Graham R wrote:
Alec,
British "Real Ale" is an acquired taste I suppose, plus once a barrel is tapped it has a short shelf life, a maximum of a couple of days ( air is drawn into tha barrel as the beer is sucked out, rather than CO2 forcing the beer out and the beer starts to go lose CO2, go flat/ go sour). So, hand drawn beer, if it is flat is probably past it's best. I'd be the last to claim that all tBriish beers are good; many of the the brands manufactured by the major breweries are pretty dire and I will always choose a cold lager in pubs that don't have "real" hand drawn beer. The "microbrewery" beers are invariably much better than the major brands and there is even a national society that campaigns for "real" ale ; CAMRA. They publish free local booklets every quarter detailing the pubs where good real ale can be found! Our local pub is in the booklet, the head brewer of the local microbrewery is there every night, drinking his own beer, a good sign ( but ultimately not for his liver, I expect!)
Graham
I visited England a few years back and met up with friends who had studied the CAMRA booklet....we took a train up to York and spent the week sampling all the beers we could find througout the Yorkshire Dales - for those not familar with the "Dales", think American Werewolf in London....we had a fantastic time and I highly recommend it.
I actually like the hand drawn beers and they dont need to be as cold and fizzy as crappy beers like Bud (although I consume my fair share of Bud also...). Newcastle rules and pick up a 6pack of Old Peculiar at BevMo if you come across it..the only beer that the Theakston bewery bottles -the rest are in kegs.
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Nothing beats the beer you will find in the North American Micro Brew capital. We have Amber Ales, Porter, Stout, IPA, Hefeweizen, Blonds, Red, and a whole slue of other great beers that aren't make by the big national water beer makers.
She did, to the whole brewery too.
