Unraveling the Myths of English Beer
by Bob Barnes
I'm a beer guy who loves everything about beer. I love to drink beer, I love the socialization of sharing a brew with a friend, I homebrew beer and I even write for a beer magazine. Recently I had the opportunity to visit London, one of the beer bastions of the world, and I looked forward to exploring the nuances of the British pint. Like any first-time London visitor, I had some preconceptions about what English beer was all about, and I relished the opportunity to investigate firsthand the English beer myths that some Americans still seem to cherish.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Myth #1: English beer is served warm. It's actually served at around 54°F, which is noticeably warmer than the 40° or so that's the norm in the United States. Sure, it's not the ice-cold drafts we're used to, but I wouldn't consider it warm. In addition, several pubs I visited had a tap or two labeled "Extra Cold."
Myth #2: English beer is bitter. The most common English beer style is called bitter. It's much more bitter than a Budweiser or a Coors but much less so than the typical hoppy and bitter pale ale you're likely to find in an American brewpub. The bitter beer style is a misnomer; I'd classify it more as an easy-drinking, malty beer than a hop monster. Fuller's Chiswick Bitter was the example of this beer style I most frequently encountered.
Myth #3: English beer is flat and uncarbonated. This is somewhat true of the beers served from a handpump, which is a device that sort of siphons the beer from a cask (Americans usually call it a keg). The cask can be wooden or metallic. The only carbonation is derived from secondary fermentation in the cask. Such beer is referred to as "real ale." The beer does draw a good head, but it's definitely considerably less carbonated than the average American brew and will take some getting used to. There's an organization called CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) that exists to further the cause of pubs serving real ale. CAMRA also functions as a watchdog for how the beer is kept and served.
Myth #4: English bartenders know a lot about beer. The majority of the servers I dealt with in the tourist areas were just as ignorant about beer styles as those in the States. Most seemed to know which brews were ales or lagers, but when I asked for a lesser-known style such as a barley wine or an imperial stout, I was met with a blank stare.
A huge exception would have to be The White Horse, located a couple of blocks from the Parson's Green tube stop. Manager Mark Dorber was kind enough to give me a tour of his cellar, which is kept at 50-54°F and serves a full range of styles from wooden casks on handpumps. Some areas of the cellar are warmer or cooler, so Dorber places the casks to coincide with the optimum storage temperature for each particular beer style. All of the casks are served within 24 hours of tapping. Many of the casks I saw were still fermenting, with beer frothing at the top. Dorber determines when the beer is ready to be served by counting how many seconds it takes for the beer to bubble out of the opening after wiping it clean. Once the frothing recurs after more than a few seconds, a wooden plug is inserted. Beer doesn't come any fresher than that!
I was treated to a Harvey's Bitter (phenolic like a Bavarian hefeweizen, a wonderful brew), an O'Hanlon's Wheat (a British wheat made with 70% barley and 30% wheat, much like a Bavarian hefe without the pronounced banana and clove esters) and a Yankee Rooster (modeled after an American-style pale ale, very hoppy -- much more so than British tastes are used to -- and made with American hops).
Myth #5: English pubs serve only English beer. Surprisingly, Budweiser (in bottles) was available in most of the central London pubs I visited. The Danish Carlsberg Lager was most prevalent, with the Belgian Stella Artois (also a lager) a close second. All three of these international brews are made in the U.K., which explains why they are so readily available. When I attended a theater production in the West End, there were NO English beers served, but only Heineken and Stella Artois.
Myth #6: English pubs are smoky. This is not necessarily the case. While a smoke-free pub is practically unheard of, recently many pubs have instituted nonsmoking areas.
Required reading before making the trek across the Atlantic should be CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. This handy beer bible contains listings and descriptions of over 5,000 approved pubs throughout England that meet CAMRA's criteria for beer-drinking excellence. Each listing includes symbols identifying features of the pub, including nonsmoking areas. The book lists pubs by area and includes location, hours of operation and beers served. The easiest way for a Yank to procure this invaluable tome is by visiting CAMRA's Website at www.camra.org.uk (click on CAMRA Shop).
Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge on Brompton Road, just down the street from the world-famous five-level Herrod's department store, has an upstairs nonsmoking area. While there, I enjoyed a hand-pumped John Smith bitter and a Guinness Stout, which tasted more potent and flavorful than what we get on draft in the States. The alcohol strength is 1 percent higher, resulting in a fuller-bodied brew.
Mad Bishop & Bear, conveniently located inside Paddington Station, has a nonsmoking area as well as an excellent selection and range of beer styles. I found many of Fuller's varieties and chose to sample a bottle of Fuller's Golden Pride, a delightful strong ale that was very malty-sweet without being cloying. I also enjoyed a Hook Norton Haymaker, a hand-pumped cask ale that is a pale ale enhanced by additional hopping late during the boil, resulting in a dominant hop aftertaste.
Myth #7: There is a pub on every corner. This is pretty close to being true. There are around 60,000 pubs in England. London averages one pub every three blocks on the larger streets, with approximately 9,000 pubs in the Greater London area.
Other Observations
The British pint is a 20-ounce pour, as opposed to the 16-ounce American pint, and servers are especially diligent in waiting for the head to go down and retapping to ensure you get a full pint. Pints at the more expensive central London pubs cost £2.50 to £3, the equivalent of $3.75 to $4.50 in the States. Expect to pay £2-3 or less as you venture farther from the center of London. Prices may dip to £1.50 or even lower in places such as Manchester, where there are several breweries competing for customers.
The farther you get from central London, the better chance you'll have of finding a real English beer experience, meaning a pub with a decent selection of real ales. Too many of the pubs in the center of town cater to the unadventurous beer palates of the average Bud-guzzling American.
American Airlines serves complimentary Fuller's London Pride on its overseas flights to England. London Pride is an excellent example of an English session beer -- full of flavor but light in body and alcohol.
If you want something potent, try Tennent's Super. Made in Glasgow, it's a strong lager (9% abv) with a very noticeable alcohol flavor. It comes in a 500-ml. can and is sold in markets in central London.
Bass Ale, perhaps the most recognized British beer in America, has a very different flavor profile when consumed in England. In the U.K. it's likely to have spent only one month sitting on the yeast, resulting in a pronounced freshness.
The White Horse on Parson's Green
1-3 Parson's Green
Fulham, SW6
Phone: 020-7736-2115
www.WhiteHorseSW6.com
Bunch of Grapes
207 Brompton Rd.
Knightsbridge, SW3
Phone: 020-7589-4944
Mad Bishop & Bear
First Floor
Paddington Station, W2
Phone: 020-7402-2441
Campaign for Real Ale
230 Hatfield Rd., St. Albans
Hertfordshire AL1 4LW
Phone: 020-01727-867201
www.camra.org.uk
Bob Barnes is a freelance writer who drinks most of his beer in Las Vegas and is a regional correspondent for the Celebrator Beer News. He can be reached via e-mail at LVBobB@juno.com.
Copyright 2003, Celebrator No material herein may be reprinted without permission of the Celebrator Distributed On the W3 For personal, non-commercial enjoyment and use only. Cheers!
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