In recent years there has been an massive upsurge in the sales of Super strength lagers (8-9% alcohol). Yet none of the recently introduced 'Super' lagers has either the provenance or class of the original brew - Carlsbergs Special Brew.

Carlsbergs Copenhagen brewery was visited in 1959 by Sir Winston Churchill and to commemorate the occasion the Carlsberg brewmaster created an extra strong lager based on the brewing methods used for Barley wine (itself perhaps the subject of a Marty appreciation). So successful was the brew that it has been on sale ever since. The distinctive gold brew in a gold can still remains the ne plus ultra of strong beers.

I well remember in my late teens getting some cans bought for me after hanging round the local off-licence. The experience was seminal - even now in the slow decline to my 40th birthday I still hanker after a couple of chilled cans per night. Whereas other lagers tend to fill you up before bringing on intoxication the Brew has a terrific piss-up rate. In normal circumstances two cans see most people off; if 'the brew' is drunk directly from the can the intoxication effect is even more potent (a little known variant on the Champagne theory).

Almost by chance the brew is also the ideal drink to take alongside a little Ganja. The smoothness and alcoholic kick seem to sooth the throat and aid uptake of the active ingredients. This well known folk knowledge has recently been confirmed by medical researchers in Denmark who have shown that when chilled properly and used with cannabinoids the brew has awesome medicinal properties - it will be used in controlled drug trials over the next few years for relieving the terminal pain of cancer and the debilitation of MS.

We at MartyCamŽ hail the One True Brew, the only drink of the gods.