A Pint of Your Best, Please...
The Beer List
British (and Irish and Scots) Beers
in North America

And Speaking of Real Ales....

  A small pamphlet published by CAMRA in the 1970s notes:  

CAMRA, The Campaign for Real Ale, defines real ale as
  1. Brewed from malted barley and hops and without substitute materials such as hops oils and rice grits.
  2. Stored in casks (either wood or metal) which allow it to ferment between the brewery and pub - Not pastreurised at the brewery.
  3. Served by any method which does not involve the use of extraneous gas, normally carbon dioxide.

By the way, here is how to get a hold of those
fine folks at CAMRA - Click Here

A few thoughts before we begin...

  To me, enjoying beer at my local pub, or in my garage pub, is a purely subjective pursuit. Yes, objectifying beer is a popular thing these days, and one that has a certain place. Measuring precise criteria - alpha acids, international bitterness units, specific gravity, etc..., can be used to separate beers into certain categories, but do they really tell you if a beer is any good. How about price? Is the price, like many other products, a true measure of the quality of the beer? Likewise, is the rareness of a particular beer a viable measure of the beer's superiority? Is a beer produced by a large international brewery necessarily better, or worse, than a beer hand made by a small boutique brewer? If you append the word "artisanal" on a beer is it really better? How about an award winning beer? Just because a couple of expert judges deemed it so, is one beer better than another. To me, the answer to all these questions is a resounding no. Simply put, if you don't like the beer in your glass, then no application of a certain standard will make you like it.
  For example, now I am not a big hop head, preferring instead a malty British or Irish ale. Hops, to me, need to balance the sweetness of the malt, not overpower it. A quintuple India Pale Ale, with enough alpha acids to remove rust from an iron spike, or the enamel from your teeth, is not for me. If it happens to be your thing, then great - I drink to your health - cheers.

  My deep dark secret - on a hot day at the beach, or lounging around the pool, or after working up a sweat mowing the lawn, I like an ice-cold bottle - or several bottles - of Corona (Oh, the humanity!), and yes, with a slice of lime (say it isn't so). It's a simple pleasure. I don't think I have ever read a positive review of Corona, anywhere, most equating it to piss water that needs the lime to cover up its nastiness. However, since I don't put much credence in reviews, I really don't mind. I like it, and if you do - or don't - well, that's your call.
   Of course, all these questions and comments can be applied to almost anything - beer, wine, cheese, beets, butter beans, art, music, cars - well, you know what I mean. Bottom line - if you like it great, if you don't, well that's great, too.
  So, with all that said, here is a running list of British and Irish beers - and British and Irish-style beers - that I have found in pubs, and shops, throughout North America. Like I say on many pages of this blog, I don't generally do negative reviews. Everybody is a critic, but I find it quite pompous for someone to enter into a profoundly negative diatribe about something as subjective as the taste of beer. The following are not really reviews of the beer, but more of a catalog of what I have found on my travels. It's up to you to write your own review. Cheers!

British, Irish and Scots Beer - The Basic Stuff

(Plus, a few British, Irish and Scots-Style Beers made in North America)

  Before we delve into the styles of British and Irish beers, I would like to present an excerpt of an essay written by Yvan De Baets, which appeared in Phil Markowski's book Farmhouse Ales (2004, Brewers Publications, go to: http://www.brewerspublications.com).

  In this essay De Baets notes:

  "Style definitions serve a purpose for brewers and consumers alike. For brewers, labeling a beer with a particular style is a valuable form of communication, helping to identify the prod­uct and set up an expectation in the consumer's mind: ‘What should I expect this beer to taste like?’ Many beer aficionados need to satisfy an inner drive to define and categorize. This ten­dency is strong in America and is reinforced by the culture of organized beer judging and beer rating Web sites. In the world of competitive brewing, style definitions provide a benchmark from which to compare and rank beers. They provide a technical challenge—a target to aim for that, when accomplished, can be a beautiful thing.
   " At the same time, the incessant need to quantify and catego­rize can interfere with the simple act of enjoying a good-tasting glass of beer. ‘A nice beer, but not quite to style’ is a comment of disappointment I've heard uttered time and time again by "style" geeks." When an otherwise good-tasting beer disappoints simply because it ‘is not to style,’ this is a shame. At that point, it may be time to rethink ‘style’ in the context of good (to style) versus bad (not to style). Style definitions have their place, but they are not gospel."

Yvan De Baets
”Farmhouse Ales”

 And, here's another quick quip:

  "Drink, as I have said, is not a field where all agree, and an objective essay on it, even in such a form as this book, would be a poor thing."

Sir Kingsley Amis
"How's Your Glass"

I heartily agree - Thanks.

  Keeping the above excerpt in mind, here are some of the general styles of ale, many of which can be further modified by adding various words, such as double or triple, or geographical names such as Cornish or Scottish. 

Ale: The foundation of it all, often based on the yeast used (top fermenting) and the method - and time - of storing the finished product. Usually rather malty, and lightly, if at all, hopped.
Barley Wine: Or barleywine, an extra strong ale, often approaching wine in its alcohol content. Tends to be well aged.
Beer: Well, here we go - the discussion as to what is a beer and what is an ale, and when it happened goes on. Just for us, beer is basically ale with hops added. This is just a basic rule - not hard and fast. Your thoughts? Please scroll down for an 1889 viewpoint.
Best Bitter: Like a bitter ale, but with a bit more alcohol content. Tend to be more flavorful and robust. Many brewers produce what they proclaim is their "best bitter."
Bitter: Actually not that bitter at all. This is what ale was called once the English began to add hops. So, is a bitter actually a beer vice an ale? The world may never know.
Blond Ale: Light colored, easy drinking ale. Also noted as a "summer ale." Not to be confused with diet beer.
Brown Ale: A darker ale which gets its color, and more robust flavor, from a darker malt.
Chocolate Stout: A dark stout with a bit of chocolate mixed in.
Cream Stout: A dark stout with some sort of sweetener - often simply sugar - mixed in. 
Extra Special Bitter (ESB): Much like a best bitter, often sold as a brewer's flagship bitter.
Golden Ale: A light ale along the lines of a blond ale.
Heavy Ale: Often used in Scotland to describe a bitter.
Horndean Special Bitter (HSB): A single beer in this category, originally brewed at the Gales Brewery. A bitter, based on an old recipe, now brewed by Fuller's
Imperial Russian Stout: A special, quite strong, ale brewed specifically for shipment from England to the Russian Imperial court.
India Pale Ale (IPA): A lighter ale, but higher in alcohol content, and very well hopped, developed to withstand the sea voyage from England to India. (Please see the Great IPA Challenge, elsewhere in this blog.)
Irish Cream (Crème) Ale: A modern style which probably began as a marketing ploy, and not on any historic data.
Irish Red Ale: Like Irish Cream Ale, this style was a modern development - more marketing than heritage.
Lager: Yes there are English brewed lagers, quite a few actually. Usually brewed with bottom fermenting yeast, and aged for quite a while, and at cooler temperatures. By the way, the word “lager” means to store, or a store house. The word for the beer should be “lagerbier, however the “bier” was dropped back in the mid-19th century, supposedly in the United States. So it’s “lager” today.
Light Ale: A bitter ale that ends to be bottled rather than barreled. This ale is sold with little extended aging.
Mild Ale: Another name for a  bitter ale that ends to be bottled rather than barreled. This ale is sold with little extended aging.
Milk Stout: A dark stout with a bit a sugar mixed in. Usually well hopped.
Oatmeal Stout: A stout with a portion of oats mixed in with the mash.
Old Ale: Ales based on the old standard, tend to be lightly, if at all, hopped.
Porter: A dark ale, almost as dark as a stout. Often made with dark chocolate malt. Reasonably hopped
Stout: Very dark, often black - or red in the case of Guinness - ale. Usually well hopped.
Strong Ale: A variety of quite strong ales, high in alcohol. 

Sources: Grossman's Guide, Grogan's Companion, among others.

Ale versus Beer, and Beer versus Ale, and Ale versus Beer…

Many a pint of ale - or was it beer - have been tossed back during numerous discussions on whether whats in your mug is a beer, or is it an ale. Theories and criteria abound - types of yeast, hops or no hops, or maybe a little bit of hops, aging, kegging, etc… Oh my! In the end, I really view this as more of an academic discussion, often based on unprovable esoteric lore. Remember, that just as soon as you state an empirical answer, a bit of information from the annals of brewing history will prove you wrong. The pursuit of an answer is quite futile, but worth having a few beers, or ales, while contemplating the canon of malty wisdom.
Seen here is an excerpt of a great old book called “The Curiosities of Ale and Beer - an Entertaining History,” by John Bickerdyke, published in London, 1889. By the way, for us Yanks, the “Conquest” was in 1066. Cheers!

A quick note: The beers listed below are organized by the individual breweries that make, or at least used to make, the beer in question. I do understand that many of these breweries are owned by others, often huge international mega-companies that seem to buy and sell them on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes the beer is no longer even made at the original brewery - take Bass Ale, for example. Trying to track all these changes is a daunting, and let's say a boring task, so I will not even attempt to do that here. Instead, I prefer to note the home brewery because that is where all the history comes from, after all.

 Well, there you have it - some of the basic styles of ale. Yes, I fully acknowledge that this is a rudimentarily list at best, touching on only the very tip - the visible part - of an iceberg of beer styles. And, we didn't even touch on lagers. Anyway, I have opened myself up for a fusillade of commentary, but I can take it - drop me a line or stop by my local pub and we can chat.
  Ok, short a making a genuine pub crawl in the UK, here is a list of British/Irish beers easily found in North America - so here we go:

The Quest
Find these beers in North America:

- Click on the Beer -

William Bass & Company :
  - Bass Pale Ale

Belhaven Brewery :
  - Belhaven Scottish Ale

Black Sheep Brewery :
  - Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (Ail)
  - Black Knight's Reserve-Dark Yorkshire Ale

The quest is continued below.

World's Production of Beer, 1913

Boddington Breweries, Ltd:
  - Boddingtons Pub Ale

Carrig Brewing Company:
  - Cael & Crede Irish Ale

Elgood & Sons - North Brink Brewery:
- Coolship Sour Mango Ale

Fuller, Smith & Turner - Griffin Brewery:
  - London Porter
  - London Pride

Greene King:
- Wexford Irish-Style Crème Ale

Guinness & Company :
  - Guinness Draught
- Harp Lager
(A few Guinness Bits and Bobs here.)

Harviestoun Brewery Ltd :
   - Old Engine Oil Black Ale

Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Ltd :
  - Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer Original
  - Innis & Gunn  Rum Aged Beer
  - Innis & Gunn Bourbon Aged Dark Ale
  - Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Aged Beer
- Innis & Gunn Blood Red Sky

Morland Brewery :
  - Old Speckled Hen
  - Old Golden Hen
  - Old Hoppy Hen

Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd :
  - Murphy's Stout

Newcastle Breweries : 
  - Newcastle Brown Ale

Newcastle - Caledonian Collaborative Editions :
   - British Pale Ale
   - British Session India Pale Ale
   - Scotch Ale

(The) Orkney Brewery :
  - Skull Splitter Orcadian Ale
  - Dragonhead Stout

Robinsons Unicorn Brewery:
- Trooper - Light Brigade
  - Trooper - Premium British Beer
  - Trooper - Red 'n' Black Porter

St Peter's Brewery:
  - Cream Stout
  - Dirty Tackle Ale
- Golden Ale
  - Old-Style Porter
  - Organic English Ale
  - Sorgham Beer

Samuel Smith Brewery - The Old Brewery :
  - Old Brewery Pale Ale
  - The Celebrated Oatmeal Stout
  - Handcrafted Strawberry Fruit Ale
  - Pure Brewed Lager Beer
  - Inda Ale

Smithwick's Brewery:
  - Smithwick's Premium (Red) Irish Ale

Traquair House Brewery:
  - Traquair Jacobite Ale

Tennent Caledonian Brewery:
  - Tennent's Export Lager

(Charles) Wells Brewery:
  - Bombardier English
Premium Ale

Wychwood Brewery:
  - Hobgoblin Dark
English Ale
- Ruby Beer

Young & Company’s Brewing Ltd:
- Double Chocolate Stout