Hop Monster (3.7%) is the latest session bitter from Alan Hinde’s Redruth, Cornwall-based Coastal Brewery, although it could equally be the nickname of the man himself. As he proved with his original Angelina brew (4.1%) this time last year, the man is a master of the hop and Hope Monster is a brew full of taste that belies its modest ABV. Willamette and Mount Hood are the hops in question, and this delicious, citrussy, light and envigorating brew could be a frontrunner for Star beer of the year in the months to come. (Last year’s, in my opinion, was the original brew of Angelina, a cask of which dispappeared withinsix hours on a January Saturday in 2007, thanks to some eager Cornwall CAMRA members who were having a meeting in the pub.)

Those of you who know me will appreciate the irony in this. According to Amanda Ursell, in The Times, beer has silicic, a relative of silicon, which can help skin and also benefit nails and, er, hair. In fact, a Harvard professor has discovered that putting silicon in guinea pigs’ feed led to them becoming more hirsute. Hasn’t worked with me yet, at least not on top of my head. Maybe I’m not drinking enough.