http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2009/06/anglican-bishop-church-of-england-likely-gone-in-thirty-years.html

There are a few cracking London pubs where you can find a real range of decent Brit beer (almost all on cask) – famously The White Horse, Parson’s Green, but also The Wenlock Arms (Hoxton), The Oakdale Arms (Harringey) and The Pembury Tavern (Hackney). There’s prob a good few more, but I’ve not lived there for about 7 years.

The brewpub I used to work at (ZeroDegrees, Blackheath, SE London) had a great range, but not really many in UK styles. Likewise Meantime Brewing has a good bar The Greenwich Union, (in Greenwich! – not far from their brewery in Charlton), with, I hear, some great beers, but it’s not really a trad English boozer, partly as it doesn’t have much cask beer & partly as it’s more of a loungey bar. Well worth a visit, though.

@Nate – shame they don’t mention the beer they gave out – but the comments about “manly” & “laddish” makes me think of mass-brew lager before a decent bottled ale!

I was able to go to some Samuel Smith’s brew pubs and had some good stuff there. The extra-stout was a much welcomed respite from bitterdom. I also had Grolsch’s wheat, which I enjoyed as a change of pace. I found some Old Peculiar and some other good stuff, too. I have to say that the most interesting beer, by far, was the Brain’s Dark that I had in South Hampton. Also, as poor as the choice on beer was some times, it beat the hell out of France, Portugal, and Spain.

To be fair, I know that the highway and byways is the better place to find stuff and we were primarily in London. I’ll be back and searching for some Old Ales and the like.

http://www.carling.com/beer/barley-map/ (will ask for proof of age)

I’ve been meaning to talk to the UK Advertising Standards Agency about it, as I really think it sets out to be misleading. (in advertising? – I know! – who’da thunk it!?)

That said, the scroll along hand-drawn guide to brewing on the site is pretty cool.

Just read your comments elsewhere on here about the ubiquity of low strength Bitter in UK pubs – I totally agree, even in pubs that really know how to look after cask beer (a real skill in itself) often the range is simply several bitters of varying origin/strength (say 3.8 – 5%ABV).

We brew 5 staple beers + a changing seasonal & each has a different recipe, brewing method, style, ABV & colour (Pilsner, Golden Ale, Hybrid Dark Beer, Hoppy low ABV Bitter, rich red ale & currently a wheat beer – broadly Belgian style – all on cask, some also in bottle).

There are a fairly wide range of UK beer styles out there & some pubs pride themselves on always having a true choice (Mild, Old, Porter, Stout, Golden Ales, proper IPA, etc) but they’re quite a rarity.

Local to me, this is one such place – http://www.theshipandmitre.com/

P.S. I was recently in London and South Hampton, so I understand some distain for the Carling.

(I don’t however read The Telegraph – a right-wing broadsheet)

The Q I really wanted to ask is “which beer?” (I couldn’t see the answer in the news piece) – see I could get excited enough to have a Damascene conversion if the Revd was offering a hoppy IPA or Imperial Stout, but I’d be looking elsewhere for a cool & foamy glass of Duvel if he tried to palm me off with a bottle of Fosters or Carling!

cheers
Mike
(followed you over here from your comments over on Melissa’s excellent http://girlsguidetobeer.blogspot.com/ )