Turning up to a dinner party with four cans of lager feels a bit studenty, but we’re not always in the mood for wine or spirits. Luckily, Guinness Open Gate Brewery recently teamed up with London micro-brewery Partizan Brewing to create some truly stylish beers, featuring gorgeous labels by illustrator Alec Doherty. Our fave? La Brilliante, a breezy pilsner aged in Oloroso sherry casks and served in a traditional 750ml champagne bottle. £11, Eebria

No one likes a booze bore, but it’s nice to be able to tell a (brief, non-pompous) story about the bottle you’ve brought to dinner. Made with fruit hand-picked on a Cornish farm, this Wild Apple Ale is the result of a collaboration between Cornwall’s Harbour Beer Co and indie US brewery Arizona Wilderness, and it’s delightfully bright and crisp. There are only 500 sharing bottles in existence, so be quick. £13.50, Harbour Brewing

Ghost Whale in Brixton is one of London’s finest independent beer shops, and its online store is excellent if you can’t pop by in person. With notes of apricot and Japanese honeysuckle, a big bottle of the Kousa saison ale by US craft breweries Free Will and Steel String is a great dinner party gift, as saisons are famous for complementing everything from roast chicken and fish to Indian and Thai food. £23.95, Ghost Whale 

Ask your host what they’re cooking before you bring this beer along, as it won’t go with everything. But if they’re making Mexican food, cult Copenhagen brewery Mikkeller’s Chipotle Chilli Porter is a showstopper. A dark ale brewed with chilli and a hint of vanilla, it’ll work excellently alongside the smoky, spicy grilled meat, fish and veg found in many Mexican recipes – or with cheese, chocolate cake or vanilla ice cream. £12.90 (105 DKK), Mikkeller 

This pilsner is the lovechild of Sharp’s and Camel Valley (another Cornish micro-brewery). And not for nothing does it come in a heavy cage-and-cork bottle: it’s seeded with sparkling Brut yeast, named for its deliciously dry champagne-esque quality. Light, clean and airy, this would go best with food you’d naturally pair with white wine – think seafood, creamy pastas and roasted vegetables. Pop that cork. £17.24, Sharp’s Brewery