England Beer Enthusiast – Your Guide Part 1

My last travel was one of the most inspiring experience to date, visiting England and completely immersing in their culture was truly an emotional ride which I felt was worth documenting for the rest of the world. Though I have written on the pub scene in England, I feel like the need to dedicate a few pages simply to the English beers.

It’s hard to distinguish between the pub and beer experience, but I felt a dedicated guide on English beers had to be done. So if you plan on visiting England anytime soon, my blogs would certainly help you in figuring how to go about experiencing the splendor of English beers.

England Beer Enthusiast: Bitter

The bitter pale ale is much more than just a style of beer, it holds much more significance than one might understand at one glance. The name bitter represents a whole family of beers popularized in the 19^th century England. All of these beers are golden to copper in color, with a toasty or caramel maltish flavor along with the presence of strong and earthy English hops.

Three different distinctions exist in the world of bitter: ordinary bitter, special bitter and strong bitter. The strength is the primary difference between all three types – standard being the weakest of the batch with 3% alcohol in volume. Special bitter is relatively stronger with 4%, while the strong bitter is usually pushing towards 6% ABV.

England Beer Enthusiast: India Pale Ale

The IPA has become a nesting ground for beer historians. Not a single beer on the planet has such a strong historical background, while some even claim it was invented for the British troops serving in the British colony of India.

The India Pale Ale has significantly evolved over the years, with many American craft beers developing numerous variants of the hoppy drink. Though there is a stark difference between English and American brewed IPA. Most English India Pale Ale are bordering between medium amber to golden in color, but bear little semblance to its American version which are dominated with hop and citrus.

England Beer Enthusiast: Brown- Mild Ale

Most American drinkers are quite familiar with the Americanized India Pale Ale. However, the mild ale is still restricted to England. During the 18^th century milds was a strong drink but this was changed during the 19^th century wartime needs, thus setting a precedent for the modern brown ales. Milds currently reside between 3 to 4.5% ABV range.

The term mild refers to the freshness of the drink rather than its strength. These malty drinks have little hop if any and a fruity yeast flavor bordering towards buttery and toasty nut and caramel, with a bit of fruitiness. Those hoping to try it for the first time should expect a decent amount of flavor packed in a small bottle.

England Beer Enthusiast: Strong Scotch Ale

We all know and love Scotland for their Scotch Whiskeys, but the Scottish beer deserves just as much love and recognition. Wee Heavy is the most commonly available Scottish styled beers in the US. These strong ales pack some strong malt, while the flavor has some fruity sweetness, along with a caramelized and thickly dense body. Though some less strong versions of this beer also exists, these have a similar taste but are much lighter in body and alcohol.

England is certainly known for being one the countries of the world and it certainly holds on to that title! Be sure to check back for part II of this awesome take on England Beer Enthusiast!

The English Pub Guide

When it comes to the The English pub, I have my fair share of stories to tell. One of the first things a tourist should learn in my experience is how the pub scene works. The first time I wandered into a country the English pub, I was expecting a cold beer, cheers in an English accent, and some friendly conversation, though it didn’t quite turn out that way.

The Infamous Bitter Service

When you head into an English pub, never order a beer unless you like being laughed at. People refer to their beer with specifics, such as a bitter. Bitter is a distinctively popular British beer, though it comes in many different types now, it’s a brownish red ale, strongly flavored with hops. Another thing that might surprise you is that a bitter is served at room temperature and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

I learned this rule the hard way. Hopefully my blog will make a difference for you. The Brits posses a sadistic sense of humor, they will sit and laugh at the poor oblivious tourists who don’t know that there is no concept of service in the pubs. Whether you want food or beer, you’ll have to go to the bar to get some service.

Another thing, the bars over there don’t keep tabs for you, so you’ll have to pay for the drinks and food upfront.

It may seem a little weird for the first time visitors, but this is their culture and I for one love learning new culture.

Different Kinds of English Pubs

In England there are several different kinds of pubs and they all attract different kinds of crowds.

• The English pubs in the city centers attract a diverse group of people, usually those working in the area. These are filled usually during lunchtime and after work hours when coworkers and friends get together to unwind over a warm bitter.
• Then there are the themed pubs, mostly in the city. These could be anything from a jazz pub, comedy pub, and gay pubs, etc.
• One of my favorites, the country pubs is a piece of their cultural heritage. Though it may not look the same from the inside.
• Then there are the local pubs and since they are pretty local, they aren’t quite welcoming especially to visitors.
• Another one of my favorites is the freehouse. Since most of the pubs are licensed through breweries, they are not allowed to sell drinks from their competitors. Freehouses are independent pubs which serve different varieties of beers. They are the best place for a visitor in the hope to try out different local drinks.

I hope this blog post gave you enough information to be able to enjoy the english pub scene in the country without any worries. If you are out visiting England, absorb as much of the culture as you can, because you will definitely miss it once you are home. Drink up, enjoy, savor it!

Cheers.

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