However, where this choice comes into its own is with beer. Walk into any local bar and you'll usually see a vast array of taps, offering an excellent selection of lagers and ales. Perhaps because the country is so vast, there seems to be a greater appreciation of local or regional brews which are offered however salubrious or unsalubrious the establishment. I've no doubt that some of this is seen through the rosy-tinted spectacles of a tourist, and that your average beer-swilling all American guy drinks Bud most of the time, but hey, that's what holidays are for.
A good example would be this gem found in Charlotte airport in North Carolina. Looking for a place to kill 3 hours between flights, I stumbled across the North Carolina Beer Company, which had their full range on tap, plus a rotating seasonal beer.
We indulged in their tasting option - a roundle of 5 small (less than half pint) glasses, filled with their 4 standard brews (a blonde, with the fifth glass empty to be filled with your favourite. Genius. Especially compared to what you are likely to find at the Wetherspoons in Stanstead.
In the UK, despite a long brewing history and fervent activists like CAMRA, we've not achieved the same kind of wide-spread availability of a good range of beers. The slow creep of the Belgian beers into the market means that in a decent pub you can now at least get a Leffe, though sadly often in bottles not on tap. However, there's nothing more disappointing when perusing the taps to find a bland choice between one or two ales amongst the bog standard Fosters, Becks Vier and a Peroni if you're lucky.
Happily, the landscape is changing and there has been a recent trend of speciality beer houses cropping up. One such is the Craft Beer Co in Farringdon. I went along in its early days before it barely even had a website up and running save a statement that they had 37 beers on tap, which was a good enough description to tempt me there.
As well as their keg and cask ales, they also have over 400 bottled beers. Despite it being a heaving Friday night, the staff were knowleagable about what they were selling and willing to give you a try - again, a rare pleasure this side of the pond. The pump labels had descriptions of the beers and some background info about the brewers. They also do great bar snacks - pork pies and scotch eggs, though it is a bit of a shame they don't do a full food menu. Normally, I would be very happy with a simple pint and a pork pie (see About Me) but since we were enjoying ourselves too much working our way through their beers to leave for sustenance, we were forced to follow the lead of fellow punters and bring in some Chicken Cottage. Needless to say, not an experience I had ever anticipated having and one I am unlikely to ever repeat.
I hope the 'craft beer revolution' continues in full force and starts to move beyond 'speciality' venues into local pubs. The day I don't have to settle for a half of peroni I'll be happy.
http://thecraftbeerco.com/
Beer : 9/10
Chicken Cottage: 0/10
Other places where you can find a decent range of beers include:
The Bull, Highgate - I haven't checked this one out yet but Time Out's early report looks promising
http://www.timeout.com/london/bars/venue/2%3A14783/bull
The Spaniards Inn, Hampstead Heath - in the same neck of the woods, The Spaniards has a good selection, with European beers on tap and a good range of US bottles, such as Sierra Nevada
http://www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/
The Clifton, St Johns Wood - The Clifton is a great example of my ideal pub; it has an excellent comprehensive range of European beers, especially on the Trappist side, as well as a good British ales selection. And all without publicising this as a gimmick.
http://cliftonstjohnswood.com/
The City Beverage Company - A great offy on Old Street which does a good range of bottled beers, including the full Brew Dog range (a brewer who prides themselves on being part of the 'craft beer revolution')
http://www.citybeverage.co.uk/index.php
http://www.brewdog.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment