Sharp's – Connoisseurs Choice: Quadrupel Ale

Proving that Sharp's are certainly no one trick pony, is the connoisseurs choice range, a selection of beers that look, for all intents and purposes like the head brewer Stuart Howe has decided to strut and show the rest of England how it's done. I've had one of these before but I can't remember which one or what it tasted like, all I can remember is that it was mind blowing and to say it packed a punch would be to say that Mike Tyson has a pretty nifty right jab. This one weighs in at double figures, which is always daunting, but there's something about the smell, an enticing fruity, caramel, aroma that has a little hint of rye, that suggests that this isn't going to taste like it's packing heat.

The first sip is like drinking the love child of velvet and cream, it may well be the smoothest thing I've ever gulped out of a glass (specific!) If I had a blind fold on then I would swear that what I'd just had was, in fact, a dessert at a fancy restaurant because that texture and that taste should not be possible in a beer. However, reading through the method on the label, I am not surprised that this beer is so good; this has been cold stored and matured, it has 4 different strains of yeast in it as well as 4 different types of hop. This ale is amongst the elite when considering beer decadence and sheer brewing mastery. You can only make this kind of beer if you're at the very top of the game, I cannot stress that enough. To make something as smooth as this, with all the subtle undertones of coffee, toffee, liquorice, rye bread, whilst still making a 10% ale feel like a 5% porter, it's just something beyond obsession. Stuart Howe (head brewer at Sharp's) is obviously an extremely talented man and Sharp's are lucky to have him.

No jokes in this review. The beer is just too good.

Food Suggestion: A cheese board with veiny, stinky, Stilton and the kind of cheddar that has the texture of acrylic paint and tastes like it's been chained up in a cellar for a decade for fear that it might break out and terrorise local dairy farms.

Drink this if you like: Being some sort of king...