Black Cab Stout, Fullers

Fuller's, the family-owned brewery in Chiswick, West London, pays homage to the world-famous London black cab. The tag line on the label says "With the Knowledge", a referencce to the gruelling exam -- known as the Knowledge -- that every cab river has to undertake in order to memorise every street and key buildings in the capital.

The beer is highly complex, brewed with pale, imperial, crystal and chocolate malts and hopped with the two most famous and traditional English varieties, Fuggles and Goldings. The beer pours jet black in the glass with a ruby edge and offers rich creamy malt on the nose with molasses, liquorice and bitter chocolate notes. Creamy malt builds in the mouth but is balanced by bitter hops, chocolate and liquorice. The finish is long and complex, with bitter, peppery and spicy hops and chocolate challennging the dominance of the rich roasted grain. The beer has a powerful 40 units of bitterness.

£2.25 in Budgens and widely available in most supermarkets. £15 for 8 bottles from Fullers online store: www.fullers.co.uk. Hitch a lift.