I’m heading to London in a week or three. The English beers and ales I know are the ones with current or former US distribution, my favorite being Fuller’s ESB, which no longer has US distribution in my state, so I will be having a pint or three of that somewhere that has it from cask, and visiting the brewery.
I’m looking for recommendations, though, for others in that style I should try - particularly those that are not available in the US. Do you have a favorite (favourite, I suppose I should say)?
If you know which pub(s) in or near central London (Let’s say between the Tower of London to the east and Kensington Palace to the west) have it from cask, that information would also be much appreciated.
This takes me back about four decades (plus) and pub crawls around the City. . I have no current info but look forward to others’ contributions.
One thing surprised me … you get UK cask ales in the US? I thought all imports were in bottles or tins. In Ontario we get some decent UK imports in bottles (and tins for those who like that sort of thing).
Indeed, my one piece of generic advice is to find pubs serving from the cask. Beer should not need plumbers on call .
Second piece of advice, find some journalists and follow them. City types will lead you to fancy wine bars which are generally deprecated.
No, we get bottles. I’m dividing the world of cask ales into two groups - brands I know because we get bottles of that brand in the US, and brands I don’t know because we don’t. But either way, if I want to have it from cask, I have to get on a plane.
(I wonder if there are some exceptions - are there any places near the Guinness brewery in Baltimore, for example, that get casks and have proper pumps?)
Old Peculiar is one of my all time favorites but never had it on cask and is apparently no longer available in the states. Abbot Ale, along with all the Greene King products I have had, was great on tap. I have had Ruddles in the past but don’t remember if it was the country. We used to get some casks of British ales in the Bay Area, CA in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The local pub I frequented at the time had a beer engine but it wasn’t in use the last few times I was there.
I would 100% go this route and place quality/convenience of pub over seeking out any specific beers. CAMRA has long been an excellent resource (used an info packet from them during a trip to Belgium in 1999), and a decent pub will likely have good craft options we’ve never heard of that are worth trying. Not said to throw shade, but if a Greene King’s product is the BEST option at a bar, you should move on. It’s the Sierra Nevada of GB; easy to find, good in a pinch, but not the thing that makes you stop and stay.
Don’t rule out looking for excellent Scottish and Welsh options as well. There are regional ‘single malt’ breweries that just don’t have the capability to ship internationally, but are likely to have a presence in London and just as likely to put out a few cask versions.
So far I have found “Best Bitter” style brews (all from cask) from Young’s, Southwark, and Harvey’s, as well as Fuller’s ESB, and still prefer the Fuller’s. Off to tour their brewery today.
The first pub I visited was a Sam Smith’s house, and they were out of both the regular bitter and the best bitter. Not an auspicious start, but it got better after that.
The CAMRA search engine has been a big help. Cheers!
Gales Brewery in Hampshire was acquired by Fuller’s years ago and the production moved to Fuller’s brewery in London. Hence, they had the Gales HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) in the tasting room - delicious! A bit richer and maltier/sweeter than the Fuller’s ESB. I wouldn’t say I like it better than the ESB, but I would say I love it and I’d love to have both in my fridge at any given time.
According to my tour guide, though, HSB is still in pubs mostly in the north/west where Gales owned a bunch of pubs before the merger, and ESB is still mostly in London pubs that pour Fuller’s. I have a line on one pub for lunch tomorrow that supposedly has Old Peculiar from cask, and one for dinner that supposedly has HSB, even though it’s in London. We’ll see.
I highly recommend HSB, though, if you ever come across it.
Recent success continues. I kept skipping Greene King’s Abbott Ale because it’s ubiquitous but finally tried it. Very nice, in a similar style to Fuller’s ESB. Maybe a half-star less good, but very solid.
Shout out to the Shakespeare’s Head for the lowest prices I’ve seen in London on real ales.
At the moment I’m around the corner at the Ship Tavern sampling a half of “Butty Bach” from Wye Valley. It is lighter (a bit) and less bitter than ESB but still tasty in a way that a lager never will be for me. Recommended.
The Ship Tavern also pours Old Peculiar from cask and while of course it’s not a bitter, I couldn’t pass up a quick half. One my favorite maltier beers, near the far end of the malt spectrum for what I like. Delicious and great to finally taste it from cask.
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