Pictorial History Of English Beer

[peetie44]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatp ... -beer.html

[Jiggers McCoy]

Pretty cool. I consider myself quite a beer scholar, but I didn't know that non-hopped beer was called ale way-back-when,

Before I visited London last year, I had read all about the CAMpaign for Real Ale and was excited to get some cask bitter. I was a bit disappointed, though, that most cask beer (that I saw at least) was less than 4% ABV. I hated to order Fosters or Guinness so much, but I didn't want to pay 1-2 pounds more per beer for less alcohol.

[The Limey]

The English probably make the best session beers in the world which is fortunate as most pubs are wary of the higher strength beers. Every town has a couple of craft breweries these days - they are everywhere, and they are very good. However, the best stuff tends to stay local or at least gets shipped to preferred pubs or areas. If anyone wishes to try anything particular then research is needed. The Timothy Taylor Landlord for example is best in Ilkley, a couple pubs near Skipton serves up Landlord that could reduce the hardest of men to a puddle of emotional tears.

[Superfucker]

Yup first came hopless ale, bittered with all manner of herbs, then came "beer" bittered exclusively with Hops, then came Lager at which point Beer became generic for any hopped ales/lagers and Ale became the generic for everything that wasn't Lager, and all those other herbs fell by the wayside. Oddly I've heard that some attempts at hopless beers in the US can't even be called beer legally due to requirements that beers contain hops.