The Ales of London

(Originally written April 16, 2015)

Scotch Egg @ The Ship Tavern

British food has a bad reputation or had a bad reputation. But, I think this is unfair. There were a number of things that were outstanding. The traditional English breakfast was often good. I had four or five Fish and Chips dinners. The mushy peas that went with them were a new experience for me and quite a welcome addition. I had bangers and mash that was pretty good. The street food and ethnic foods of Borough Market and Brick Lane Market were great. And the Indian we had was excellent. But, the traditional Sunday roast at the Hereford Arms was amazing and I found that I love scotch eggs with a side of Coleman's mustard. But, while the food was good, their Ale game was excellent.

Cask Ale or Real Ale is hand-pumped because it doesn't have the co2 in it. It's also unpasteurized and it's not as cold. But, these ales were some of the best beer I've ever had. Some were dark, others weren't. Some were high on alcohol content (5%), others were very low (3.1%). I tried to drink as many of these as I could there and only had non-cask ale when nothing else was available. I also tried to drink the "House Ale" as much as possible. Here is the definitive list of the Real Ales I enjoyed in England at the pubs, (with the one exception being that I had London Pride on multiple occasions):

1. The Ship Tavern - Ship Tavern Ale
2. The Ship Tavern - Cornwall Ale
3. Hereford Arms Pub - London Pride
4. The Northumberland Arms - Wychwood's Hobgoblin
5. The Green - Old Speckled Hen
6. The Green - Sunny Republic Hop Dog
7. The Ale House - Bath's Gem
8. The Red Lion (Lacock) - Wadworth Swordfish
9. The Bell - Abbot Ale
10. The Bell - The Bell Cider
11. St. Stevens Tavern - Hopping Hare
12. St. Stevens Tavern - Tangle Foot
13. St. Stevens Tavern - First Call
14. The Garrick Inn (Stratford-upon-Avon) - Garricks Shakesbeer
15. The Rocket - Marstones Pedigree
16. The Rocket - The Reverend James
17. The Marlborough Head - Black Sheep
18. The Bridge (Heathrow) - The Bridge Ale