Britain's oldest brewers Shepherd Neame have launched an ambitious round-England tour to discover whether beer drinkers agree with them that Bishops Finger Strong Kentish Ale is the finest bottled ale money can buy.

The brewery has teamed up with the Morgan Motor Company to mount the Bishops Finger Taste Challenge - an expedition touring round 40 towns and villages with a bishop in the name targeting the beer-tasting opinions of the great English public.

Sales and marketing director Mark McJennett says: "The Bishops Finger Challenge will be the biggest-ever ale tasting. We believe that once people are given the opportunity to sample Bishops Finger, they'll appreciate its uniquely Kentish qualities.

"To reinforce this, we've developed our own version of appelation controlée - The Bishops Finger Charter, which pledges that the beer will always be brewed in the same, time-honored way using only Kentish barley, hops and water.

"The Charter also promises that Bishops Finger must be brewed only on Fridays by the Head Brewer.

"It already has Protective Geographical Indicator status, which means Bishops Finger is the only beer in the world that can be called a Kentish strong ale.

"In fact, we're so confident about the quality of Bishops Finger, we're prepared to put our brand on the line in a "taste off" against its competitors.

"With this in mind, we got together with the Morgan Motor Company because we believe that Morgan is to cars as Bishops Finger is to beers - among the finest in the world.

"By summer next year, we aim to have motored all round the country and challenged at least 100,000 people to compare Bishops Finger with its rivals."

Driven by Bishops Finger brand ambassador Tony Wallbridge, the stunning 3 liter V6 Morgan Roadster, resplendent in its ecclesiastical purple Bishops Finger livery, set off from the Bishops Finger pub in London's Smithfield Market on Friday, July 2, 2004 bound for the 40 towns and villages in England with a "Bishops" in their name - such as Bishops Frome in Morgan's home county of Worcestershire.

When Tony Wallbridge hits town, he'll visit local Sainsbury's, Tesco, Safeway, Morrison and Asda supermarkets, set up the eye-catching mini-marquee and invite shoppers to join the Taste Challenge tasting sessions - pitting Bishops Finger against the UK's other five best-selling premium ales.

Along the way, the Challenge will also be raising money for local charities of the supermarkets' choice.

Local newspapers and radio stations will carry details of the Challenge and let people know when and where they can decide whether Bishops Finger really is the world's ultimate premium bottled ale.