Greetings, Americans! I’ve been dispatched to England to represent the interests of Beer Club, local one (Decatur Chapter).
More specifically, I’ve been deployed to Oxford, a truly beautiful and lovely city, where pubs and students both abound. Here in the UK, they’ve really got the pub thing down. I went to truly a quintessential pub called Angels and Greyhounds on Thursday night. I was impressed: warm lighting, neighborhood feel, students playing Trivial Pursuit, and an 80 year old couple with a big white fluffy dog. On Friday I went to another pub called the Cape of Good Hope, also with a great feel to it.
But in spite of the terrific ambience at both locales, the beer quite literally fell flat. I introduced myself to the bartenders, telling them I was in a Beer Club and there to represent my country. They staggered behind the weight of my visit, and then let me try several beers on tap.
I drank a total of five beers and must have tried a total of 10 over the two nights in two “da pubs.” They was all “da nasty,” especially the English bitters. Upon tasting it, I shouted out “DISGUISTING!” The man who was drinking that beer to my left was mildly amused (or offended?). I’m sorry, but I’m used to the supportive nature of our beer club, where any and every thought is welcome, calmly stated or shouted.
My initial thoughts? English cask beer is nothing to write home about (don’t ask why I’m writing home). The many beers tasted flat and…pretty tasteless. I missed the big flavors and exciting tastes and strong hops of American beers. At one point I got desperate and ordered an English cider. Which also disappointed and, was nasty. I stopped after a few sips. What can I say? The Brits really don’t do beer like the Americans.
One note for any upcoming travelers: you order and pay at the bar; this is da rule at da pub!
PS: I’ve finally had a chance to catch up on our beer blog posts, and I must say they are hilarious (love the Ali G quote)!!! Cheers, mates!
More specifically, I’ve been deployed to Oxford, a truly beautiful and lovely city, where pubs and students both abound. Here in the UK, they’ve really got the pub thing down. I went to truly a quintessential pub called Angels and Greyhounds on Thursday night. I was impressed: warm lighting, neighborhood feel, students playing Trivial Pursuit, and an 80 year old couple with a big white fluffy dog. On Friday I went to another pub called the Cape of Good Hope, also with a great feel to it.
But in spite of the terrific ambience at both locales, the beer quite literally fell flat. I introduced myself to the bartenders, telling them I was in a Beer Club and there to represent my country. They staggered behind the weight of my visit, and then let me try several beers on tap.
I drank a total of five beers and must have tried a total of 10 over the two nights in two “da pubs.” They was all “da nasty,” especially the English bitters. Upon tasting it, I shouted out “DISGUISTING!” The man who was drinking that beer to my left was mildly amused (or offended?). I’m sorry, but I’m used to the supportive nature of our beer club, where any and every thought is welcome, calmly stated or shouted.
My initial thoughts? English cask beer is nothing to write home about (don’t ask why I’m writing home). The many beers tasted flat and…pretty tasteless. I missed the big flavors and exciting tastes and strong hops of American beers. At one point I got desperate and ordered an English cider. Which also disappointed and, was nasty. I stopped after a few sips. What can I say? The Brits really don’t do beer like the Americans.
One note for any upcoming travelers: you order and pay at the bar; this is da rule at da pub!
PS: I’ve finally had a chance to catch up on our beer blog posts, and I must say they are hilarious (love the Ali G quote)!!! Cheers, mates!
tooo funny katy! we should give out a "da nastiest" beer award...
ReplyDeleteKaty, thanks so much for the update from the field! so do you have the names of any of these so-called beers? When I was over there I had more than a couple really awful ones (Boddington comes to mind as a tasteless bit of muddy water), but also I've tried some English beers I've liked (Samuel Smith's line, Old Speckled Hen, JW Lees, and St. Peter's are the ones I remember). I'm glad you had the courage to continue with the tastings even in the face of taste adversity. You know, I have heard they are starting to import American craft beers - somebody told me you can find Rogue over there now, all over the place. I wonder if Brits will start to like the bigger, bolder flavors, and if that will encourage brewers to experiment themselves.
ReplyDeleteBrennan, I've not been able to get ANY of those beers you mention on tap (with the exception of the Samuel Smiths...see a forthcoming post!). They were all quite awful (the bucket of metal-y spit you mentioned in another post comes to mind).
ReplyDeleteEngland seems to import a lot of beer, but I have found VERY few instances of American beer on tap. Having now been to say 10 pubs in 2 cities (Oxford, London) all the beers I've seen have been Peroni, Heineken, etc. Blegh. But it's always a question of finding those SPECIAL pubs, isn't it? Any ideas where to do that?
Katy, I've found the RateBeer site to be helpful here - they have a tab marked "places," and you can look up pubs that are rated by beer snobs. Here'sthe Oxford link, if you're still there (looks like "Turf Tavern" is pretty good). And here's the ratings for London, if you're already back there. In London, Catherine and I liked the Fitzroy Tavern in Bloomsbury near the British Museum (16 Charlotte Street) which is owned by Samuel Smith, and we also liked the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell, which is owned by St. Peter's. But if you just can't stand British beer no more, we found lots of good Belgians at the Prince Regent Pub, at 71 Marylebone High Street, right in Marylebone. I hope at least one of these places can wash the taste of Boddington's out of your mouth.
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