WITH Farnham Beerex 2019 (April 11-13 at the Farnham Maltings) just days away, the Herald asked organisers the Farnham Lions for a list of the ten best brews to try at this year’s festival.

It was a tough ask, with 65 beers from 57 breweries spanning the length and breadth of Britain to choose from – but the Lions rose to the occasion.

Their ten tipped tipples are as follows (listing the brewery, beer and tasting notes):

* Fallen Acorn, Gosport – Crimea River – An oak-aged, rich, dark imperial stout (ABV 9.0 per cent. Unfined).

* Hammerpot, Arundel – Baltic Porter – A strong, smooth dark porter with beautiful complex malt flavours, chocolate and treacle. Balancing dark sweetness with a good hop bitterness (ABV 7.4 per cent).

* Craft Brews Frensham – i.PA – A brand new beer that will be launched at Beerex. i.PA (inter personal assistant or India pale ale) is single hopped with an English hop, Endeavour. It has a complex blackcurrant, loganberry and spice aroma with flavour inherited from Cascade, citrus grapefruit and lime (ABV 5.3 per cent. Unfined).

* Timothy Taylor, Keighley – Boltmaker – With more than 160 years of brewing history, Timothy Taylor’s Boltmaker is a well-balanced Yorkshire Bitter that already has a proud record, as it was awarded CAMRA Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2014 and Champion Beer of Britain – Bitter category in 2016 (ABV 4.0 per cent).

* Elusive, Finchampstead – Sphere of Destiny – This is a session beer designed to showcase a rotating single hop, the malt base sits in the background allowing the chosen hop to come to the fore (ABV 4.4 per cent).

* Tilford Brewery, Tilford – Maltings Gold – This is specially commissioned beer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Farnham Maltings. Maltings Gold is a golden ale using calypso hops as a late aroma hop, giving fruity citrus notes of apple and pear (ABV 3.9 per cent).

* Siren Craft, Finchampstead – Caribbean Chocolate Ginger Cake – A dense, rich and luxurious stout with added ginger inspired by Jamaican ginger cake. The brewer has added 30kg of ginger, along with muscovado sugar and carefully-selected spices that together with the milk chocolate indulgence make for a treacle-like treat (ABV 7.4 per cent, contains lactose).

* Monty’s, Montgomery – Dark Secret – Award-winning microbrewery Monty’s is one of our Welsh themed breweries. Dark Secret is brewed with malted oats and barley and the gluten removed, an exceptional gluten free stout (ABV 5.6 per cent).

* Potbelly, Kettering – Potbelly Best – Brewed using a mixture of four different malts together with Goldings hops to give a traditional Chestnut coloured Bitter (ABV 3.8 per cent).

* Derventio, Derby – Gold – A pale bitter with subtle character and an outstanding hoppy finish using citra and bobek hops with lemon and pine notes (ABV 3.8 per cent).

Tickets (£10) are still available for the opening Thursday evening session of Beerex.

They are available online at www.farnhammaltings.com

More than 5,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival, which has raised more than £900,000 for local good causes since 1977.

As well as the beers, there will be a themed bar, barbecue and more than 30 ciders and perries.

Guests will be kept entertained with music from The Nefarious Picaroons, DisCover, The Gambit Jazzmen and The Farleys.

Beer is substantially cheaper than you will find in normal pubs in the area.