Your impression of UK beers?

Reads 2414 • Replies 30 • Started Saturday, June 28, 2014 6:36:00 PM CT

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Message Shot beers 652 º places 6 º 18:36 Sat 6/28/2014 A few weeks ago I was in London for a week. I was very excited to finally experience true British ales in authentic pubs, but I was a little disappointed. Most of the ales I tried were a bit underwhelming. Most had good color and a nice head, but the flavors always seemed to be rather mild and uninteresting. Is this typical for British beers, or did I just select the wrong brews?
Message MacBoost beers 2074 º places 37 º 18:43 Sat 6/28/2014 You try the shoulder of mutton¿
Message Brigadier P beers 4930 º places 334 º 18:52 Sat 6/28/2014 If you go to England expecting to be bashed over the head with hops and malts like many American beers then you will be disappointed. It is much harder to brew a fantastic mild, golden ale, or other session style. It could also be the beers you chose - most casks only have a shelf life of four days tops. Knowing when something is at its peak can be hard to tell if you are only visiting for a week. Did you get a chance to meet up with any of the locals? If you go back I would drop a message to chriso, Leighton, or one of the others and they can give you the best recommendations on where to visit.
Message Torontoblue beers 104 º places 44 º 21:38 Sat 6/28/2014 There’s your problem right there, you were there, in that Londonimium. Better beers live further North! But Brigadier was right in his reply, UK beers are all about being subtle, and making you think about what you’re actually drinking, instead of having it spelled out for you.

Message fly P beers 1490 º places 271 º 21:41 Sat 6/28/2014 I am looking forward to revisiting them soon. That and what Brigadier said.
Message Reid beers 3533 º places 95 º 21:51 Sat 6/28/2014 Originally posted by Torontoblue There’s your problem right there, you were there, in that Londonimium. Better beers live further North! But Brigadier was right in his reply, UK beers are all about being subtle, and making you think about what you’re actually drinking, instead of having it spelled out for you. As a former UKer I would say its more about having a grand time down the pub with your mates over a whole day and evening without getting blootered
Message Theydon_Bois P admin beers 40681 º places 1239 º 02:29 Sun 6/29/2014 And which pubs did you go to OP? There are 7,000 pubs in London. There are only 50 or so I’d choose to drink in!
Message cheap P beers 8867 º places 328 º 10:46 Sun 6/29/2014 in the bottle, many are a tad cloying. would love to try then on tap.

Message Torontoblue beers 104 º places 44 º 11:09 Sun 6/29/2014 Originally posted by Reid Originally posted by Torontoblue There’s your problem right there, you were there, in that Londonimium. Better beers live further North! But Brigadier was right in his reply, UK beers are all about being subtle, and making you think about what you’re actually drinking, instead of having it spelled out for you. As a former UKer I would say its more about having a grand time down the pub with your mates over a whole day and evening without getting blootered Well, that’s just a given Used to have many all days sessions when I lived in the UK. Wouldn’t think twice about being out from 11am to 12am, supping 15 pints during the day and rolling home slightly buzzed. I miss those days of great flavoured, low alcohol beers. The new fangled range of session ales in the US/Canada just lacks something!
Message Frank beers 4561 º places 92 º 11:30 Sun 6/29/2014 My impression of beer in London was pretty identical to the OP’s when I visited about ten years ago. Some of the common stuff might pass as subtle to some but I am just going to go ahead and call it bland, like--as in less flavorful than cheap American beer. I did not spend enough time seeking out good beer places though and mostly just went into whatever pub happened to be there. A similar strategy in the US would yield fairly similar results.
Message Leighton P beers 33746 º places 1204 º 11:38 Sun 6/29/2014 Originally posted by Frank My impression of beer in London was pretty identical to the OP’s when I visited about ten years ago. Some of the common stuff might pass as subtle to some but I am just going to go ahead and call it bland, like--as in less flavorful than cheap American beer. I did not spend enough time seeking out good beer places though and mostly just went into whatever pub happened to be there. A similar strategy in the US would yield fairly similar results. Comparing beer 10 years ago in London to now is akin to comparing beer in the US now to beer in the US 30 years ago. The change has been that dramatic in London. If you come to London nowadays and don’t find great - and, in many cases, world-class - beer, I would say there’s a chance you aren’t doing it right. There’s plenty of subtle, traditional UK/London-made cask beer to be had in London, but there’s also lots of flavor-heavy stuff, too (imperial stouts, big IPAs, barrel-aged stuff, sours, etc.), which you may or may not like, but you couldn’t say it’s bland.