Fuller’s London Pride (Pasteurised)

Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
London, England

Serve in English pint

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I was pleased to have been introduced to this stellar British brew at the Old Bag of Nails Pub while consuming a complimentary also stellar British meal of their legendary fish and chips. This brew pours a clear sparkling pure copper. The tight creamy off-white head is titanic, with very good lacing and is fully lasting. The deep aroma is primarily caramel and spicy dried fruit, but the subtleties are endless. The exquisite flavor is super rich like a fine cheesecake; raisins, dates, anise and more, much more. Perfect complexity and balance. The finish is long and rewarding. The palate is creamy and soft with a full body and a dry finish. In a word perfect. If I was on death row and granted a last meal, this is what I would be washing it down with. Orgasmic.

OK I am biassed, I live in Chiswick, but this beer is just so scrummy you cannot resist it. As a Northern Englishman I had never tasted caramel style beers like this when I moved to London - I was blown away. The bottled & can versions are a ghost of the draught.

A truly tremendous beer !!!! Probably the smoothest beer I have ever drunk. It’s light enough to want to drink it all night long. The best English beer i have ever had !! Cheers !!!!

UPDATED: AUG 25, 2008 500 mL can: Finally, a decent bitter/ale in a can from these parts. I hope people buy it so the LCBO doesn’t have to discontinue it . . . where would I be without this? Nice soft amber & copper colour with medium head, great lacing on glass. Slightly sweet, malty, fruity with some stronger distinct hops really rounding out the taste. Nice bitter finish but not thin or harsh. This is what you want from an English ale; big flavours but drinkable. No false advertising here: it is a "smooth & astonishing complex beer." Better than Tetley’s awful can. Excellent with food and flavours intensify as it warms (nuttier, sweeter finish). Smooth for an ale. This and Wychwood’s Hobgoblin are the fruitiest, smoothest bitters available right now, along with John Bull’s Best Bitter which is no slouch either.

UPDATED: JUN 9, 2008 This is a great, drinkable bitter. It is a deep, faintly reddish amber with a decent, off-white head that dissipates steadily at first but leaves a permanent medium head for the rest of the drink, along with some fairly nice, even lace. It is incredibly balanced and smooth, with few individual elements junping out at you but all blending incredibly well. There is a faint fruitiness and faint vanilla note in the final finish, but the bottom line is that this has a perfectly smooth, drinkable and balanced aroma and taste that scream "beer."

It's a light copper color, very clear also. A medium head forms and has a short duration, the only reason I didn't give all 5's. A slight film is all I had for most of the glass and no lacing. Mellow and calming effects please the nasal passages with sweet malts and just a smidgeon of happy hops. I am stunned at how smooth and drinkable this beer is. Every sip becomes larger and larger as I try to have as much of this luscious fluid touch my tastebuds. There is no "biting" hops bitterness. A more mellow hop character is preceded by a lightly carbonated and very wonderful maltiness. I am most definitely a big fan of Fuller's now, after loving the London Porter and 1845, and now this pale ale that is well worthy the London Pride moniker.....my favorite beer out of England so far.

Refreshing Taste, not very creamy, Slightly thin for my taste, but very refreshing and fruity taste!....

UPDATED: FEB 5, 2004 eh, somehow never had a great pint of pride in a year in london. just had some in bottles from england that was a pinnacle of a pale ale taste. smell, so good. loved it. attention american brewers and those who think that pale ale tastes like pine and grapefruit!

Deep, rich gold color with integrated red and a very well-developed, white head. Hop aroma is amazing. Reminds me of Goldings in its spiciness but is too floral and intense (intense spice from Challenger and spice/floral from Target me thinks) with a nice, toasted, honeyish malt in the background. Flavor has the distinct ale yeast fruit of Fullers, a perfect spicy hop flavor, toasty malt, a nice but short sting of hop bitterness on the tongue, a little sulphur in the finish, and one of the most solid bodies on a beer of this low an alcohol content. This beer is one of the biggest reasons I love English ale...tons of flavor and lower alcohol repeatability. American brewpub brewers should take a lesson from a beer like this...it could keep their customers in the pub longer or atleast get them to buy just one more pint.

Finally found this stuff. Tried both the PA and the ESB in bottles from a HyVee in Council Bluffs IA for $11.25 @ sixer at that. I had heard many good reviews of the Fuller ESB in particular, and I was quite impressed with both. The London Pride PA seemed a bit weak in the knees at 4.7%, but on the plus side, that would make it quite sessionable (albeit at a VERY steep price). Very complex as advertised, especially when compared to typical US West Coast offerings, which are typically bolder by a large measure. Fullers is now on my "must have" radar when its available, as its most decidedly not in the NM, Colorado region that I frequent.