Jonathan and I were trying some new beers last Saturday, when later in the evening we reverted to an old favourite and even though it was in a can, we both agreed, that there are some beers that you can always rely on. Beers that you can pick up almost anywhere in the country and that you know will taste good.
Obviously this has the potential to be a very controversial blog but as it is only my opinion (My Top Ten English Beers) and that is all it is. I am not saying these are the best beers England has to offer but I do like them and they are usually readily available, on draught, bottled or in cans. You will also notice a leaning towards dark fruity caramel tasting beers, Bitters are what I was brought up with and I still prefer them to other styles.
My views on beer drinking are controversial enough anyway, see here Beer and Me
As with the French beers this list is in no particular order but I will start with my local home town beer.
Camerons, Strongarm
4.0% ruby red colour with a very good head, fruity malt aroma, fruity caramel bitter taste. Brewed in Hartlepool it's my home town beer, people of the town either love it or hate it, I love it.
Wells & Youngs, Bombardier
5.2%, deep amber with a nice head, fruity aroma, fruity caramel taste, good beer, in bottles, cans or on draught, I like it, even though lately we have been bombarded with adds on the TV.
Wychwood, Hobgoblin
5.2% very dark amber with a thin head, fruity hop aroma, nice creamy malt taste, very good beer and as you can see from the photos this one is pushed around Halloween time.
Morland, Old Speckled Hen
5.2%, amber colour with a head that disappeared fairly quickly, malty aroma, bitter, liquorice malt taste, I drink this one quite often and I like it a lot.
Courage, Directors
4.8% amber colour with a thin head, malt aroma, caramel malt and hop taste, a very good reliable bitter.
Badger, Tangle Foot
5.0% deep gold colour with a poor head, fruity aroma, slightly malty with some fruit flavour, quite a good drink, even in a can. My favourite of the badger family.
Marston's, Pedigree
5.0% / 4.5% deep amber with a thin head, aroma is malt, taste is malt, liquorice and toffee with a sweet aftertaste of refreshers (a fizzy sweet).
Greene King, Abbot Ale
5.0%, light amber colour with a thin head, nice caramel malt aroma and taste, would buy again any time and do quite often.
Jennings, Sneck Lifter
5.1% dark red colour with a good head, roasted malt aroma and nice roasted flavor, very good on draught or in bottles. The "strong ale" comes from the fact that most UK draught beers were under 4.0% and usually still are.
Adnams, Broadside
4.7% / 6.3% deep amber with a good head, caramel malt aroma, very nice fruity caramel malt taste.
Well that was harder than I thought it would be, I like so many English beers but remember these are just some of my favourites, favourites that are readily available, be it on draught, in bottles or in cans. Also readily available in pubs, restaurants, off licenses and supermarkets around the country.
Lastly the top selling beer in England it Carling (it was called Carling Black Label), Australian Foster’s Lager is second, Belgian Stella Artois is third, and Danish Carlsberg is fourth. None of them included in My Top Ten but I wouldn't turn any down, in fact there are not many beers I would turn down.
4.1%, gold colour with a poor head, malt aroma and teaste, the UK equivalent of Budweiser, not much taste but better than nothing, freezing cold, on a hot day (useless over here 360 days of the year)
The full list of my English Beers is here.
Below are the links to my Top ten Beer blogs.
My Top Ten French Beers
My Top Ten German Beers
My Top Ten Belgian Beers
My Top Ten Dutch Beers
Another Ten French Beers
