Brewery: Jennings Brewery
Location: Cockermouth, Cumbria
ABV: 5.1%
Version: Bottled
Source: Waitrose

I love beers whose names have a story behind them, and this is a good one. From the back of the bottle:

A Sneck is a door latch and a Sneck Lifter was a man’s last sixpence from which he would lift the latch of the pub door and buy himself a pint, hoping to meet friends there who might treat him to one or two more.

Dodgy grammar notwithstanding, it’s a nice story, but sadly I thought it was more interesting than the beer itself.  It’s sold as a strong dark ale, and it’s defintely both of those.  It pours a dark golden colour with a creamy head, and the first taste is very creamy and smooth.  Too smooth?  I left it to settle for a while (though not for too long … this was one hour after I’d delivered my new novel, I was relaxing, and I am a writer you know), and the next few tastes were just as smooth.  There were chocolate tastes here, a hint of coffee and caramel, but the consistent smoothness just didn’t do it for me.  It was pleasant enough – I certainly finished it, and I’m not saying I’d never drink it again – but the complexity wasn’t there, and any beer that reminds me of the awful ‘smoothies’ they serve in some pubs turns me off it straight away.