Two Bristol reporters were forced to hide their smiles after being sent on a beer-guzzling assignment by the newsdesk.

Simon Harding and Phillipa Glover, who work for the Bristol Observer, were invited to the Bristol Beer Festival to take part in the Ask If It’s Ale challenge.

Organisers, the Campaign for Real Ale, blindfolded the two journalists and then gave them four pints of beer to sample, one of which was actually a can of smoothflow bitter.

The challenge was designed to prove that mass market cans of bitter were not a patch on a pint of real ale.

So how did our intrepid reporters do?

Simon explained: “I picked out the widgeted wallop at the second attempt but my colleague, Philippa, wasn’t so sure.”

Philippa said: “Not being a beer drinker, my taste buds were in turmoil.”

Yet whatever their skill at identifying the substitute real ale, reporters across the land must be hoping that their newsdesk sends them on a similar job in the future.

Do you have a story for us?
Ring the HoldTheFrontPage newsdesk on
01332 291111 x6022, or to e-mail us now – click here