Rsp: £9.99
Market size: £457m (speciality beers)
The competition: Hobgoblin, Coopers
The consumer
With an abv of 18.2%, I wasn't sure what to expect of this beer, and the £9.99 price tag will mean it's appealing only to speciality beer connoisseurs. It looks like a decent stout and smells OK too but it tasted like a turbo espresso with a medicine-like viscosity and a strong hit of demerara sugar. However, I loved the ironic existentialist waffle on the label, which was very funny. This is a bold launch especially considering the controversy surrounding alcohol consumption. Two stars (out of five)
Rob Knapp, property management, West Sussex
The retailer
Definitely one for die-hard beer aficionados. It rewrites the rulebook on the flavours that can be attained with the usual combination of barley, hops, yeast and water. The palate is astoundingly complex, with tones of molasses and espresso and it has all the hallmarks of the perfect after-dinner drink. The packaging doesn't give any hints that this is an ultra-premium product but it gets a big thumbs up for quality of product and innovation in its category. Five stars
Dror Nativ, trading manager, Spar
I was put off even before I opened the bottle by the pretentious blather on the label. When poured, the ale looked like fizzing tar and created a sensation on the tongue like yoghurt past its best-before date. It burned in the stomach and seemed to carry on brewing. I only managed a few swigs thanks to the 18.2% abv but I'm sure the rest helped unblock my kitchen plughole. At £9.99 a bottle, though, that's expensive drain cleaner. One star
Peter Cripps, senior reporter
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