FROM time to time I swerve the weekly pub review, in order to highlight a worthy beery event or cause.

And I felt it most appropriate, on this occasion, to do some tub-thumping for Cask Ale Week.

It's an annual celebration of British beer, helping to support our farmers, brewers and boozers alike and it ran earlier this month.

You may have noticed pubs and brewers supporting the event, by offering a range of activities and events, even offering free beer.

Punch Taverns, for example, were handing out a free pint voucher, to be redeemed in 700 of their cask ale pubs.

Cask ale is undoubtably outstripping the beer market, and is becoming more visible on the bar, in our pubs and clubs.

Around one in six pints sold down the boozer, is cask ale, a massive increase in just a few years.

So, with Cask Ale Week now gone, permit me to identify to you, just some of the tasty tipples I was slurping, in moderation of course.

And hopefully it will encourage you to drink more cask conditioned ale, in some of our excellent local watering holes.

One of my regular haunts, is the Beer Shack in Burnley. One of only four or five micropubs in Lancashire, it has a superb range of cask conditioned beers, seven in total.

One ale in particular had the ‘wow factor’ and was from the Essex brewer, Growler.

Their Umbel Porter was a brewing masterpiece. A smooth, robust quaff. Black cherries and chocolate flavours, with a tingly, warming finish from the coriander that is added to the brewing process. Black Forest gateaux in a glass!

Another classy brew was slurped at the Victoria Hotel in Great Harwood, a top notch drinking den offering eight rotating cask ales.

The Bridestones Columbus, was the selection and it was a fine, tasty tipple with the Hebden Bridge brewer, once again serving up class in a glass.

Smooth, fruity and refreshing, with a subtle, fruity, hopped finish.

Watch out for their ales on the bar, consistently top-notch.

The Hare and Hounds, Padiham, is another regular port of call, on my beery travels.

Six rotating cask beers, local brewers supported and ale always in great nick, courtesy of beer cellar maestro and pint-puller extraordinaire, Stef Riley.

One of the brews that is regularly on, is from Worsthorne Brewing Company.

Red Man Bitter is one of their bestsellers. Not surprising really as it’s such a light, easy drinking and refreshing ale with citrus aroma and flavours.

For me, grapefruit is in charge here, giving it a zest and a delicious, bitter hopped aftertaste.

So, there you have it. Just some of the flavoursome cask ales I sampled during Cask Ale Week.

A truly, tasteful, triumvirate, to tingle the taste buds. A trio of beers that certainly have contributed to cask ales achieving an ever-increasing percentage, of the UK beer sales’ market. Long long may it continue . . . Cheers!