As a fan of good real ale, you didn't think that I'd pass up an opportunity to dedicate a full blog post to all that the UK and Ireland have to offer, did you?
Many Americans shudder at the notion of drinking "warm beer". In reality, the good stuff over there isn't warm but is served at cellar temperature which is around 54-57 degrees Fahrenheit. This compares with the flavor-stymieing 40 degrees or so that your garden variety American lager is served at.
Beginning in London, my favorites are the cask conditioned ales. These are naturally carbonated ales that don't include that fizzy mouth feel one gets from draft beer that artificially introduces CO-2 into the pour. Here is an account of some of my favorite London pubs and the ales that were consumed there:
First London Ale at Mortimer Arms
Mortimer Arms - Black Sheep Bitter
The Plough - Fuller's London Pride
Jack Horner's - Fuller's Extra Special Bitter (ESB)
Bree Louise - Brewdog Trashy Blonde (brewed on premises)
Bree Louise - Brewdog Punk India Pale Ale (IPA) (brewed on premises)
Crown & Anchor - Sambrook Wandle
Crown & Anchor - Canterbury Jack
The Market Porter - Harvey's Sussex IPA
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - Samuel Smith's Best Bitter
The Old Bank of England - Fuller's London Porter (on nitro)
The Royal George - Young's Bitter
Exmouth Arms - Adnam's Bitter
The Court - Everard's Tiger Bitter
The Court - Brakspeare Bitter
Jerusalem Tavern & St. Peter's Brewery - St. Peter's Best Bitter
The Coach and Horses - Adnam's Bitter
The Brew Wharf - Monkey's Head Red Ale (brewed on premises)
The Porcupine - Timothy Taylor Landlord
My favorite in London? Impossible to answer. I tend to lean toward IPAs (not quite as hoppy as what we get here in the Northwest however) and it was special drinking the Samuel Smith's in such an historic pub as the Cheshire Cheese, that was *rebuilt* in 1677. The last two that I had at The Brew Wharf and The Porcupine were pretty darned good as well.
Moving along to Ireland. One word here: Guinness. Now I have nothing but good things to say about Ireland's national drink, from the smooth roasted taste to the perfect tightly formed creamy head of foam. But Guinness is so dominant, especially around Dublin, that it's nearly impossible to find a diverse selection of ales and lagers.
BowlingJoe and the National Drink of Ireland
Pubs seem to be forced to pledge allegiance to Guinness, as 80% of the pubs we visited had the same array of offerings: Guinness Draught, Harp, Kilkenny, Smithwick's. All happened to be owned by the same parent company. After a few days of this we gave in and declared Guinness to be the not-so-willing-to-share conglomerate kings.
In Western Ireland diversity finally set in a bit as we saw more tap handles for Murphy's and Beamish Stouts. They were welcomed as an alternative and tended to be a bit heavier and more robust than the relatively smoother Guinness. Aside from the beer, I have to say that there's nothing like listening to traditional Irish music in a rustic pub that's been around longer than the United States has been in existance.
Tig Coili Pub in Galway
Here are some of the pubs visited in Ireland:
John Gogarty's (Dublin)
Kennedy's Pub (Dublin)
Central Hotel Library Bar (Dublin) - A must to visit!
The Stags Head (Dublin) - Built in 1770
The Gravity Bar at Guinness Storehouse (Dublin)
P.F. McCarthy's Pub (Kenmare)
Donovan's (Kenmare)
Murty Rabbitt's (Galway)
Tig Coili (Galway) - Great Trad Music
Porterhouse Pub (Galway)
World's End Pub (Galway)
Monroe's (Galway)
The Ornate Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast
And we can't forget Northern Ireland:
Crown Liquor Saloon (Belfast) - Another must see place. Had a local cask ale called Copperhead. Finally!
Morning Star Pub & Restaurant (Belfast)
Auntie Annie's (Belfast)
Scotland is the final area of ale exploration on this journey. While there seem to be more pubs per square mile in Edinburgh than London, there are more breweries and styles down south. Scotland's beers, particularly McEwan's, the largest nation brand, tend to emphasize maltier over bitterness. Which actually makes sense since drinks with more body tend to go better with the harsher Scottish climate. Here's a look at much of where we were and what we had:
Caffrey's at Waverly Station in Edinburgh and....Yes that's Coors Light
Henry's Cellar Bar (Leith) - Orkney Blast
Henry's Cellar Bar (Leith) - Deuchars IPA
The King's Wark (Leith) - McEwans Ale
Deacon Brodie's Tavern (Edinburgh) - Timothy Taylor Golden Best (fruity with a non-characteristic burst of hops!)
Last Drop Pub (Edinburgh) - Caledonian 80
Beehive Pub (Edinburgh) - ???
Jolly Judge (Edinburgh) - ???
The Kenilworth (Edinburgh) - Harviestown Bitter & Twisted (award winning cask ale)
Oxford Pub (Edinburgh) - Ossian Golden Ale (This pub was amazing. The real thing.)
Milnes of Rose Street (Edinburgh) - Old Speckled Hen
Enough already. Of the four largest cities we visited here's how I'm rating them in terms of quality and diversity of their ale offerings:
Honorable Mention: Dublin, Ireland
Bronze Medal: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Silver Medal: Edinburgh, Scotland
GOLD Medal: London, England
Clean glasses and good ale are as revealing as counting rings in tree trunks. Here, you can see that it took 15 individual drinks to consume this pint.
Having said all of this, I consider myself fortunate to live in a part of the U.S. where good craft beer is produced and consumed by people with the same approach to ale as me. Even during tough economic times I've heard of very few microbreweries and brewpubs that are closing their doors. Quite the contrary in fact. I can hardly wait to see how good things get when times get better.
