World Champion

This Badger offering was fair but nothing special. The fact that it boasts to be a world champion reminded me of similar claims made by actor Judah Friedlander. Take them for what they're worth.

Maiden Voyage

This bitter was the featured beer when I next happened into the River City Cafe for lunch with the Aardman crew. They seem to always carry an offering from the Great Western Brewing Company. The head disappeared fairly quickly, and once again the consistency was more like juice than beer (typical of the Southern brews), but this was not a bad thing. What I got in the end was an easy drinking, great tasting bitter. I'd easily have it again.

Parade O' Beers

So here are a few that I'll just comment quickly on so that I can get my blogging caught up. This one was made by our friends that brew London Pride. This was very good; full of flavor.

Once again I could not turn down the chance to try another IPA. This one was OK -- again, not as hoppy as I was expecting/hoping. Just fair, really.

What can I say? This one felt like a quick trip home. There is really a dearth of good American beers over here (no wonder the Europeans look down on us), but I actually found Sierra Nevada at a large grocery store. Now that we're comfortable driving here, we've traded the corner market for the mega suburban grocery store (think Costco), and the beer selection is amazing! I was feeling a little lost, and I needed to recalibrate my tastebuds with something familiar, and this was the perfect choice.

Liquid Lunch with the Aardman Crew

By now I'm very familiar with the Butcombe family of fine beers. This was Butcombe Blond, chilled from a pull tap and very appropriate for a midday visit to the pub. Once again, the tap experience was better than the bottle. See how little head there is on the beer? My beer pal Alan Short tells me (somewhat critically) that Southern ales are known to be flat, while Northern ales are proudly crafted to maintain a fine, thick head throughout. It's true -- most of the ales I've had here, while delicious, have very little carbonation in them and not much head. These ales drink more like juice than beer.

This is a baby Butcombe. One thing I find very fun about the pubs here is that they will serve a half pint of beer if you ask for it. It's the perfect amount when a full pint seems to be too much (e.g., at lunch). I've included a full pint glass in the photo for scale. I also find that very often a pub will have glasses with the beer brands printed on them, so no matter what you order, you can read what you're drinking right on the glass -- good for when you forget what you're holding in your hands.

The Clifton, Take 2

So I've always been curious about Amstel. I know Heineken imports Amstel Light in the U.S., which I've never been impressed with -- I've always thought of it as Heineken Light. I have a can of regular Amstel in my collection, so I've always known that they make it, and I was hoping it would be a much heartier (and better) version of Amstel Light. No such luck. It was really about the same as its calorie-challenged brother. Totally dismissable. A bad choice.

To cleanse the palate, I had a London Pride from the pump tap. Great; as good as the bottle and better. Another burger and another successful night at the Clifton.

A Night at the Pumphouse

I had another pub night out with the Aardman gang at a place called the Pumphouse. It is apparently owned by the Marston company. It is fairly common for various pubs to be owned by a particular brewing company, which can then be used as a platform to sell their own beers, among others. I didn't see any Marston beers on tap that night (curiously), but I did see this one by Sharp's (not the non-alcoholic brand from back home). It was very good.












I typically jump at any IPA that I see (they don't seem quite as common as back home), and this Deuchars was calling to me. It was just as good as the Sharp's, but it didn't taste as hoppy as U.S. IPAs.

Adnams

There are a couple by Adnams over here (a name I'd never heard of). This one was the first I've tried, and it was decent. Broadside was strong and nutty. Apparently this beer was named to commemorate the Battle of Sole Bay against the Dutch Republic in 1672 off the Southwold Coast. Like, who didn't know that . . . ?

Nice Hooter (not)

Yes, they have a lot of beers named after animals over here. I thought this one was somewhat subpar. Hmph . . .

Head Toward the Light

This beer was probably not as interesting as its name. I was also surprised to find that this was not by Badger, brewers of Fursty Ferret, as their labels are very similar, and they'd make a nice gift set if packaged together. This self-proclained "delicate golden ale" was OK but not very memorable.

Blond in a Bottle

I'd had this local brew on tap in a bar, and then decided to try it in a bottle. It was definitely not as good in the bottle, but still pretty decent. I think I prefer the Butcomb Gold over this. There are two more Butcombe varieties out there, and I will definitely hit them up.

Liquid Courage

I was familiar with John Courage Ale back in the states, but I'd never heard of this Director's Ale . Decent, but not crazy-good.

Ain't It Peculier?

This was similar to the Theakston XB, but a little better. It was hearty with a nice port finish. Complex and rich -- I'd definitely have it again. All good.

T.G.I.F.

So after the Scooby show, we were starving for dinner and looking for a restaurant on foot, when we saw a familiar sign glowing in the distance: T.G.I. Friday's. It was pretty much like the ones in America, with blander food and higher prices. They had an awful beer selection, and Budweiser was about the best thing going. This looked like a regular 12-ounce bottle, and it tasted about the same as the first smaller bottle of Bud I had here. So that's it; the Bud experience has been thoroughly demystified. I shan't be having it again.

Scooby Brew

We were in London for the weekend, and we took the kids to a live Scooby-Doo performance at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre. "Scooby-Doo and the Pirate Ghost" was not just for kids; it also offered something for the adults, too, in the way of a full bar. I had a Guinness in a plastic cup -- no different from my other Guinnes experiences thus far. It's roughly the same as what we've got back home. We are planning a trip to Ireland at the end of the month, so I'll be able to try it in the Motherland. To be continued . . .

The Pewter Bullet

So yes, I actually tried Coors Light today -- I had to have a taste of the Rockies. It tasted just about [as bad] the same as what we've got at home. I did not notice the same taste differential as I did with Budweiser. Coors has always tasted to me like rotting, moldy wood, and this encounter was not much different. Oh well. See the other beer glasses on the table? Just a typical lunch with my Aardman coworkers . . .

Soddington's

I went out with Shellaine to the movies, and afterward we were pretty hungry. It was getting late, and we needed food fast. We didn't want to gamble on a place completely unfamiliar, so we found something that looked like a cross between Jerry's Famous Deli and Buca di Beppo. Granted, we'd never heard of the name of this place before (which I've now forgotten), but there was something vaguely familiar about the decor, and it seemed like a place where we'd find some comfort food (a British restaurant emulating an American restaurant). It was mediocre, but predictable as we'd hoped, beer included. A very weak selection, so I went for the Boddington's. It actually didn't taste as fresh as it does out of the Draughtflow can, and I wondered how long ago that keg had been tapped. Utterly forgettable, but logged nonetheless.

A Blurry Patch

Almost a month into my beer exploration, I hit a patch where many of the beers I was trying all began to taste similarly unremarkable. It's not that any of them were particulary bad (in fact, they're all way better than the average American beer), it's just that none of them really stood out from the ever-growing pack. The Theakston XB sort of signalled the beginning of this period. It was a fine, rich ale, with the now familiar port finish, but at this point it seemed pretty typical of the ruby-colored ales I'd tried. Totally respectable, just not unique. I may end up blasting through the next several beer blog entries until I find something really praiseworthy. One thing's for sure: the more beers I try here, the more I realize how many more there are that I haven't tried.

Back to the Beginning

John Smith's Extra Smooth was the first beer I tried here in Bristol, and as I recall it didn't really knock my socks off (despite the Draughtflow widget inside). Well, my Aardman coworker Alan Short maintains that John Smith's Bitter is among his favorites, so I had to give this canned concoction a try. There was no widget in this variety, but it was much better than the Extra Smooth. Alan was right -- this stuff was pretty good. It seems the British beers maintain more of their quality in the cans than the rest of the European beers (Grolsch, Stella, Carlsberg). Now I just need to find this bitter on tap . . .

Another Badger

Yet another offering from the Badger family. This one offered some compensation for the last (horribly ginger flavored) encounter. Nice, bready, malty, this one held its own. I'd be willing to have it again.

An Unintentional Repeat

I've already had Marston's Pedigree, but this label, commemorative of an England vs Australia cricket match, was different than the bottle I had previously, so I thought it was something new. This experience was the same as the last -- good, but not enough to leave a lasting impression.

Yuck

Yet another offering from the Badger folks, this one says it's "subtly spiced with ginger" -- huge understatement! This one was so overpowered by the taste of ginger that I had to pour it out after a few swigs. There was no way I was going to finish this one. It reminded me of the taste of Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medecine. A complete waste.

A Beer to Crow About

Obviously from the makers of "Old Speckled Hen", this was a stronger, more sophisticated version of the same. It was great! A slower drink, it was a deep, portlike beer, with a fruity raisin finish. An unexpected surprise. Very Nice.

Borderline Acceptable . . .

So this seemed like another pointless foray into the unsatisfying depths of canned lager, but it wasn't too bad. Passable. Ultimately, another reason to eschew the can. Although that Casrlsberg Export in the can is looking mighty tempting . . .

Butcombe Bitter

Just nipped into a bar while waiting for my fish and chips takeaway. I saw the Butcombe pump tap, and decided to have a bitter. Very good, just as good as my previous Butcombe experience -- which I believe was the Gold. The Butcombe name definitely means quality.

A Proper Night At the Pub

I finally was able to go out to one of the regularly scheduled pub nights with my Aardman coworkers. We went to a place called The Clifton, which happens to be a favorite of VFX sup Doug Ikeler, and it truly is a 'local' because we all live in a neighborhood known as Clifton. I started out with a couple of Everard's Tiger Ale, which was fantastic. It was smooth and creamy and very easy to drink. One round was served in the dimpled mug, which is my preferred glass vessel for beer -- it reminds me of a pickle jar. Notice the placard above the tap which says Cellar Cool. I would have preferred it to be a tiny bit colder, but it was still cold enough to thoroughly enjoy. I finished off with a Black Sheep Bitter -- I'd tried the ale a few days earlier and described it as dusty-tasting, but this stuff was much better. Beers from the tap here are far superior than anything else. I'm looking forward to coming back and putting another Tiger in my tank.

Yes, I Am Slumming It

This was simply an act of desperation, as we had guests over for dinner and I needed to procure some cold beer. I've already lamented the lack of selection in the chilled section of the liquor stores here, but I couldn't come home empty-handed, and I had been curious about how Grolsch holds up in the can (will I ever learn?). This was pretty bad -- may as well have been Meister-Brau. It had none of that divine skunkiness that only seems to come from the green bottle. Yeesh.

Another Solid

I first came to know San Miguel as a beer from the Phillipines, but I believe this was from Spain. It was very flavorful and made for easy drinking.

The Real Budweiser

I'd always heard about this beer, and then I stumbled upon it here in England. It's what Bud is supposed to taste like. It was really crisp and dry, a lot less sweet than its American imitator. It had a very European taste, very consistent with other Czech beers I've had (e.g., Pilsner Urquell). Because of trademark disputes with Anheuser-Busch, this beer is sold in the U.S. as Czechvar. Czech it out.

Summer Lovin' . . .

I had this bitter in a cafe right around the corner from Aardman. This place is a regular lunch destination, and with good reason. The food is great, and the beer selection is impressive for a small place. In addition to the regular stouts/lagers that are on tap, there's always a "guest ale" that is featured. It is a common practice in many pubs to have a rotating beer selection, and sometimes the guest beers are listed in advance on a placard (much like a concert tour schedule), so beer fans can plan their visits accordingly. Today, Summer Nights was the guest ale (served cool but not cold from the now familiar pump tap -- the beer is actually pumped into the glass, and it takes several pulls to fill a pint). This one was great -- just what I'd hope for in a British ale. It was fruity and floral and caramely. It went great with the bangers and mash I had, which has become my "go-to" pub meal.

Every Family Has One . . .

This tasted like somethng that had been brewed by hand in a friend's basement. That is, there was something about it that said "amateur microbrewer". It was hearty and bitter, with hints of caramel and maple syrup, but it had that finish that I can only describe as "dusty" -- which is something I've experienced from so many of those homebrewing kits.