The Society's Craft Selection

This is silky, creamy and a sure-fire hit for any lover of the famous Irish pint but who may prefer to support a small independent business. There's remarkable depth of flavour here, with dark chocolate, mocha, and beautifully balanced bitterness. A triumph from London, the true home of stouts and porters. Anspach & Hobday initially made a name for themselves by winning awards for the quality of their dark beers but we believe this is their best yet. Having seen a gap in the market for a porter which offers the same creamy texture as Guinness, but with a fuller, more generous and complex flavour, they set to work creating London Black. A huge success in pubs around the country, it is only recently that they have been able to access the technology required to capture the smooth, pub-like draught pour in cans, making it possible to enjoy at home, but serve it chilled to avoid gushing on opening!

A silky-smooth, good ordinary bitter, produced for us by Anspach & Hobday brewery, who originate in Bermondsey. This is a new and improved version of their 'ordinary bitter', which has been a hit with Society members, though they now have the specialist canning equipment in place to can this beer with a nitro widget that means we'd advise serving it chilled to avoid gushing on opening!. The result is a bitter which is as close to recreating the true draught experience as possible, with a full and silky mouthfeel and prominent creamy head. Malt sweetness and hop bitterness balance perfectly on this modern take on a very classically English beer.

Brewed by Moor Beer, in Bristol, this is a traditional English golden ale. It's a refreshing mid-weight and flavoursome beer with gently malty notes, a hint of orange and a touch of pepperiness. Store in a cool, dark place and drink at around 12°C. Moor Beer focus on creating excellent examples of classic English ales which are conditioned in the can. It's the same way that classic ales are cask-conditioned, just on a far smaller scale! It means the beers are unfiltered, unfined, unpasteurised and full of flavour. Moor Beer were the first brewery in the world to be granted accreditation from CAMRA for a canned beer, which is high praise indeed!

This deservedly popular beer now has a new look, and remains a crisp, refreshing craft lager, made by Braybrooke Brewery in Market Harborough. A 'mini-Pilsner', it is inspired by classic Czech lagers, made using German hops, on a Hungarian brew kit, by an Italian brewer. This is exactly the same lager that you've been loving for the last few years, just with a long-overdue bit of TLC to the label and, for us, the wonderful coming together of different cultures is precisely what makes it a very English beer indeed.

The second Society beer from B-Corp certified Black Isle Brewery, in Scotland, so good is their offering! A hazy, hoppy IPA, brewed using oats for additional texture. This balances aromatic hops with thirst-quenching bitterness brilliantly and considering the 4.5% alcohol is exceptionally generous and full flavoured, without being OTT. The idyllic Black Isle Brewery, based on a farm just north of Inverness, is a little corner of beer paradise. When they aren't hosting local school children in their picture-perfect market garden they are brewing top class beers in as sustainable way as possible.

Pale ale is a great all-rounder; not quite as hoppy as an IPA, but with more body than a lager. This example comes from B-Corp certified Black Isle Brewery in the Scottish Highlands, who produce organic certified beers and this one is also gluten free thanks to the addition of an enzyme which breaks down the gluten. Each batch is individually tested and approved by a third-party (SGS UK) prior to packaging. Most importantly though, its an excellent example of a classic pale ale, which we felt would fit our range perfectly.