Seeking ideas for the UK leg of my beer trip

[Hedo-Rick]

Going to be heading to Europe later this year and am setting aside-roughly-two weeks for the UK. I'll probably be starting in Liverpool as I plan on taking the ferry over from Dublin. I'll be traveling by train on my way to London where I'll probably spend 3-4 days before I head deeper into the continent.

I'd love to hear all your thoughts on towns/pubs/inns and anything else related to British brewing and cider you think I shouldn't miss.

Thanks!

 

[rowan57]

I would get yourself to one of the Brewdog bars (List @ http://www.brewdog.com, Shoreditch = London).
There are pubs in most/every town, mostly with ties to breweries and draught ale on tap. There are also microbreweries all over and the Real Ale Guide is useful to find them and good pubs; http://www.realaleguide.co.uk/index.html.
Wetherspoons generally offer a good range of beers and ales in a more commercial bar environment.
I like Adnams and you can find pubs that stock their beer here; http://adnams.co.uk/pubs/pub-finder/.
Timothy Taylors Landlord on tap is hard to beat if you are looking for an 'english bitter'.

If i think of anything else I will let you know!

 

[Hedo-Rick]

I appreciate your thoughts. However, I was wondering if you could help me with some ideas on different towns / communities to visit that are really associated with traditional UK beer culture since you are from the UK. I understand I'll only get to see and taste a fraction of all the great beer the UK has to offer, but I will have the time and opportunity to go wherever, whenever I want.

I'm sitting here looking at Camra's Good Beer Guide and am completely overwhelmed with options. If you had a chance to take two weeks to travel and explore nothing but beer and cider, where would you go?

 

[terrapinj]

The Harp in Covent Garden, London is a great spot
several cask offerings of Real Ale as well as several cider options
http://www.harpcoventgarden.com/

 

[Cider123]

I was just watching a clip with the famous brewer, Michael Jackson. He went to one of his most favorite pubs called "The Dove" in Hammersmith. It looked like a cool place with cask conditioned ales. Supposedly one of the oldest pubs in England?

 

[vNmd]

I lived in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk where Greene King is made. It is a little outside of your London trip, but if you are in a pub that offers Greene King - have a pint. They are one of the largest British owned breweries in the UK. I tried to get a tour but they only gave tours to large groups.

 

[Hedo-Rick]

Thanks for all the great ideas!

 

[Landlord]

so if your going to Liverpool I can recommend The Baltic Fleet, its a great pub down near the docks which is a good spot to be...good beer, good history etc....

http://www.balticfleetpubliverpool.com/

plus heres a nice REAL ale map of liverpool- do a pub crawl! http://www.visitliverpool.com/xsdbimgs/Real Ale Liverpool.pdf

There are so many pubs in the UK it can be daunting, so the camra guide can be good but to be honest wandering around and finding a nice local pub is part of the fun. Good english pubs are not by nature flashy things with websites etc. You can go pretty much anywhere you like in england and find a decent pub. Nearly every city in the uk has a pub that claims to be the oldest in Britain...

Not to argue with the advice above but I personally avoid wetherspoons like the plague, particularly if its after about 6pm as its gonna be full of chavs and the food is evil. While they do have a large beer selection, they are a massive chain that sell booze cheaper than anywhere else. You're likely to have your shoes vomitted on by some spotty teen wasted on cheap alcopops. The fact that they open their doors earlier than any other pub (ie you can get a pint in your average spoons at like 9am), speaks to their clientele....Certainly not a proper british pub experience.

As for greene king... if you love craft beer I would avoid visiting these guys too...they are another massive company that work hard to take over and close down small independent breweries and there beer is pretty lame....

As for brewdogs, dont get me wrong I like their beers, however it seems a bit pointless to travel all the way over the pond and then drink what amount to american craft beers produced in the UK

If you want to visit a brewery how about fullers in London? ....or harveys down in lewes on the south coast- Brighton is a great city nearby.....scotland is another spot that cannot be missed, plus you could check out a distilery. Yorkshire has great countryside and great breweries....

If you are looking for something really beer centric to do you could plan your trip around the CAMRAs great british beer festival in london in August, or alternatively if you have your dates booked up already you could also try one of their other beer festivals there are loads per month around the country.... they are full of beer geeks and usually featuring hundreds of different cask ales. Check out the camra website...http://www.camra.org.uk/page.php?id=4....

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Landlord's post is made of magic and awesome. Right down to the chavs in Wetherspoons (Don't go there, they are just bars) I can't add anything to his post, really, just emphasize that you have to find your own pub there.
It's like trying on a bloody glove in a courtroom. If it don't fit, you must just quit.

I'll leave the beer talk to Landlord, he has it covered. I noticed you mentioned cider a lot. If you are truly interested, then you have to go to Somerset or Devon, and once again, find the pub that suits you. You will need to drive out on the moors and stop at any place that looks remotely like a pub. (I went into a pub there once, and I'm still not quite sure if I was just invading someone's living room) There they will have cider that is not for the refined pallet. Your mouth will pucker up so hard that it sucks in the rest of your head.........The real point is not actually great beer or cider, although you can find both.

The true point of a good English pub is that when you find one that fits you, it fits you like a glove, or the love of a good woman. It may even fit you like a good woman wearing a lotion soaked glove (wink wink)
A good pub will have good beer, even great beer maybe! However, it's the people that make a great pub, not the beer.............So you MUST try them all. If you do not try all the pubs in England, then you are not worthy of your quest.

In short, contrary to what would seem to be obvious, the pub is a little bit more important than the brew. It's not drinking good beer at home, it's a different experience than bars too.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Landlord & LGI should work for the UK tourist board; I really want to go on a pub tour of the UK now!
Regards, GF.

 

[Landlord]

jeez I want to go to a proper pub now too!

damn!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

jeez I want to go to a proper pub now too!

damn!

When anyone asks me what I miss about England, my answer is always the same. "Nothing much really, except the pubs"

I can speak to my family on the phone and facebook, they can come and visit me too. I can watch the footy live on TV or on a dodgy internet stream........The only thing I can't do is knock back 10 pints of bitter in a warm, hospitable atmosphere that is not my own living room......Then walk home because there are plenty of pubs in walking distance. (That's sadly fading though)

Sure, the US has some good craft beer, but it's rarely designed for session drinking, and you won't get a whole room full of people on the same beer page. The whole thing about a UK pub is that good beer is taken for granted (Thanks CAMRA), and is rarely the centre point of the conversation.....If you go to a good brew house in the US, you will be talking about the beer above all else.

 

[Hedo-Rick]

LGI,

How is Ohio treating you? I grew up in Youngstown but have been living in San Francisco close to 15 years.

I'm definitely going to the UK for real ale experience, but at the same time I'm looking to just hang out in English pubs (not your typical bar) and absorb the people and pub culture. My favorite place in San Francisco is Magnolia. It's designed to be a social gathering place and serves (mostly) traditional English style ales on draft and cask.

I appreciate all the feed back and am looking forward to spending the whole month of September in the UK!

 

[onetoeddogbrewery]

Check out, have beer will travel blog. These old men are living life!! They are lunatics/genus when it comes to beer

 

[BigAndo]

LGI,

How is Ohio treating you? I grew up in Youngstown but have been living in San Francisco close to 15 years.

I'm definitely going to the UK for real ale experience, but at the same time I'm looking to just hang out in English pubs (not your typical bar) and absorb the people and pub culture. My favorite place in San Francisco is Magnolia. It's designed to be a social gathering place and serves (mostly) traditional English style ales on draft and cask.

I appreciate all the feed back and am looking forward to spending the whole month of September in the UK!

Are you coming to Scotland??


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew

 

[Hedo-Rick]

Are you coming to Scotland??

I am. I will be in Edinburgh Sept 11-14.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

LGI,

How is Ohio treating you? I grew up in Youngstown but have been living in San Francisco close to 15 years.

ooops! I missed this post, I should reply for the sake of politeness!

I like it here, for the most part. The people are friendly, and the topography is inoffensive.

I miss the English pubs while I'm here, but in contrast, I would miss the steak dinners here if I were over there! .....As I see it, the only way out of this conundrum is to become a billionaire.

 

[RaHarmakis]

My advice for Drinking on the English Isles from a Canadian that spent 2 weeks in the Northern Lake District.

When you walk into a bar, look at the Taps. If the Tap is located on Tower, it's more than likely a commercial brewery (and likely Fosters for some reason). I'd skip those your just getting what you can get on this side of the pond with a funny accent.

Go and order from the Fancy Real Ale Taps. I found that dammed near every pub has a unique brew or two on Tap. I spent 2 weeks hitting pubs and never drank the same pint twice!

One thing i recommend that I did not do but now regret... Take a picture of the Taps you get served from! They have some really cool labels and Taps!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

My advice for Drinking on the English Isles from a Canadian that spent 2 weeks in the Northern Lake District.

Tip for the OP. Do NOT call it The English Isles anywhere whatsoever, there is always a Scot, Irishman or Welshman standing somewhere near you!

Good point about guest ales though. If you are n a pub that has them, you must try them as more often than not you will never see them anywhere else. It is usually a one-off opportunity.

Also, you will have the advantage of having an accent. Use it to your advantage! About 12 years ago I took Mrs. LGI there. We were sat in a pub, and she just happened to admire the pump handle label thingies in her American accent. After the landlord made two or three visits to the cellar, we came out with this haul of free goodies.

The Cooper one is porcelain on brass, and is a real thing of beauty, as is the Abbot Ale one and the Bass one. We also got some beermats and towels too......For when I finally get to build that bar. (Sigh)

 

[BigAndo]

Tip for the OP. Do NOT call it The English Isles anywhere whatsoever, there is always a Scot, Irishman or Welshman standing somewhere near you! (Sigh)

True that! (Scottish right here) It's the English isles in the same way Canada is some sort of province of the USA! :-D

On the beer tour side of things, OP, you might like this place:
http://www.brewdog.com/bars/edinburgh




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[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Anyone called Big Ando is gonna be a Scot!

 

[BigAndo]

That's right! Lol I got the nickname when I got married, as a sort of consolation prize for not being a 'Mac' any more.


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[Hedo-Rick]

Thanks for all the great info everyone! Six months from today I'm on a plane and free from the constraints of my daily life...free to just travel and be.

BigAndo, As far as staying in Edinburgh, do you think Old Town or New Town is better starting point for someone who has never been there? Also keeping in mind I'm traveling on a backpackers budget.

 

[BigAndo]

I prefer the old town and think it would suit your needs better, but it's ok because, in terms of walking distance, the two are within easy reach of each other! I think there is a backpacking place on the cowgate, and another in Cockburn (Co'burn) street, both of which are pretty close to the action! If you want more info or have any other questions, gimme a shout!


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[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

OP, I'm sure you know this already, but don't tip in a British pub. It's not at all neccesary, but if you do feel that you have had good service, then while buying a drink, offer the barman/maid a drink for themselves. They will thank you politely and tell you that they will either take the cost of a drink from your order, or that they will take a set sum that is the policy of the pub. Do NOT feel bad about not leaving a tip or buying the server a drink if you don't want to!!!!.....It is very unlikely that they will have that drink with you at the time you bought it.....If they do, then you are probably in Exeter about five years ago and have just met my daughter. Say hi to her from her dad in the future!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

OK, I'm just gonna go ahead and use this thread as a notepad for random pub thoughts if that's OK with everyone.


Further of tips: A good reason not to leave a tip on the bar..........All it does is test the resolve of other drinkers. It will sit there forever and ever while everyone knows it is there. It will become the hugest elephant in the room until someone finally cracks and puts it in the charity jar.........Then there is a huge sigh of relief all around, honour is satisfied, and everyone needs an extra pint to overcome that harrowing test of resolve. Would you want to be responsible for emotional trauma such as this?

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Yellow beer:

In the UK, all the yellow beer is crap. It's fine for the youngsters, it's the same kinda stuff that BMC is made of. That's not to say that German yellow beer is not great, it's just that it's, well, German, so you won't see much German beer there.
Most people have nothing against German beer at all, however, just as in any other country there are cultural biases. In the UK, there is a cultural bias against any country that bombed the crap out of their Grandfather's fish and chip shop or any team that keeps beating their football team on penalties......And, of course, German chicks STILL do not shave their armpits. Case closed. Unless you are Jewish.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Don't go to a pub in Dover. France is only 20 miles away from there, and with the wrong wind, you can smell them. This reminds me, in Devon, there is a village called "French Beer".......curiously, there is no town nearby called "Oxymoron"

By the way, as one may have guessed, anyone can gain a kazzillion points from pub locals if they have a good arsenal of xenophobic jokes to keep them friendly.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Post edited.

Sometimes, what seems like friendly banter in your head just looks ******* in a forum.

 

[BigAndo]

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