England's oldest brewery, Shepherd Neame, has given a new look to bottle-conditioned 1698, a beer that commemorates the founding of the company and was first launched to mark brewery's tercentenary. The label has been redesigned in black, gold and cream with a collar bearing three royal lions and the legend "Market Town of Kings". The brewery has been based in the ancient Kent port of Faversham for more than 300 years. Once a royal court to the kings of Kent, the town holds 17 royal charters and is one of the few towns allowed to use the three lions crest from the royal arms.

Shepherd Neame, 1698 (England) 1698 is brewed with Pearl malted barley and crystal malt harvested in Kent, while Target and East Kent Goldings hops are added three times during the brewing process. Brewing �liquor� comes from Shep�s chalk-filtered mineral water, drawn from an artesian well 200 feet beneath the brewery. The beer has a pale bronze colour with an enormously complex aroma of hop resins, marzipan, vanilla, butterscotch and toasted grain. Rich sweet, sappy malt and butterscotch coat the tongue, balanced by tangy hops and tart, blood orange fruit. The finish is dry but beautifully balanced between sweet grain, bitter hops, tart fruit and continuing notes of butterscotch and vanilla. Malt: high. Fruit: high. Hops: medium. 6.5% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, Asda, brewery website, Makro.

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