My Top Ten English Beers

As my, My Top Ten French Beers, is my most viewed blog, I though I would have a go at my My Top Ten English Beers.

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

More coming soon

We have been very busy over the last month, we have had a holiday in France and have spent a lot of time visiting Dot's mother in Hospital. I have had many new beers but I do not have the time or the will to do too much at the moment.

I promise that I will get back to normal soon though. 

For now here is a photo from France.

  

Thanks for your understanding.

Polish beer night

My friend Paul was visiting from the deep south (of England, well further south than Yorkshire) and he brought a selection of Polish beers for us to sample.



I drank too many and also had a nightcap before bed, so I am not well at all today and am very busy. So you will have to wait for the reviews, until I feel a bit better.

Two new beers on Wednesday

I am way too far behind with my beer reviewing, so I will just start with the new beers I had on Wednesday night.

The first one brought round by my friend Dave, was bought for him by his son while on holiday in Sardinia.

Barley, Túvi Túvi from Italy

 

6.2% hazy gold colour with a good head, flowery yeasty aroma, yeasty (and maybe some liquorish) grapefruit taste.

This beer is classed as a Spice/Herb/Vegetable beer.

Any ale or lager made with herbs, spices or vegetables. The additive should be distinctive in the aroma. See beer description for flavour. body, color, hop character and strength vary depending on the type of spice, herb or vegetable used.

Next was a beer I have had in the cupboard for a couple of months.

Schneider, Schneider Weisse Tap 5 Meine Hopfen-Weisse from Germany

 

8.3% hazy orange colour with a good head, banana yeast aroma, fruity yeasty taste, a nice stronger version of wheatbeer.

Two beers missed from last year

Finishing off one of my walk blogs from last year, I found that the two beers I had on the walk had no write-up. So I will have to put that right

I had the beers in the Green Dragon at Hardraw, as I said on a walk from Hawes last July, when it was sunny for some strange reason.

First I had a Yorkshire Dales, Dragons T'ale from England

4,2%, It is that long ago I have no recollection of what this was like, I can not find it on the net either, so I do not suppose I will ever see it again.

Then I had a Yorkshire Dales, Nappa Scar from England

4.0% amber colour with a good head, fruity malt aroma, nice fruity bitter malt taste, not 4.8% as I have seen it reviews.

Middleton-in-Teesdale Three

Day three, Wednesday 20th June

Where to go on the way home? The Olympic Torch Relay, was due in Barnard Castle that afternoon and we had already thought about a visit to Barnard Castle, so Barney it was.

After another Full English breakfast (I must stop eating greasy food), we drove straight to Barnard Castle and as we were very early for the Torch Relay, we got parked down by the bridge, where we had intended to.

From there we walked the long way, along the road up into the centre, where, after a quick look in the shops, we made for the tourist information to find out the Olympic flame's route. The route would take the flame up and down the high street so anywhere along there, would double the chance of a good view.

We sat in the sun next to the castle for a while before getting board and going back to the shops, where I found several new beers but didn't want to carry them round all day. Dot got a snack while I went the the fish and chip shop for my lunch.

It was still over two hours before the flame was due, so we went for a walk by the river Tees. It was a walk we had done twice before, so knew we had plenty of time.

The Walk

As we walked back up into town the crowds were building but we noticed that next to nobody had picked a spot on the old buttermarket. We knew the flame would pass there twice, so we claimed a space in the sun. It was still an hour to go but we were sat in the sun with easy access to ice cream.

The police were very friendly and even entertaining, the sponsors buses also kept the interest up. Eventually the torch bearer came in to sight and the now very large crowd cheered, I was tacking photos and missed most of it.

 Afer a short while, a different torch bearer was coming back the other way and then all too soon it was all over.

We sat in the sun next to the castle again and waited until the roads reopened and the traffic died down, before going back to the car. In the end, I forgot to go back for the beers I had found.

Middleton-in-Teesdale Two

Day two, Tuesday 19th June

A day to go for a drive, we did have a general idea that we would head for Alston but that was it for the planning.

After a very nice full English breakfast, we set off on the road, first stop was a picnic area just of the A689, that Dot remembered from her childhood. It is a stop for walking to Low Force, never been to Low Force but didn't fancy it today (too much beer the previous night and too much greasy food for breakfast).

As we passed High Force car park, Dot convinced me to park up and have a walk to the falls. It was £2.00 to park and £1.50 each entrance to the falls, I would rather park free at the hotel and pay for a beer but it was too early for that.

We have been to High Force many times and took many many photos but it is a nice walk and an impressive waterfall and gorge. It started to rain as we got to the falls but by the time we got our waterproofs on it had stopped and we ended up sat in the sun for a while (I was feeling ill, see above).

We continued our drive towards Alston, stopping occasionally for photos, just over one bridge we pulled into a lay-by where two minibuses were already parked. I got out and walked over the bride to see if there was a good shot, I was surprised by what I saw looking over the parapet. Under the bridge was a waterfall and there was a group of people abseiling down it. I want straight back to the car to get Dot.

The only way we were going to get a photo of all this, would be to go down into the valley but neither of us had brought our walking shoes. The path down was rather steep and wet but we managed and it was well worth it for the view.

It would have been a perfect place for a picnic but unusually for us, we hadn't brought one. So we slowly made our way back up the slippery path to the car. Where we did have some orange juice to drink.

Arrived in Alston but there was nowhere to park on the high street, so we got parked at the old railway station. The railway is now a tourist ride, we did it a few years ago and it was very poor but now it has been extended. I do not remember it being a a narrow gage railway, shows how the mind can play tricks with your memory.

We didn't go on the train but thought it could be a good idea to come back with the girls during the summer holidays.

Even though I was still feeling unwell, we walked up the bank into the centre, Alston was practically deserted. The chip shop was open and a few gallerias and small shops but all the pubs were either shut down or closed for the afternoon and there were empty shops. The Co-op was open and doing well though, we got water, crisps and some scones for a snack, we were going to eat in the hotel tonight. Also I did not find any new beers.

After the walk, we drove along the route of the railway, taking photos we went but when we ended up in Northumberland, we thought it would be a good idea to turn back.

Back at the hotel we booked a meal but wanted to eat early, as we needed to find somewhere to watch England play. We were informed that if we ate in the bar area instead of the restaurant, they would set up a TV so we could see the game. We agreed and had longer to get washed and rested.

The TV was right next to our table, so we had a good view, good food and good beers to go with it. We are not big on eating out in restaurants but I enjoyed doing it for a change.

Again I had too many of these.