Beethoven may not have approved but beer drinkers surely will.

A classically-trained composer has created his own version of the composer’s Ode to Joy – on 36 bottles of beer.

Jonathan Vincent, from Maidstone, brought together his two loves – beer and music – to create the Ode to Hen on the bottles and 24 pints of cask beer from the brewers of Old Speckled Hen.

Mr Vincent, a part-time lecturer at the University of Kent, filmed the performance in his shed with pal Graham Mann.

It took them several days to perfect the “instrument”, as it involved drinking the beer so the right amount was left in each bottle.

Mr Vincent said: “I came up with the idea after blowing into bottles and found that they made an amazing sound.

“The varying amounts of liquid in each glass and bottle had to be at the correct level. Needless to say there was a lot of drinking research undertaken.

“I was really pleased with the results, so decided to send it to Greene King and was thrilled when they invited me to film the piece.”