This is the youngest of Moorhouse’s ales, first appearing only a few years ago as a summer seasonal to meet demand for paler coloured ales. But this very bewitching blonde quickly joined the coven of regular witch brews.

‘As light coloured as lager without the bubbles’ was how the famous Lancashire brewer announced its arrival. But it’s much better than that - and is attracting former lager drinkers in droves. As usual, it is brewed with the trademark Fuggles hops and that bit of Pendle Witches magic.

And like the slightly risqué beer badge this ale has a lot up front. A floral and spicy aroma precedes fruity malt and tart citrus followed by a gentle dry and hoppy finish – great with fish’n’chips. It’s already won a cauldron of beer festival awards, including SIBA (Society for Independent Brewers) North 2007 gold award for best bitters.

In the run up to last Christmas Moorhouse’s became the smallest brewer ever to run a television advertising campaign. But when this stuff goes on the bar in Harkers it doesn’t need any TV help, casting a spell much quicker than regulars can say ‘witches coven to Lancaster Castle’ after a couple.

The legend of the Cheshire Cat goes way back in time and was featured in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

And this beer has enjoyed a bit of a fairytale success. The grinning cat pump clip couldn’t be better suited for a beer that gives you a ‘got the cream’ sort of mouth feel.

Light and fruity blonde ale that offers hints of lemon and grapefruit and a gentle, dry, hop bitterness Cheshire Cat began life as A Blonde for Christmas in 2005. Such was the magic, it quickly became a regular brew. That popularity can be witnessed daily in Harker’s, as the staple quaffing diet for the cask-ale-loving fat cats there. Blimey, do they shift some stuff. Greater praise for beer is hard to find.

Weetwood Brewery (see Oat House Gold) set up in 1993 near Tarporley and has garnered a strong following. The beers regularly show up in Brunning & Price pubs. A bit like Alice’s cat.

This is owner/head brewer Dave Facer’s eponymous ale – Dave’s Hoppy Bitter. And it is that, by ‘eck. A dry hopped version of his Splendid Ale, Dave throws plenty of Styrian Goldings in the cask to produce a punchy, aromatic and fruity golden brew with plenty of hoppy bitterness. Camra stalwart and Cornmill beer buyer John gets ecstatic, so it must be good.

Dave’s brewing credentials are impeccable. He started life in the now long defunct Wilson’s Brewery, Manchester, before spending several years on the Northern beer circuit. This included time at Leeds Tetley and with the fondly remembered Chesters. Eventually he pitched up at Boddies erstwhile Strangeways brewery. They made him the head lad in 1999, but four years later he eschewed the ‘Cream of Manchester’ to set up his own operation in Salford.

Then, seeking the Good Life, three years ago he and wife Annette moved lock, stock and many a barrel to Flintshire. There, in 2006, he joined the burgeoning band of brewers making the once micro-barren Principality famous for a bit more than rain swept mountains spattered with white woolly things.

One of the classic brewers of pale ale, Timothy Taylor is an independent family-owned company established in 1858 at Keighley, West Yorkshire. Landlord, often called the Prince of Beers, is a four-times winner of the Champion Beer of Britain, and has won more awards nationally than any other beer. Instantly recognisable, a dry bitter finish complements the fruity hop character of this fully flavoured and well balanced beer.

A Brunning and Price signature beer, it has a permanent listing at the Dysart Arms, Glasfryn, the Pant Yr Ochain, the Corn Mill, Pen-y-Bryn, the Combermere and the Fox.

It is a very odd beer to condition, and the brewery themselves recommend kicking the barrel about a bit – if you don’t, it has a tendency to blow its top when tapped (great fun when training new cellar staff).

Abbeydale was founded in 1996 by Patrick Morton, originally from Kelham Island Brewery. They are based to the south of Sheffield in the Abbeydale area which takes its name from Beauchief Abbey, a medieval monastery built by the murderers of Thomas A'Becket - which explains the ecclesiastical theme of their beers. Moonshine is Abbeydale’s biggest selling beer. First brewed in 1996, it was an instant success, the very first batch winning the top award at the Sheffield Beer Festival. It is a single varietal beer based on Maris Otter Pale Ale malt, with the addition of Washington Willamett hops. A hoppy aroma leads to a fruity taste and a bittersweet finish.

Twelve beer enthusiasts from around the company worked with Tony Allen of Phoenix Brewery developing our own cask ale over a period of seven months. This version - brew No. 8 - was the one we were finally happy to put our name to. It was an arduous process, but we were prepared to make the personal sacrifice for the good of the cause.

Brewed using East Kent Golding hops with a touch of American Mount Hood hops for aroma, this has been fermented using a Timothy Taylor derived yeast. Tony used predominantly Maris Otter malts with a small amount of Crystal to give colour and body, and the water is sourced from Ullswater as it is particularly pure and soft.

This beer has a gentle and pleasant aroma with a fine dark gold/amber colour and a good creamy head that clings down the glass. Taste wise, this has a malty, fruity sweetness and a long, rounded but refreshingly dry finish.

Pendle Hill stands majestic and proud in that lovely bit of north east Lancashire that butts against the old West Riding of Yorkshire. So arguing about ale around there is just like the Wars of the Roses kicking off all over again.

But, it’s likely that even those truculent medieval Yorkies would have relished this cracking pale amber and creamy Red Rose brew with its caramel notes, a touch of citrus, and long dry, bitter finish.

In 2004 Pride of Pendle came up smelling of roses of all colours at the brewing ‘Oscars’- the Brewing Industry International Awards – when it was first voted gold medal winner and then Champion Cask-Conditioned Ale.

That, shouted the inspired Burnley ‘witch’ brewer, made this beer the ‘Best Cask Ale in the World’. Wow, now that’s reet fightin’ talk.

Roosters Brewery was opened in 1993 at Knaresborough, N.Yorkshire by Sean and Alison Franklin. They brew seven regular beers under the Roosters label, and experimental beers under the Outlaw label. Sean is an aficionado of the American Cascade hop and their beers are renowned for their aromatic individuality. Yankee was discovered by the author at Chester Beer Festival in 1996. He was later discovered in a ditch. Yankee is a straw-coloured beer with soft bitterness and aromas of lychees and tropical fruits, leading to a well balanced taste of malt and hops. It has a slight sweetness with a fruity bitter finish, and is a regular at Harkers where it has a devoted following.