St Austell, Smugglers (England) This is a special edition of Smugglers Ale, a 6.5% bottle-conditioned beer. The stronger version is matured in Scotch whisky casks for nine months in the brewery cellars and is then refermented in the bottle at Camel Valley Vineyard in Cornwall, using the M�thode Champenoise with the addition of brewing sugar and fresh yeast. (I�m not sure you can use the term �M�thode Champenoise� in Cornwall under EU rules, but let�s not go there.) The beer is brewed with Maris Otter pale malt, crystal and roasted malt and is hopped with Fuggles and Styrian Goldings and a touch of coriander. The finished beer, which comes in a 750ml bottle complete with driven cork and cradle, has a bright tawny/red colour and an amazingly complex aroma of oak, vanilla, raisin and sultana fruit, spicy hops and a herbal note. There�s a hint of lactic sourness in the mouth along with oak, smoky grain, vine fruits, gentle hops and spices. The finish is bittersweet, with ripe fruit, oak, vanilla, spices and light hop bitterness and a warming kick of alcohol. The beer is available only from the brewery shop (01726 66022). Malt: high. Fruit: high. Hops: light. 11.5% ABV, 50cl, �9.99, brewery website.