Best British beers

Best British beers

Small Beer gift box

• Available from Amazon (£23.95)

Small Beer set the bar when it comes to quality low-alcohol beers and this four-bottle (complete with 2 glasses) gift pack gives you a taste of the whole range, including their flavourful session pale ale and their toasty dark lager.

Available from:
Amazon (£23.95)

Salcombe Brewery Saison, £27.50/12 x 330ml cans, Salcombe Brewery

The latest farmhouse ale from Salcombe Brewery is a spicy 5.5% ABV number, brewed with added peppercorns, coriander seed and orange peel, resulting in a floral beer with honey and citrus notes. Enjoy with roast birds or on its own. It also goes beautifully with a curry – a spicy match made in heaven.

Innis & Gunn cask brews, £6/330ml, Innis & Gunn

If you’re a beer lover who also enjoys a dram or two (don’t we all!), then these are the brews for you. Choose between a Scottish stout aged in an Irish whiskey and Scottish red beer aged in Caribbean rum casks to give spiced vanilla notes.

Lakedown Brewing Co. American Red, £46/15 pack of 440ml, Lakedown Brewing Co.

Rich, smooth and malty, this new American Red is the latest addition to East Sussex-based Lakedown Brewing Company’s portfolio of vegan-friendly craft beers. This 4.8% ABV brew combines Magnum, Mosaic and Centennial hops to deliver a strong stone fruit flavour with a hint of spice.

Eko Haze New England IPA, £52/12 pack of 440ml, Eko Brewery

London's Eko Brewery makes beer inspired by African traditions and ingredients, and its hazy NEIPA is a homage to a classic African drink, palm wine. Brewed with coconut palm sugar, this is a winningly juicy, fruity affair with tart citrus notes and a rounded sweetness from the palm sugar. At 6.5% ABV it's quite boozy, but the 440ml can means you can easily split between two people.

Magic Rock High Wire, £2.69/330ml, Magic Rock Brewing

Possibly Huddersfield's finest export, Magic Rock has been brewing critically acclaimed beers since its inception in 2011. High Wire is its tribute to the pale ales typical of the west coast of America, unashamedly hop-forward and bursting with tropical fruit aromas and pithy citrus flavours; think mangoes, passion fruits and lychees all colliding with a superbly dry bitterness.

Beavertown Gamma Ray, £2.30/330ml, Amazon

Although slightly stronger than your average session beer this is a seriously moreish, easy drinking ale that has become one of London's go-to craft canned beers. Rammed with big, intense American hops, flamboyant tropical aromas and colourful label art make this the perfect choice for summer.

Siren Lumina Session IPA, £3.20/330ml, Siren Craft Brew

All summery tropical hoppiness, this winningly accessible IPA has a beautifully soft mouthfeel thanks to the addition of oats in the beer.

Wiper & True Milk Shake, £14/4 x 440ml, Wiper & True

Bristol's Wiper & True make exceedingly tasty beers all complemented by beautiful label art. The Milk Shake is their take on a traditional milk stout, which they've crammed full of chocolate malt and vanilla pods to create a rich, sweet and velvety dark beer, perfect for finishing off a meal – try it with our malted brownies with sea salt. It really does have a feeling of milk shake about it!

Fourpure Citrus Session IPA, £2/330ml, Four Pure

Fourpure’s whole range has undergone a summer makeover. This crisp, refeshing IPA (previously known as Easy Peeler) packs in the citrus fruit for a light and lovely thirst-quencher.

Wild Beer Co Millionaire. £1.80/330ml, Beer52

A typically quirky creation from this refreshingly unorthodox brewery, this super-smooth, indulgent dessert beer is inspired by a classic millionaire's shortbread. Like liquid caramel in a bottle, but with a savoury edge that stops it from being sickly. Pair with all manner of chocolate and caramel-based puds.

People’s Captain Legend APA, £20.99/6 pack, People's Captain

A classic American pale ale with a piney, citrus kick, this is great served with spicy summery food like tacos or kebabs. A percentage of each beer sold also goes to the People's Captain Foundation to support mental health initiatives.

Thornbridge Brewery Love Among the Ruins, £7/375ml, Thornbridge Brewery

Thought that all fruit beers were sweet? Think again. This poetically named Flemish-style sour beer won gold at the World Beer Cup Awards in 2016 and it's not hard to see why. Aged in Burgundy wine barrels with morello cherries for over a year, expect vivid fruit flavours combined with a punchy sourness. Complex and elegant. Check out more sour beers to try.

Kernel Damson Export Stout, £5.50/330ml, Hop Burns & Black

Kernel's Export Stout spent a few months in a tank with some British damsons and the result is rather lovely. Smooth, mellow and easy drinking, with delicious juicy tartness from the damsons. A cracking beer for autumn.