Tonight I opened another Shepherd Neame beer, a Kentish strong ale called 1698. Even if I’m not a big fan of pale ales, this one made me go “yumm”. It’s sweet and smooth, and reminds me of the ciders I had in England. I was a bit surprised when despite its entirely different character I discovered some of the beer-ish tones I was familiar with. To be honest, because of its well-rounded caramel sweetness, it feels like a crossover between a pale ale and a stout.

But here I am again trying to sound smarter and more knowledgeable about beers than I am, so you’d be better off with some pros’ reviews instead.