And best of all, she actually gets paid for it.

Annabel Smith is the envy of just about every man in the land.

As the country's only female ale tester she gets to drop into pubs from Edinburgh to Cornwall and sample their finest pints.

"People are quite envious when I tell them what I do for a living," she admits.

"It always gets a conversation going and usually their next question is: 'How do I get to do it?'

"They do literally think I drink 36 pints a day but I'd be dead within a week if I did that.

"It's actually a skill. It's about tasting a pint and being able to pick up all the positive and negative flavours in the beer."

Despite having just visited her 500th pub, Annabel was something of a late developer when it came to beer.

She tasted her first pint when she was 18 and only became interested in it when she started work in the pub trade.

After studying for A-levels she went down to London and came back 'stony broke'.

She decided to find bar work and stuck her finger in the Yellow Pages, ringing the first pub she came to.

"Just by fluke I came across a pub in Wakefield (the former Beer Engine on Westgate) with a landlord who was passionate about real ale.

"He was a real expert and had just bought a pub in Ossett, The Brewers Pride, so I went to work there for seven or eight years, eventually taking on the licence."

She started her current job for Cask Marque four years ago.

The national, independent, non-profit making organisation was formed to raise the standard of cask ale being served in pubs.

Each licensee that is awarded the Cask Marque plaque has passed two unannounced visits from a beer inspector like Annabel, who will check all cask ales on sale for temperature, appearance, taste and aroma.

Regular follow-up inspections ensure the standards are maintained.

"A lot can happen to a beer between it leaving a brewery and being served across a bar," says Annabel, 39.

"We did some research and found that one in five pints of cask ale being served across the bar was warm, cloudy or a little bit vinegary which is the sign of old beer.

"If that's your first experience of getting a pint of cask ale then you might never, ever buy another pint.

"The way I look at it is if you were going to a restaurant and wanted to be guaranteed a fantastic meal you would look for a Michelin star.

"The Cask Marque plaque is the Michelin star of the beer world."

Annabel says she can usually tell if a pint's not great by the smell of it before she has even taken a sip.

The appearance also tells her a lot. If it's completely flat then it's a sign that it's been on sale too long.

It should always have a natural tingle on your tongue which is naturally-occuring CO2 in beer.

"We're looking for flavours that are citrus, which comes from the hops, a bitter taste that's little bit like tonic water which is also from the hops and malty, toffee flavours. Something that's got a very clean taste to it.

"Flavours that tell us the beer's not right would be a yeasty flavour, medicinal like TCP, or anything that tastes slightly of sweetcorn or ketchup.

"It literally makes me feel sick when I taste a pint that has a sweetcorn flavour to it because it's a sign of infected beer."

Unlike other jobs, it's not a chore for Annabel to take her work home with her.

Especially as her partner Andy works for a major brewery.

"It sounds really sad but instead of having wine with dinner we'll match our food to beer.

"We love trying to find different beers in different parts of the country. When we go on holiday we're always looking for something new to try."

And despite being the only woman in a male-dominated profession, Annabel believes she has a distinct advantage over her male beer-inspecting colleagues.

"Any publican will tell you that they're very proud of their beer and don't like anyone criticising it.

"But when I walk into a pub it immediately starts a conversation and straight away you've got that rapport.

"After that any constructive criticism is a little bit easier to swallow."