Beer has a long history in London, and Londoners have been drinking it
un-refrigerated at the city's pubs since
the
days of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrims. Today, the most popular pub beer is
bitter, a hoppy ale drawn up by hand pumps from kegs in the cellar and
traditionally offered in pint glasses (but half-pints are readily available,
too).
Pubs also sell stout and porter. Stout is a
darker, heavily hopped ale that has a creamy head in the glass; somewhat milder, porter is a dark beer thought to have been
brewed originally to resemble a drink called "three threads." Made by
filling a glass with equal parts of pale ale, new brown ale, and aged brown ale,
the blend was a workingman's drink popular with the market porters of East
London. Finally, drinkers who prefer a lighter, crisper, cleaner-tasting
beer
and their numbers have increased in Britain in recent years ask for a
lager,
which is what most Americans are accustomed to.
As for brand names, it used to be that nearly every British pub was a "tied
house" that is, it was owned by a brewery and served only the company
brand. Recently, regulatory laws have been relaxed, but company pubs are still
in the majority. Fortunately, Whitbread, Bass, and the Irish-owned giant
Guinness each of which operates dozens of pubs throughout London all
produce excellent beers.
Beer-based Drinks
After sampling some of those good English (and Irish) ales and visiting a couple
of independent pubs to try a few beers from smaller breweries, you might want to
savor some of the equally English beer-based drinks. Among them are Lager and
Lime (lager and Rose's lime juice), Shandy (lager and lemon-lime soda) and Black
Velvet (stout and Champagne). Click here for
recipes.
About Pubs
The food at pubs is rarely refined, though the new gastro-pubs that some chefs
have opened during this decade are changing that. Still, nothing beats a plate
of bangers and mash (sausages with mashed potatoes) or cock-a-leekie pie
(curried chicken pot pie) and a pint of bitter.
Pubs are generally open from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. every day except
Sunday, when they are closed between 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. And whether you
happen upon a three-hundred-year-old converted coach house, an architecturally
ornate Victorian holdover or a more modern spot, you'll likely find the pub to
be just what it was in Chaucer's time: a warm, friendly refuge from the
inclemencies of the iffy English weather.
10 Beers to Try
Here are some Bon App้tit Tasting Panel recommendations for English beer
that can be found in the United States.
Note: Prices are 2003 and will change..you can bet on thatBass Pale Ale
The famous red triangle adorning bottles of this light, exceptionally drinkable pale ale was the first registered trademark in England. ($3 per 568-milliliter bottle)
Fuller's 1845 Ale
Produced in London's oldest brewery. A secondary in-bottle fermentation provides carbonation; nutty and delicious. ($3.50 per 550-milliliter bottle)
Mackeson XXX Stout
Creamier and less bitter than Guinness. ($5 per four-pack)
Newcastle Brown Ale
Here's a classic smooth and mellow with a wonderful color. ($2.50 per 550-milliliter bottle)
Old Peculier Yorkshire Ale
This is a fine example of a rich and robust traditional Yorkshire ale. ($11 per six-pack)
Royal Oak Pale Ale
Extraordinary medium-bodied ale with good hop flavor. ($11 per six-pack)
Samuel Smith's India Ale
Made in the heavily hopped style of the original India ales. ($3.50 per 550-milliliter bottle)
Watneys Red Barrel Beer
Satisfying and full-flavored for a lager. ($8 per six pack)
Whitbread Traditional Pale Ale
A great pale ale from this large English brewery. ($9 per six-pack)
Young's RamRod Special Bitter Ale
A hoppy, traditional bitter. ($2.50 per 550-milliliter bottle)
PORTER
A heavy, dark-brown, strongly flavored beer. The dark color and strong flavor
come from the addition of roasted MALT.
Porters are usually higher in alcohol than regular LAGER
beers.
LAGER
[LAH-guhr]
Beer that is stored in its cask or vat until free of sediment and crystal clear.
It's a light, bubbly, golden brew that ranks as America's most popular.
[STOWT]
STOUT
A strong, dark beer that originated in the British Isles. Stout is more
redolent of HOPS than regular beer
and is made with dark-roasted BARLEY,
which gives it a deep, dark color and bittersweet flavor.
HOPS
A hardy, vining plant that produces conelike flowers. The dried flowers are used
to impart a pleasantly bitter flavor to beers and ales. This same plant produces hop shoots, which are widely available commercially only in Europe and
can be cooked like asparagus and served as a vegetable.
MALT
[MAWLT]
1. A grain (typically barley) that is sprouted, kiln-dried and ground into a
mellow, slightly sweet-flavored powder. This powdered malt has many uses
including making vinegar, brewing beer, distilling liquor and as a nutritious
additive to many foods.
BEER
A low-alcohol (usually a maximum of 5 percent alcohol by weight) beverage brewed
from MALTED barley and other cereals (such as corn or
rye) mixed with cultured yeast for fermentation
and flavored with HOPS. Since about
nine-tenths of beer's volume is water, the quality of the water is of utmost
importance. Beers from different regions of America and other countries take
their character from the water used in the brewing. There are many varieties of
beer including ALE, STOUT,
PORTER, MALT
LIQUOR, BOCK BEER and
America's favorite, LAGER. In the
United States, the term "light beer" refers to a brew with reduced
calories and, usually, less alcohol. In Europe, this term distinguishes between
pale and dark lagers. Unlike wine, beer's best consumed as fresh as possible
it shouldn't be aged. Beer adds character and flavor to many foods from breads
to stews. See also FRUIT BEER;
PILSNER; WHEAT
BEER.
BARLEY
This hardy grain dates back to the Stone Age and has been used throughout the
eons in dishes ranging from cereals to breads to soups (such as the famous
SCOTCH BROTH). Most of the barley grown in the Western world is used either for
animal fodder or, when malted, to make beer and whiskey.
ALE
[AYL]
An alcoholic beverage brewed from MALT and
HOPS.
It's usually stronger and, because of the hops, more bitter than BEER.
The color can vary from light to dark amber.
MALT LIQUOR
A beer that has a relatively high alcohol cont
BOCK BEER
A German beer that is full-bodied, slightly sweet and usually dark. It's brewed
in the fall, aged through winter and celebrated in the spring at traditional
Bavarian bock beer festivals.
FRUIT BEER
Mild ALES flavored with fruit concentrates.
PILSNER
[PIHLZ-nuhr]
Originally this term referred to a very fine beer brewed in Pilsen, in the Czech
Republic. Today, however, it more commonly refers to any pale, light
LAGER
beer
WHEAT BEER
A beer made from malted wheat, characterized by its pale color and subtle,
LAGER
like flavor.