Recently at the Star ...

I raved about Red Rock Back Beach (3.8%) when it turned up late last year and now the deep and meaningfully named Red Rock Red Rock (4.2%) is here. It's not quite as fantastic as its predecessor, but then that would be a very hard act to follow. All the same, it's a cracking beer with a fruity hop and good bitter finish.

Alan Hinde, formerly of Crewe, but now set up as the Coastal Brewery in Redruth, Cornwall, has a reputation for producing dry, hoppy beers and his Genesis 2 (4%) brew ticks both boxes firmly. We had the first of two barrels from the same brew late last year and the dryness and hoppiness took a few unsuspecting punters by surprise! Cask number two has benefited greatly from reaching maturity in Pete's cellar and is much more polished. It is going down well with the Six O'Clock Club session drinkers.

Greene King Fireside (4.5%) is a curious brew. A pretty well-balanced, best bitter-style brew, it is, to my mind, a bit bland when compared, say, to Greene King's new Old Speckled Hen, of the same strength. This beer seems to me to need another dimension of flavour - I can't help thinking that a key ingredient has been overlooked.