However, much like in North America, there's been a craft brewery explosion in the United Kingdom in recent years. And I was able to take advantage of that during 11 days of sightseeing, exploring, hiking and drinking in Scotland and two days in London this month.
I've compiled lists of my favourite beers and ciders that I've never had before this recent trip and sampled for the first time, as well as all of the others. A handful of them weren't made in the U.K. but I've included them anyway since they're available there.
Top 10 beers
1. BrewDog Jet Black Heart Nitro
I got this sublime and slightly sweet oatmeal milk stout on tap in BrewDog's Camden pub in London. With 4.7 per cent alcohol content, it would be easy to enjoy several of them in a single sitting, and it tastes so good and goes down so smoothly that you'll probably want to.
2. Hogs Back Montezuma's Chocolate Lager
This collaboration between Guildford-based Hogs Back Brewery and the Montezuma chocolate company was a deserving gold medal winner in the International Specialty Beer Challenge in 2014. The 4.5-per cent brew looks like a regular lager but has a white chocolate nose and flavour with a hint of vanilla. It's not what I expected but it was excellent.
3. Beavertown Gamma Ray American Pale Ale
This cloudy gold, 5.4-per cent beer pours with a nice head and a bold citrus and hop aroma. London's Beavertown Brewery makes it with three malts and five hops. It offers a tropically fruity flavour that's well-balanced in combination with a decent amount of bitterness that comes in at 55 IBU.
4. BrewDog Elvis Juice
This 6.5-per cent American IPA is dark gold and provides a big grapefruit flavour and finish through the addition of grapefruit peel. The citrus and hops combination on top of a caramel malt base is delicious.
5. Franciscan Well Chieftain IPA
This 5.5-per cent, unfiltered amber ale from Cork, Ireland has a nice floral hop aroma and a somewhat complex flavour profile from ale malt and Citra, Tettnanger and Magnum hops. It's not so bitter that it will scare off those who don't like bolder IPAs, but there's enough there to satisfy those who do. It finishes very nicely.
6. Adnams Southwold Jack Brand Mosaic Pale Ale
Made exclusively with Mosaic hops by the Suffolk-based brewery, this 4.1-per cent alcohol ale is vivid gold and pours with a rich head and subtle hop aroma. Flavours that emerge include a nicely balanced blend of mango, peach, lemon and pine, leading to a nicely hopped finish.
7. Williams Brothers Birds & Bees Golden Summer Ale
This 4.3-per cent ale is made by the Alloa, Scotland brewery with a blend of lager malt and Cascade, Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin hops, with a late infusion of elderflower. It has a floral aroma but is surprisingly bitter. It's complex, flavourful and very good.
8. The Kernel India Pale Ale
This 6.7-per cent IPA brewed by The Kernel in the London suburb of Bermondsey uses Mosaic, Citra, and Centennial Simcoe hops and is closer to American-styled hop-forward ales than most British beers.
9. BrewDog Vagabond Pale Ale
Scotland's best known craft brewery is acclaimed for its experimental beers, but this dark gold, 4.5-per cent ale has a nice citrus hop aroma that has a little gentler hop flavour than expected and an excellent finish. This may be the best gluten-free beer I've ever had.
10. Loch Ness Brewery Smokie Ness Rocking Red Ale
This five-per cent amber ale is made in collaboration with Yorkshire rock band Smokie and was rather unique and a pleasant surprise. Ingredients include honey, ginger and a variety of hops and malt. The smokiness hits you first and then the ginger makes its way to your palate in the finish.
The others (in alphabetical order)
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA
Awesome Ness Amber Ale
Bellhaven Black Scottish Stout
Bellhaven St. Andrews Ale
Bellhaven Twisted Thistle IPA
Black Isle Organic Blonde Lager
Black Isle Organic Porter
Black Isle Red Kite Ale
Black Isle Organic Yellow
BrewDog 5 a.m. Saint
BrewDog Dead Pony Club
BrewDog Electric India Dry Hopped Saison
Broughton Hopopotamus IPA
Cairngorm Black Gold
Caledonian Deuchars IPA
Caledonian Coast to Coast Pale Ale
Caledonian Kickoff Summer Ale
Camden Pale Ale
Charles Wells/Dogfish Head DNA New World IPA
Cill Chuilmein Best Bitter
Crabbies Scottish Raspberry Ginger Beer
Cromarty Black Hop Down
Devils Backbone Eight Point IPA
Essex Street Brewery American Wheat
Famous Grouse Ginger Beer
Fierce Beer Lemmy 'Avit
Hebridean Brewing Islander Strong
Heverlee Premium Belgian Lager
Hogs Back Hopping Hog IPA
Howell's Howell at the Moon
Loch Ness Brewery Inver Ness Session IPA
Orkney Brewery Dark Island
Orkney Brewery Dragonhead Stout
Orkney Brewery Red MacGregor
Orkney Brewery Skull Splitter
Redwell India Pale Lager
Roosters California Common
St. Mungo Premium Lager
Skye Black
Skye Gold
Summer Wine Diablo IPA
Swannay Brewery Muckle IPA
Swannay Brewery Orkney Porter
Swannay Brewery Scapa Special Flagship Pale Ale
Uprising Brewery Treason
WEST Hefeweizen
Williams Brothers Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale
Williams Brothers Joker IPA
Williams Brothers Seven Giraffes Extraordinary Ale
Ciders
Fruit-flavoured ciders (aside from the traditional apple and pear) have taken off in the U.K. much more than in Canada so far, as they're available in bottles and on tap in almost all pubs and in store refrigerators. Most of them are quite sweet and reminiscent of wine coolers and the like that had their moment in the sun a couple of decades back.
I'm assuming they're largely aimed at people who don't like beer or more traditional ciders, but still want to get buzzed with their friends at the bar or merely quench their thirst on one of those rare hot British days.
I sampled a mix of apple, pear and these new fruit hybrids. Here's what I found:
The best
1. Thistly Cross Traditional Cider
This Scottish 4.4-per cent alcohol cider pours light gold and has a mild apple aroma but a deep and rich flavour that's well-balanced and tastes very fresh. Excellent.
2. Westons Wyld Wood Organic Cider
This six-per cent cider from England's Herefordshire company is matured in oak vats and has a robust apple flavour and a ripe aroma.
3. Bulmers Wild Blueberry and Lime Cider
This 4.2-per cent English cider is dark red and has a strong blueberry flavour with a hint of lime. It's not too sweet.
4. Kopparberg Pear Cider
This 4.5-per cent Swedish perry is almost clear and although it's sweet it's still pretty well-balanced.
5. Stella Artois Cider
This pours medium gold and has a nice apple aroma. There's a nice balance between sweet and tart. I'll take this over the Belgian brewery's much better known lager.
The rest (in alphabetical order)
Aspall Waddlegoose Bullhead Cyder
Bottlekicking Cider Company Fullback
Bulmers Zesty Blood Orange Cider
Celtic Marches Down Down Cider
Kopparberg Mixed Fruit Cider
Magners Orchard Berries Cider
Old Mout Passionfruit and Apple Cider
Old Mout Pomegranate and Strawberry Cider
Rocquette Traditional Cider
Strongbow Dark Fruit Cider
Thatcher's Katy Cider
Tillington Hills Premium British Cider
White Star Refreshing Cider
No comments:
Post a Comment