A REAL ale enthusiast has sank his 15,000th pint - made in honour of him.

Alan Stobbs, 64, visits breweries and beer festivals around the country to sample as many different drinks as he can, keeping a tally and notes of each beer.

He's become so well known at a local microbrewery that they made him his own beverage, aptly called 'Beer Monster', to mark his milestone pint.

Ewan McCann at Three Kings Brewery, at the Victoria Pub in North Shields created a five per cent porter with Alan's help.

Alan said: "It's absolutely gorgeous, just what I would expect from a porter, my favourite kind of ale."

Alan, who worked as a railway man before his retirement four years ago, has been trying out different brews since attending a real ale festival in Durham.

He's kept a list of every ale he's sampled, along with notes about its flavour and quality, and drinking Beer Monster took his total to 15,000 beers.

He said: "Many years ago I was in Durham and saw a beer festival and wondered what it was all about.

"Since then I have been all over the country, up to Aberdeen, down to Penzance for festivals, and I've become a CAMRA member.

"Sometimes my wife does object, I can be away for three or four days at a time for a festival.

"She tries some ales from time to time, but she prefers a vodka and coke."

Alan now helps to organise beer festivals, but has not been tempted to brew his own beer so far.

He said: "I've done a lot of advising brewers, and I helped Ewan develop Beer Monster.

"But I've never brewed my own. I prefer to be sitting drinking them."

Mr Stobbs said his quest to sample every ale available will continue.

He said: "There are about 4,500 ales available in the UK at any one time from over 100 breweries.

"Many of those are micro-breweries.

"And beers can taste different depending on how good the cellarman is."

Alan has been helping organise and run the Tynemouth Beer Festival which has its last day on Saturday.