Ever heard of the 400 Pound Monkey? If not, you’re missing out; this English IPA from Left Hand Brewing is delicious!
This fine brew starts out malty and ends with a bitter, but not overpowering, hops flavor. It totally has that “English Bitter” taste to it as well.
Try one.. or two! Cheers!
I found out that they now sell the Holy Grail Ale in six packs – I only ever remember it in larger 500ml bottles. My husband snagged said prize (it was hard to miss with the glowing lights and angels singing around it) and brought it home for us to drink. Wow – after my first sip I’m reminded how appropriately named it is. I love the malt and hop flavors… and seeing as it’s brewed in England – it has that “English water” taste. You know what I’m talking about right – that taste that is so hard for brewers here to duplicate? That English water really adds to the malty richness and full mouth feel of the beer. Just by tasting it, I wouldn’t have guessed that it’s only 4.7%ABV – it seems so much bigger. I’m thankful for the lower alcohol content though, it’s nice to have a beer you can sit back and enjoy 2 (or 5) of. 🙂
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tie in to Monty Python – as I love “The Holy Grail” movie! I didn’t test it out, but I’d be willing to bet they engineered these bottle caps to float so it’s easier to determine who’s a witch.
English Beer… it makes me think of Fish and Chips and a good ‘ole pub with a Billard and Shuffle board table. There’s a local English Pub in Richmond that serves Fullers ESB on tap and it’s so delicious. ESB is really a combination of my favorite beer characters rolled into one; malty with a rich mouth feel and a bitter finish… ahhh… I really should visit Jolly Old England!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but English beers are hard to “clone” because water in England had different mineral and such than ours. I still think that one of the reasons that New Castle is one of my favorite brown beers is because of the unique taste it has due to the water.
This “ESB” from Fullers… which stands for “Extra Special Bitter” is certainly special – so give it a try! Cherrio!
My husband purchased an English Dark Ale today made by Wychwood Brewery. I’m an English beer fan, embracing some of their more popular beers like Fuller’s ESB and New Castle, but this beer was more roasty and complex than my normal taste of England. The “Hobgoblin” boasts rich but smooth toasted malt and chocolate flavors. Upon my first sip, I didn’t think it was going to taste so dark, but you really get a bitter chocolate finish. It’s a pretty tasty brew, although a little too rich for me to have more than one (500ml bottle, that is).
English beers always have a distinctive taste that can’t be found in American beers. I remember asking my home-brewer husband to make me a New Castle Brown Ale Clone. He said he probably wouldn’t be able to duplicate it exactly since it was “English”. Evidently the water in England has different minerals than our water (makes sense being a different country and all) so even if we copied and English Beer recipe exactly, it wouldn’t taste the same as the recipe being brewed over in Jolly Old England! So… enjoy those delicious English Ales and appreciate that distinctive taste that’s all its own!
A Cap A Day 