Sam Skinner-Watts, pub manager and organiser of the Kean’s Head’s annual bottled beer festival, is building on the success of last year’s event when many of the surprise favourites were craft beers from the former colony across the pond.

Sam Skinner-Watts at the bar of the Kean’s Head with some of the USA’s finest

He admits he’s surprised: “Last year we featured over 130 beers from around the world and first to go, and the most talked about, were the dozen or so from the USA.  And so, this year it’s an American themed festival with the choice of two on draught from San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery and up to 25 bottled beers from places as distant as New England, New York, California, and the Great Lakes.

“The strongest at 10.3% is the Brooklyn Brewery’s Monster Ale, a barley wine with a distinct ‘Englishness’ about it. I’m also looking forward to a sip or two of Flying Dog’s Kujo Coffee Stout,” says Sam.  “The draught beers are a German style Bock and a Porter.”

The Canalhouse, on Canal Street, joins this year’s bottled festival theme with beers from Anchor, Brooklyn, Flying Dog and Great Divide Breweries among others.

With an American themed menu, tasting notes and advice on how to best match the beers to the food, the Kean’s Head’s and Canalhouse’s American bottled beer week is from Monday 14 May.   For more, find the pubs on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.