Thornbridge - Jaipur

Woose

Nelly's been banging on about the general marvellousness of "Jaipur" (5.9%, Thornbridge Brewery), so I thought I'd give it a shot as the first beer to be reviewed on these hallowed (er, eventually) pages.

It's not the first time I've sampled it - Nelly brought a crate on a recent drinking walking weekend - but it's the first I've tried not as part of a mammoth boozing session. And quite frankly, I couldn't remember what it was like (which is hardly surprising had you been there).

So what's it like? First impressions were surprising - I know it's a Pale Ale, but it was almost lager-y in colour and well carbonated, albeit with a decent, thick head. The smell was impressive; tonnes of hops coming over the side of the glass. It's extremely fruity to the early taste, with citrus fruits and tropical notes (grapefruit, orange). Let's be honest here - it's delicious, smooth and drinkable for such a strong beer. I dread to think how I'd cope if faced with it in a pub of an evening; as it was, it came from Waitrose at £2.05 a bottle; not cheap, but worth the extra pennies.

For the ultimate test, it passed it over to Mrs Woose for her opinion. "That," she said, "is bloody lovely."

And - not for the first time - she's absolutely right.