Man Cannot Survive on English Cask Ale Alone
For one week in July of 2011, I (Jeff from Drink Craft Beer) was in London. Before leaving, I was ecstatic! I couldn't help but think of all the cask ale I was going to drink, not to mention the session beer available at every proper pub! After a week of drinking nothing but English cask ale, most of it very well balanced and of session-strength, though, I have to tell you that I came to a very important conclusion: man cannot survive on English cask ale alone. This revelation plays directly into another topic: the case for American Craft Beer!
Back to the beginning. Before leaving for the UK, I connected with a co-worker (and fellow beer lover) of mine to set up a night out on the town where we'd drink numerous proper (read: 20 oz) pints of cask beer and I'd get to learn about British pub and beer culture. Our first stop was The Dove on the banks of the River Thames, a Fuller's tied house. While overlooking the river we downed more than a few pints of Fuller's London Pride (see picture at right) and discussed the oddities of English vs. American pub culture. Number 1, did you know that, at a British pub, you order all your food and drinks at the bar? There's almost no table service in the entire country, save for at restaurants (which are quite different from pubs, I'm told, although there's often a separate room with table service in the pub). Number 2, if you have a table, people are not hesitant to share it with you, despite the fact that you are complete strangers. I was fairly neutral on the first point but really loved the second. Pubs and beer are supposed to be social, after all, and this seems like a great way to get talking! After this, we moved on to several more pubs and bars where I found an alarming number had cask ale...while it varied in condition there were many that, were they in the United States, the bar owner wouldn't have ever heard of cask ale, let alone had numerous casks available.
This last point leads me to the next: not all cask ale is good ale. Landlords (as bar owners are known) can very greatly in how well they keep their casks. Wandering around on my trip, I noticed the sign at left, which I thought would be a great addition to the U.S., until I realized it really had no actual bearing on how good the beer inside was. So don't be fooled, find out from a trusted source where the good real ale is!
My travels took me through quite a few places full of great cask beer too, though. The Southampton Arms in Kentish Town, the White Horse Pub in Parsons Green (partial cask lineup picture at top), The Draft House Tower Bridge and The Swan in Hammersmith all had great selections of ale, both on tap and in cask. Unlike here in the U.S., I usually didn't know what I was getting, so I just tried as many as I could...and, since the cask beer in UK averages about 4% it seemed, I was able to try a lot! It was all delicious, wonderfully balanced, not too hop forward, lightly carbonated and perfect to drink with friends in a social environment (meaning you didn't have to think about it too hard).
Part way through my trip I realized I was missing something, though. Despite the fact that the beer was great, over time it all started to seem a bit...similar. It was all wonderfully balanced, not to hop forward, lightly carbonated and perfect for a social environment (meaning you didn't have to think about it too hard). Don't get me wrong, I loved the English beer I had in London! It just got a bit similar over the course of a week. And that's when it hit me, I needed something different! A bit guiltily, I ordered a Saison Dupont (see picture at right) and it was the best Saison Dupont I'd ever had.
Forget the boundary pushing. Forget the 100+ IBUs craft beer. Forget barrel aging just to barrel age something. American craft beer is great because of the variety! That's why I drink craft beer. England has great English ale. Germany has great German beer. Belgium has great Belgian ale. But the United States is the only place where, in the same bar, I can get a great English-style session beer on cask, followed by a great German-style lager, a Belgian style ale and then finish the night off with a big 100+ IBU Double IPA! Variety is what makes American Craft Beer so amazing. It's the fact that we have thousands of brewers perfecting their art, all doing something slightly different and bringing together the styles of so many great beer nations. And they're continuously pushing the boundaries of beer. While it may have worked in the past, modern man cannot survive on English cask ale (or any single style of beer) alone. So, tonight, drink a pint of American Craft Beer of any style and just think about how lucky we are as beer lovers. Cheers! (And check out our Facebook Page for all of my London pictures)
