First of all an apology, this should have gone up last night but being drunk at a wedding reception in Southport put pay to that. Whoops.

The following beers are all available in Altrincham Tesco, you can probably get them in other Tesco stores. I have to say that Tesco in Alty does have a tremendous selection of ales. Second opinions came from the impending father in law, a man who knows a lot about beer and owner of a Good Beer Guide, which proved to tell us nothing useful about this evening’s ales.

First of all was the Bluebird, from the Coniston Brewing Company. Named of course after the vehicle in which Donald Campbell took his ill-fated speed record attempt. I found this award winning beer to be enjoyable but with a flavour that could only be described as ‘neutral’. As drinkable as Bluebird is, the flavour although hoppy, doesn’t leave any particular aftertaste. A drink that I can only describe as nice but instantly forgettable. This is a shame as I’m generally a fan of Lakeland ales.

Secondly comes the Ubu from Warwickshire. A drink I’d never seen nor heard of before. Brewed by the Purity Brewing Company, they promise a fresh, malty and fruity flavour which; to be fair they do deliver. I have to admit that my enjoyment of the drink was somewhat spoilt by it directly following the supreme Morrissey fox (will be discussed soon). I enjoyed this unusually monikered drink, if it bears any relation to the Ubu of “Sit Ubu sit, good dog, woof” fame, I don’t know. It had a sharp hoppy taste, refreshingly so. The downside to this beer’s taste is that it’ll taste superb early afternoon but it doesn’t serve too well as an evening drink.

These were followed up with a measure of Laphroaig, definitely one of the best single malts around.

Blond · Bluebird · Ubu