Well I do like the Staropramen, Dave, but I note that it's barley malt only. It's very malty and fuller-bodied than the Nastro Azzurro so, to me, it tastes more like a drink-it-round-the-bonfire brew than a bejaysus-it's-hot-so-toss-me-a-cold-bottle-NOW brew. I'll update my thinking after I've supped the other eight bottles...Hey, she's gone to bed...

The head brewer at Sharp's (the legend known as Stuart Howe) once provided us with a tasting of esoteric American and continental beers as reward for our hard work on his Doom Bar flavour panel (somebody's got to do it...). We all thought that almost all the American brews were shite.* One had so many hops in it that you could have stood a spoon up in it. Some of the Belgian and/or Trappist brews were well-liked, but most of us agreed that the star performer was Duvel, the wheat beer from Belgium. At eight-point-odd alcohol it isn't one for drinking all night, but it's dead grand as an alternative to a glass of red with a good meaty dish. It's bottle-conditioned too.

*This happened in 2009 so, hopefully, things may have improved...