on each drink as below, this will allow easier comparison, and let you know where to buy it.

Dave's Beer Markings A good taste perspective!
***** Dave's favourite beer
**** Excellent beer
*** Good beer
** Drinkable but not enjoyable
* Leave this one alone

Beer Rating Brewer Bottle Barrel ABV Where and When Purchased Write Up
Alchemy * Abbeydale Barrel 4.2% Cardiff Beer Festival  October 2002 Hopefully a dodgy barrel in this case! The beer was clear, with a small amount of floating yeast.  Light brown in colour with a toffee smell, but the sour, bitter taste made it undrinkable.
American IPA **** Barum Barrel 5.5% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Excellent for its strength.
A over T * Hogs Back Brewery Bottled 9% Random Shot September 2002 The only thing I can say is 'undrinkable'.  I poured it away.  BBE 27 Feb 04. 
Biere du Desert ** Les Brasseurs de Gayant Bottled 6.2% Wessex Craft Brewers This beer both looks and smells like lager.  The sharp initial taste quickly fades to a gentle, light, bitter aftertaste. Not my favourite lager, so two out of five.
Bitter **** Grand Union Barrel 3.7% Cardiff Beer Festival October 2002 Light brown colour. The cool, fruity melon taste comes over together with a slight bitterness.  No aftertaste and the fact that the beer is very drinkable promotes this lighter strength beer to four stars.
Bitter and Twisted ***** Harviestoun Brewery Barrel 3.8% Rising Sun, Bream October 2002 Light golden colour with a fresh melon smell.  The taste is light and fruity with a gentle bitter taste as befits a good quaffing ale.
Black and Tan **** Yuengling Bottle   Gift from USA Claiming to be the oldest brewery in America, Yuengling produce this dark beer in 354ml bottles with a screw-off crown cork.  Interesting, complex taste is reminiscent of a light stout, and very satisfying.
Blackjack Porter ** Archers Barrel 4.6% Golden Lion  December 2002  
Black Knight ** Goffs Barrel 5.3% Golden Lion  December 2002 Also tried at Golden Lion December 2003.  Still not to my taste.
Black Sheep Ale *** Black Sheep Brewery Plc Bottled 4.4% Asda October 2001 Tawny colour, its sweetness disappears straight away to leave a lingering bitter taste.  I feel the Black Sheep Ale is less bitter when on draught than in a bottle - as is Old Speckled Hen.  From a pub this beer normally rates four out of five; in a bottle, three.
Blasters **** Warcop Barrel 5.4% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Tasted exactly the same as Painters from the same brewery!
Blonde *** Arran Barrel 5.0% Worcester Beer Festival August 2005  
Bombardier **** Charles Wells Barrel 4.3% Forge Hammer, Cinderford   February 2002 A rich, dark coloured ale with a pleasant bitter flavour.  This fades gently to leave a faint thirst, which can (of course) be quenched with another sup.  A good drinking beer.
Brewers Gold **** Pictish Barrel 3.8% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Butcombe Bitter **** Butcombe Barrel 4.0% Brockweir Country Inn October 2003 Quality bitter.
Cannon Bitter *** Shoes Barrel 4.1% Barrels, Hereford August 2003  
Cats Whiskers *** Whittingtons Bottle 4.2% Brewery January 2004 Also tried at the Golden Lion in December 2003 and George at Newent in January 2004.  Perfectly drinkable beer, but not an exciting or complex beer. 
Celtic Black Ale **** Hebridean Bottle 3.9% Brewery July 2004 Found this bottle at the back of one of my shelves with a sell by date of August 2003.  Tried it anyway, and it was on top form!  Very dark, but with a full rich taste which belies it's 3.9% strength.
Centurions Ghost ***** York Brewery Barrel 5.4% JD Wetherspoons Ross on Wye November 2002 Dark, complex beer.  The lightly bitter taste fades quickly to leave you wanting more.  The taste easily belies its strength.
Circle Master **** Wychwood Brewery Co Ltd Bottled 4.7% Asda October 2001 This straw coloured beer is billed as an organic ale.  Very light in taste when you first drink it, the bitterness comes through in a few seconds before fading to a slightly metallic finish.  Nice drinking beer.
Coopers Bell *** Robinson's Barrel 4% Trewhiddle, St Austell November 2001 Brown coloured beer, but with surprisingly little bite.  Mild bitter taste at first, fading away over ten seconds or so to leave you ready for the next sip.  A good quaffing ale.
County **** Breconshire Barrel 3.7% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Fourth in the judging in the festival.
Curly Blonde Lager ** Leadmill Barrel 4.6% Cardiff Beer Festival October 2002 Very light colour with no discernable 'nose'.  Bitter taste, the bitterness fading after 5 seconds.  Drinkable, but no character, so two stars.
Dark Lord *** Batemans Bottle   Booths, Ulverston August 2006 Not bottle conditioned.  Says dark, delicious and delectable on bottle but lacking in taste.  Not unpleasant.
Doctor Okell's IPA **** Okell's  Bottle Cask 4.5% Okell's Brewery February 2005 Firm, straight forward taste.
Double Dragon *** Felinfoil Barrel 4.2% Brockweir Country Inn October 2003 Insipid and boring in taste, but still drinkable
Eastgate Ale **** Westgate Brewery Barrel 4.2% Church Inn, Ludlow January 2002 Mid brown ale, with an immediate sweet, almost fruity taste.  This fades within three seconds to a lingering gentle bitter taste.  A very drinkable beer.
Essex Boys * Crouch Vale Barrel 3.5% Rising Sun, Bream October 2002 Dark brown colour with a strong sour bitter taste - again I am reminded of Worthington beers of the 70's.
Exmoor Gold **** Golden Hill Brewery Bottled 5% Asda October 2001 Light golden colour.  Sharp bitter taste to start with, then fading to a dry feeling which makes you want more straight away.  If this beer was under 4% it would make an excellent session ale.
Fallen Angel **** Church End Barrel 5% Old White Rose, Bilston January 2004 Floral taste and smell.
Farriers' Beer ** Shoes Brewery Bottle 15.2% Hops Pocket Wine, Bishops Frome April 2004 Available in 330ml bottles due to its strength, the beer is light brown but with a strong spirit smell.  I could not avoid the comparison with whisky, either through the smell or taste.  Not to my taste I'm afraid.
Festival Spirit *** Wychwood Barrel 5% Golden Lion Cinderford December 2002  
Fresh Hop **** Brains Barrel   Punch House Hotel, Monmouth April 2002 Dark, like many Brains beers, it has a pleasant bitter taste which hits your palette very quickly.  Although it has a very distinctive taste, it is by no means overpowering – if fact you would expect a beer tasting like this to be a pale brown colour.  An excellent beer, almost pushing five of my stars.
Gatehouse Ale *** Kingstone Brewery Bottle 5.1% Coulters Wine, Chepstow March 2006 Dark beer, the bottle marked Brew III.  Well balanced beer which is easy to drink.  Does not taste as strong as 5.1%.  I had heard that early bottles were heavily hopped, but this was OK.
Ghillie **** Broughton Ales Bottle 4.5% Booths Ulverston  August 2006 Citrus taste, not bottle conditioned.
Glovers Needle **** Foxfield Barrel 4.4% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Golden Chalice **** Glastonbury Barrel 4.8% Cardiff Beer Festival October 2002 Golden colour with a mild bitter flavour.  The taste verges on being too bland for a four star beer, but its very drinkability earns it a place here.
Golden Chance *** Malton Barrel 4.2% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Golden Hatter *** Banks and Taylor Barrel 4.2% Great Welsh BF November 2003 Easy to drink but too bland for my taste.
Golden Promise *** Caledonian Bottle 5.0% La Bodega (Taurus Crafts) January 2005 Easy enough to drink, but no real taste to it.  Certainly does not taste like a 5% beer.  No real taste excitement from this organic beer.
Golden Thread **** Salopian Barrel 5% Old White Rose, Bilston January 2004  
Golden Valley ** Breconshire Brewery Barrel 4.2% Barrels, Hereford August 2003 Light golden colour.  Thin taste with no lasting aftertaste, which means you can drink another one quickly, but the experience is ultimately unsatisying.
Goliath *** Wychwood Brewery Bottled 4.7% Tesco April 2002 Mid brown colour, the first thing that hits you is a solid bitter taste.  This stays with you for a good 30 seconds - this beer is definitely not mild!  Once through the first half pint or so, the taste begins to grow on you, and although you never lose the strong bitter taste, it becomes a lot more drinkable.
Grand Cru *** Hoegaarden Bottled 8.5% Potstill, Gloucester December 2004 Hazy beer which pours with a large head.  Strong smell with a distinctive Belgium beer taste.  This falls gently away leaving you wanting more.
Great Bustard **** Stonehenge Barrel 4.8% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Brewed to help save/re-introduce the bird on Salisbury Plain.
Great Gable *** Great Gable Barrel 3.8% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Green Hop *** Skinners of Truro Barrel 4.2% Lost Gardens of Heligan November 2001 Straw coloured, light beer with an immediate hop flavour, but surprisingly little aftertaste.  Very drinkable but you forget it straight away.  For this reason it only scores three for me.
Hearthside *** Crouch Vale Barrel 4.3% Cardiff Beer Festival October 2002 A beer that looks totally different than its taste.  Dark colour with a treacle smell. In taste it is quite light, but strangely indefinable.  I say strangely, as it was quite early on in the beer festival!
Het Kanon **** Grolsch Bottle 11.6% Amsterdam January 2005 A strong beer, so I expected the "strong" beer taste, and was not disappointed.  However, the pleasure of this beer is that this fades after a couple of seconds to leave a pleasantly satisfying bitter taste.
Hobgoblin **** Wychwood Brewery Co Ltd Bottled 5.5% Tesco October 2001 Dark, strong bitter.  Bitter and malt taste hits you first, as you would expect from the colour and strength.  What is pleasing is that this fades to a gentle bitter taste almost straight away, making this beer very enjoyable.
House Ale **** Traquair Bottled 7.2% Robertson's of Pitlochry July 2005 Very satisfying strong ale.  Dark in colour it deliviers an impressively balanced blend of malt and hops with a good aftertaste.  Good beer.
I can't believe its not bitter *** Oakleaf Barrel 4.9% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003 Cask conditioned lager
IPA *** Earl Soham Barrel 4.0% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Javelin ** Salamander Barrel 3.8% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
John Davey's ** Redruth Brewery Bottled 4.5% Tesco November 2001 Muddy brown in colour, the initial impression belies the write-up 'all natural, full flavoured, aromatic' by tasting, well, muddy.  A bitter, sour flavour fades to just sour.  Not my favourite, but Alison, my wife, quite liked it!
Jouster  *** Goffs Brewery Ltd Barrel 4% Beauchamp Arms, Dymock March 2002 Rich  brown colour, with a hoppy nose.  The bitter flavour hits you quickly, fading to a pleasant, gentle taste.  Probably the best pint of Jouster I have had.
Joust Perfik *** SP Sporting Ales Barrel 4.5% Rising Sun, Bream April 2002 A locally brewed bitter, it has a definite hoppy taste without being overpowering. In fact, the more you drink, the tastier it gets. The pleasant bitter aftertaste improves with age - about 30 seconds in this case.
La Choffe **** ? Barrel 8% Le Belgique, Amsterdam 2005 Slightly spicy and very drinkable
Kildonan *** An Teallach Barrel 4.3% Worcester Beer Festival August 2005  
Kodiak Gold *** Beartown Brewery Barrel 4% Old White Rose, Bilston January 2004  
Late Red *** Shepherd Neame Barrel 4.7% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003  
Laffe ****   Barrel 6% Old White Rose, Bilston January 2004 Lambic type lager
Leffe Brune *** Abbaye de Leffe Bottle 6.5% Amsterdam January 2005 Lesser known that Leffe Blond (at least to me) this is quite dark brown, but still quite tasty.  Not sure why I marked this 3 instead of four stars, but probably something to do with the rich but seemingly lightly complex taste.  Blond, on the other hand, is more upfront, and does what it says on the bottle.
L Ijnde Jaars **** Brewery I'J Barrel   Nes-Cafe, Amsterdam January 2005 Last of the year beer.  Very tasty after the flood of lager on offer in Amsterdam.  Local Amsterdam brewery.
Lucifer **** Riva SA Bottle 8.0% Potstill, Gloucester January 2005 Good tasting strong Belgian Beer.   Worth a try.
Maclir Wheat Beer **** Okell's Bottle 4.4% Okell's Brewery Isle of Man February 2005 Bright rather than cloudy, with a very light, crisp and drinkable taste.  Worth seeking out.
Mr Perretts Traditional Stout *** Wickwar Brewery Barrel 5.9% Golden Lion  December 2003 Amazing for any stout to get this far up my marking scale! (Apart from Deep Shaft, which is a different story)
Mutleys Pitstop **** Spinning Dog Barrel 4.0% Barrels, Hereford August 2003  
Mutts Nuts **** Bullmastiff Barrel 4.3% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003  
Nadolig (Christmas) **** Ceredigion Barrel 6.2% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Spiced beer that tastes like Christmas pudding.
Nottingham Gold **** Castle Rock Barrel 3.5% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Old Ale *** Highgate Bottle 5.1% Booths Ulverston August 2006 Not bottle conditioned but a small amount of sediment.  Treacly in texture.
Old Engine Oil *** Harviestoun Bottle 6.0% Robertson's of Pilochry July 2005 Dark beer with lighter coloured head.  Too stout-like for my personal taste, with plenty of burnt caramel notes.
Old Peculier ***** Theakstons Bottled 5.6% Tesco January 2002 A deep ruby colour, Old Peculier can be regarded as a 'daddy' amongst real ales.  With a distinctively strong, sweet hoppy smell, the first sip reveals the taste to be sweetly benign by comparison.  If you have tried it before, this beer needs no introduction from me - if not, what are you waiting for?  This is a great beer!
Old Slug Porter *** RCH Brewery Barrel 4.5% Golden Lion  December 2003  
Painters **** Warcop Barrel 5.0% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 Tasted exactly the same as Blasters from the same brewery!
Perseus **** Salamander Barrel 3.8% Worcester Beer Festival August 2005  
Phantom Thirst *** Banks & Taylor Barrel 4.5% JD Wetherspoons Ross on Wye November 2002 Made red for the Halloween festival, it has a slightly sour flavour which fades quickly. If you are aiming to neck your beer quickly this is not a bad beer - not one to dwell over, though.
Pig's Ear **** Uley Brewery Barrel 5.0% Golden Lion  December 2003  
Pitchfork **** RCH Barrel 4.3% Golden Lion  December 2002 Still good at Old White Rose, Bilston January 2004
Pit Prop ** Warcop Barrel 3.8% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003  
Pot of Gold **** Woods Barrel 4.4% Barrels, Hereford August 2003  
Ramblers Ruin *** Breconshire Brewery Bottle 5.0% From brewery More body than some of the breweries beers.  Strong underlying taste tends to overpower the overall experience.
Raspberry Wheat **** Iceni Brewery Bottled

Barrel

 5.0% Random Shot September 2002 GBBF August 2002 Dark golden colour with a slightly bitter taste, giving a hint of fruit.  More sparkle from the bottle conditioned version than the cask, but surprisingly the bottle gives less of a fruity taste.  Still a good drink though.
Rebellion IPA *** Rebellion Beer Company Barrel 3.7% White Horse, Hedgerley March 2002 Gentle taste with a swift but short bitter overtone.  Mid-brown  colour.  You could easily drink a lot of this, but overall it lacks the character and bite for my taste.
Red Cullin *** Isle of Skye Bottle 4.2% Co-op Isle of Skye August 2005 Dark red colour, but with little nose.  Not bottle conditioned.  Little offensive taste and quite drinkable. 
Red Kite Ale **** Black Isle Bottle 4.5% Filling Station in Kinlochewe July 2005 Darkish beer. Not bottle conditioned.  Good strong initial taste, but little aftertaste to leave you wanting more.
Riggwelter *** Black Sheep Brewery Plc Bottled 5.7% Asda October 2001 Dark coloured beer, named after the Yorkshire expression used when a sheep is on its back and cannot get up.  They obviously prefer a different position to the Welsh.  Strong bitter, malty taste hits you first, with a continuing aftertaste of malt.  However, the next sip gives you more, er, malt.  A great beer if you like malt.
Santa's Private Reserve Ale *** Rogue Ales USA Bottled ? Budgens, Broadway Febraury 2006 Dark, slightly cloudy beer.  Initially this beer is drinkable but not encouraging, then the taste settles down to give a satisfying beer.
Second to None **** Stonehenge Barrel 4.6% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Secret Hop ** Corvedale Barrel 4.5% Barrels, Hereford August 2003  
Shining Knight **** Slaters Barrel 4.5% The Railwaymans Arms, Bridgnorth February 2002 A darkish brown colour, this very drinkable beer has an immediate bitter flavour, which gently fades to nothing.  No harsh aftertaste is noticeable, which leaves you wanting more.
Shot in the Dark *** Green Tye Brewery Barrel 3.6% White Horse, Hedgerley March 2002 A dark brown beer with a gentle hoppy taste.  Bitterness is evident in a short rush, which then fades to a gentle finish.  A session beer with a difference.  Slightly too bitter for my taste, but good nevertheless.
Sign of Spring **** Stonehenge Ales (Bunces Brewery) Barrel 4.6% The Red Hart, Blaisdon March 2002 Sign of Spring is a pleasant minty green colour.  With little aroma, it has a light bitter taste, which fades to leave a lingering feeling of bitterness.  A nice beer.
Stanier Black Gold **** Cottage Brewing Co Barrel 5.0% Rising Sun, Bream October 2002 None available
Steam Fayre ** RCH Barrel 4.5% Rising Sun, Bream October 2002 Dark brown bitter, with a strong, slightly sour, taste.  Not very drinkable, so only two out of four.
Sting Honey Beer **** Dun Plowmann Barrel 4.2% Barrels, Hereford August 2003  
Summer Lightning ***** Hopback Brewery Barrel 5.0% Barrels, Hereford August 2003 Light golden colour, Summer Lightning started life brewed for the Summer trade.  It proved so popular that it is now an all year round beer – found regularly at JDW.  Matching the colour, the taste is light and clean and you really don’t know you are drinking a 5% beer.  For this reason it has always featured in my select 5 star range of beers!
Sun and Planet **** Shepherd Neame Bottled 6% Tesco March 2002 Named after a steam engine installed in the brewery in 1789, this is a strong beer whose colour, whilst not pale, is definitely on the light brown side.  The beer has a bitter, but not unpleasant, smell, with an instant hoppy/bitter taste.  This fades quickly to leave a gentle bitter taste.  A marginal score of four, as very drinkable for a 6% beer.
Sunburst **** Dark Star Barrel 4.8% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Sundance **** Marston's Bottled 5% Tesco September 2001 Very light colour beer, brewed only for J D Wetherspoon and Tesco.  Dangerously drinkable, it leaves an immediate dry taste in the mouth, persuading you to reach for the glass again.  The write up on the bottle suggests a malty taste, but this is not very prevalent.
Tastebud * Lichfield Barrel 4.1% Rising Sun, Bream April 2002 A light brown ale, it has a pervasive hoppy taste that reminds you of Worthington beers from the 70's and 80's. For me, this beer has a cringe making taste for the first 20 seconds, before it fades to more manageable proportions.  Not to my taste I'm afraid. 
Tequieros **** Les Brasseurs de Gayant Bottled 5.6% Wessex Craft Brewers With the colour and appearance of lager the beer smells sweet – something like lager shandy.  There is an immediate sweet hit when tasted, followed by a strong bitterness and a perhaps sour aftertaste.  This fades quickly to leave a very faint reminder with a hint of Tequila.  The head and CO2 is retained to the bottom of the glass.  Very drinkable. Four out of five.
Thrappledouser ** Inveralmond Barrel 4.3% Worcester Beer Festival August 2003  
Top Dog *** Spinning Dog Brewery Barrel   Forge Hammer, Cinderford November 2001 Mid brown colour with a slightly metallic taste to start with.  Fades to a gentle malty taste.  You could easily drink it all night, but I prefer a slightly lighter taste, hence the scoring.
Top Totty **** Eccleshall Brewery Barrel 4.0% Forge Hammer, Cinderford  November 2001 Light brown colour with a sharp initial taste.  This fades straight away to a clean, hoppy flavour with no aftertaste.  A good drinking beer.
Trafalgar ** Gales Barrel   Rising Sun, Bream October 2003 Tastes like the old Benskins bitter.
Trick or Treat **** Caledonian Brewing Co Ltd Barrel 4.5% JD Wetherspoon   Ross on Wye November 2002 Mid brown colour.  A 'cold' smell without much nose, but with a warm taste.  Slightly bitter to start with, but this quickly fades.
Triple XXX Mild **** Donnington Barrel 3.4% Golden Lion  December 2003 I don't normally like mild, but this was not bad!
VLO **** ? Barrel 7% Le Belgique, Amsterdam 2005 Meant to be spiced with cinnamon, but by this stage could not tell.  Very drinkable.
Waggledance * Youngs Bottled 5.0% Tesco December 2001 Using Goldings and Fuggles hops, I thought this beer was excellent when first released.  I know there has been a change in brewer, but the beer now has a very bitter taste with sour overtones; not what I would expect from a honey ale.  To make matters worse, the aftertaste is of vinegar - not pleasant at all.  For reference purposes the best before date on my bottle was 07/2002.  Only one star, I'm afraid.
White Ale ***** Ushers Bottled 6.5% Tesco November 2001 As the name White Ale implies, this is a light, straw coloured beer.  The initial hops and malt flavour fades to gentle malt after a couple of seconds, leaving a tantalising dry finish.  An excellent strong ale.
White Lion **** Bobs Barrel 4.3% Worcester Beer Festival August 2005  
White Shield **** Coors (White Shield Brewery) Bottled 5.6% Co-op Cinderford September 2004 Bottle conditioned India Pale Ale.  Good taste, but without the lasting flavour notes found in Freeminer Trafalgar IPA.  Very competent and drinkable beer.
White Star **** Titanic Barrel   JD Wetherspoon   Ross on Wye November 2002 Light brown beer, very drinkable with all the right flavours, and none of the wrong ones.
Whitstable Bay Organic Ale **** Shepherd Neame Bottled 4.5% Tesco December 2001 Light colour with a good head from the bottle.  The write up on the bottle says it is brewed with English barley and New Zealand hops.  Sharp taste with bitter overtones to start with, fading to a pleasant, neutral, aftertaste.  Pleasing to drink.
Winter Ale *** Archers Barrel 5.2% Golden Lion Cinderford December 2002 Dark brown, almost ruby colour. Quite warming.
Winter Beacon **** Breconshire Barrel 5.3% Cardiff Beer Festival November 2003 New beer launched November 2003.
Zwich **** Hainfelder Barrel 5% Cardinals Hat, Worcester 2003  
CIDER/PERRY
Blakeney Red Perry ** Gwatkin Bottle 7.5% Hop Pocket Wine April 2004 Still, bottle conditioned perry.  Nothing appeared wrong with it, but simply far too tart for my taste.  Difficult to drink a lot of, but seems to win awards.  It must be me?
Broome Farm Perry **** Broome Farm Bottle 6.5% Pengethly Farm Shop December 2005 Made with a Hendre and Huffcap blend.  Good and tasty.
Cannock Perry **** Orchards Cider & Perry Bottle 5.4% Brockweir & Hewlesfield Village Shop A single Varietal perry made, presumably, from Cannock pears.  Falls bright in the bottle, but with a fluffy sediment.  If you want to drink it bright, you need to decant the entire bottle before drinking.  Clear, clean taste.
Cidre Bouche De Normandie Doux **** La Brique Bottle 3% Given it! January 2004 Doux means sweet.  Bottle is champagne style - unusual in such a weak cider.  Very tasty, non-pasteurised cider.  Lightly yeasted, the cider has a slight haze unless poured VERY carefully and is well fizzy.  Crisp, sharp taste - very drinkable.
Dewchurch Cider **** Dewchurch Bottle 6% Truffles Ross on Wye June 2004 Small producer in Herefordshire.  Cider is bright, crisp and full of taste.
Dewchurch Perry **** Dewchurch Bottle 6% Truffles Ross on Wye June 2004 See above.  Only worry is that to show off the colour, the cider is in clear bottles, which will shorten the shelf life if placed in strong light.  Excellent drink though!
Dragon Tears ** Green Valley Cider Bottle 4.7% Gift perfectly drinkable, but tastes like mass produced supermarket cider.  Served in a clear bottle, so increased chance of sunstrike.  Tacky lable!
Frome Valley **** Much Cowarne Bottle 6% Hop Pocket Wine Co January 2006 Light, refreshing and very drinkable dry cider.
Heritage Cider **** May Hill Bottle 7.5% Harts Barn, December 2004 Very tasty, above average cider.
Severn Sider Cider **** The Old Vicarage Bottle 7.4% La Bodega, Taurus Crafts, April 2004 Made at Awre, a sweet, pleasant tasting cider worth seeking out.
Special Vintage Cider **** Westons Bottle 8.2% Gift Bright, sparkling and very drinkable for its strength.