The secret to a century-long life – at least to one South Carolina centenarian – is a tall pint of cold beer, every single day.

Mildred "Millie" Bowers will celebrate her 103rd birthday on 31 August. One of nine girls in her family, Ms Bowers survived the Great Depression and outlived two husbands. And she credits beer as one of the secrets to her longevity.

“It’s all in the genes,” Ms Bowers told a local NBC affiliate. “I feel OK because I’m in good health.”

She added: “Have a beer, doctor’s orders.”

Ms Bowers got the go-ahead from her doctor to drink beer on a regular basis after sharing her love for the drink with nurses at her assisted living facility. She said the doctor immediately approved – and now she has her pint every day at 4 pm.

The ten best beers Show all 10 1 /10 The ten best beers The ten best beers The ten best beers Hawkshead

Lakeland Gold A fast-growing Cumbrian brewery founded by the former BBC correspondent Alex Brodie. The beer is pale bronze and has notes of toasted malt and tart and tangy citrus fruit from American Cascade and English First Gold hops. The finish is bitter and fruity.

Price: £29 for case of 12 Hawkshead

brewery.co.uk The ten best beers Young's Kew Gold

Some of the hops used in this beer were grown at Kew Gardens and a donation from the sales goes to support its research. The beer (to be rebranded as Young's London Gold from May) has a dazzling gold colour and the aroma and palate are dominated by tart hop resins, toasted malt and citrus fruit.

Price: £1.95

Beersofeurope.co.uk The ten best beers Titanic Stout

Titanic Brewery hails from Stoke-on-Trent, birthplace of John Smith, captain of the ill-fated liner. It has a roasted grain, coffee, liquorice and tangy hop resin aroma, with dried fruit developing in the mouth. The finish is smoky, hoppy and quenching and, like the Titanic, goes down well.

Price: £1.80

from selected Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose The ten best beers Bateman's Spring Breeze

With a label bearing the image of Demeter, goddess of spring and fertility, this beer from a family brewery is the perfect one to herald the new season. It zings with citrus hop character, balanced by rich, juicy malt: awonderfully crisp and refreshing golden ale

. Price: £20.10 for case of 12

Ale4home.co.uk The ten best beers Adnams Tally-Ho

A famous Suffolk 'winter warmer' has been given a makeover. It's now bottle-conditioned and produced as an annual vintage. Ruby red, it has a rich aroma and palate of raisins, sultanas, walnuts, roasted grain and spicy hops.

Price: £1.49 per bottle or £35.75 for case of 24

Adnams.co.uk The ten best beers Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Gorlovka Imperial Stout

Gorlovka is Barnsley's twin town in Ukraine: the beer recalls the strong stouts exported to Imperial Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ruby/black with a complex palate of roasted grain, liquorice, cocoa and peppery hops.

Price: £2.25

Acorn-brewery.co.uk The ten best beers Wye Valley HPA

A new bottled version of a cask beer that marks the 25th anniversary of Wye Valley brewery. Target hops come from local fields and the pale gold beer has tropical fruit, sherbet lemons and spicy hops on aroma and palate, followed by a dry, fruity and hoppy finish.

Price: £19.20 for case of 12

Wyevalleybrewery.co.uk The ten best beers National Trust Viceroy India Pale Ale

Brewed for the trust by Westerham Brewery in Kent, the beer celebrates Lord Curzon, who restored fine buildings in both India and England. It's honeycoloured with spicy hops, plum fruit and juicy malt on aroma and palate, and a tart, fruity and hoppy finish.

Price: £23 for case of 12

Westerhambrewery.co.uk The ten best beers Greene King Strong Suffolk Ale

History in a glass – a rare example of an 18th-century 'country beer', a blend of Best Pale Ale and Old 5X, matured for a year or more in wooden vessels. It has a spicy, oaky, sherry wine and iron-like bitterness on aroma and palate with a hint of sourness from wood ageing.

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Beersofeurope.co.uk

Whether or not other seniors should adopt the practice of having a daily beer, she said: “Yes, if they like it.”

“Look, there are people who don’t like coffee and people who don’t like tea,” Ms Bowers added, “but I want everyone to drink what they like.”

Ms Bowers is certainly not the first centenarian to chalk the secret to seemingly eternal – or at least quite long – life to regular, moderate alcohol consumption.

Agnes Fenton, 111, said she made it to the age of 105 by drinking three Miller High Life beers and a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch every day, beginning when she was 50.

But Ms Fenton, who celebrated her birthday on 1 August, credits her long life to a power much higher than beer.