The great beer taste-off

THIS year's beer taste-off was a testament to both democratic cooperation and staunch individualism. A group of 11 judges assembled by the Spectacular Slovakia (the Spectator's annual tourist-guide publication, currently in print) bought the beers, developed the system, and did the tasting. Your correspondent had limited powers to guide them. But once the testing began - and it was a sort-of grouchy free-for-all, with everyone shouting out ratings, boos and insults - the judges generally stuck to their guns no matter how much heat they took.