drink 43 types of beer

14. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale – Sigh. I love this beer, a fragrant, complex, elegant brew, with a beautiful label, even. And now that you can get it on draft at a new bar here, of course, I’m leaving town.
15. Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA. A little over the top, really; I loved it the first time I tasted it, but trying to drink a whole bottle about did me in. A serious IPA, with a lot – too much? – going on, and a lot of alcohol.
16. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Your basic really good pale ale; A was googling around today to see if it can be had in the UK, where pale ale is not really the thing. I’ll miss it.
17. Peak Organic Pale Ale. I think this is from Colorado. I was surprised by how good it was, for something organic (which often means blech). They bill it as a cross between West Coast and British pale ales; I don’t know what that means, but it works.

so much I don’t remember. But here’s a list of everything I tried on my last trip to England:

4. Kingfisher – good with Indian food, obviously, though I don’t normally like such a wan brew.
5. St. Peter’s Golden Ale – we managed to get a table on a Friday night at a rocking St. Peter’s pub in London called Jerusalem Tavern. This was a very good draft beer, haven’t seen whether they have it in the US by the bottle.
6. Black Sheep, Masham – really good Yorkshire ale; I first had it at a nice pub in Hebden Bridge. It’s around. There’s at least one other ale called Black Sheep, but this is from the actual Black Sheep Brewery.
7. Snecklifter – hearty, hoppy, complex darker beer, from Jennings Brewery in England. I believe we found it by the bottle at Morrison’s.
8. Hooky Bitter – A is a Hook-Norton devotee; I can’t get my tastebuds around either of the ones I’ve tried, and this one, in particular, was weak and watery to me. Sorry, A.
9. Young’s Special – we (A, M, D, and I) had this at the Morpeth Arms, near the Tate Britain, and also enjoyed a good lunch at this very nice pub (which unfortunately was understaffed that day). Really nicely rounded draft ale, perfect for a rainy day.
10. Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel – Oktoberfest offering from the lovely Cambridge Blue. Surprisingly, too strong for me (well, and mostly lacking in subtlety). But A enjoyed his 11. Maulden Oktoberfest, which I found pretty tasty, as well.
11. Old Hooky – A’s true favorite. We had a pint at the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford, where CS Lewis apparently hung out. My vote: meh.
12. and 13. ESB – Fuller’s and HSB – Gale’s. A had one, I had the other, at the Castle, Harrow on the Hill (A’s local). They were both, but I drank two pints before lunch and (sigh) cannot remember which I liked better. I think one was particularly fragrant and special, just not sure which.

Though I’m trying to drink my fill of Yank beers before heading across the Pond, this beer, I’m told, is actually British – but now it’s licensed and brewed by a Maine brewer called Shipyard Brewing Co. I wish I had noticed that before I bought the bottle, because I tried some Shipyard this summer and really didn’t like it much.

Old Thumper is ok if you like lagers, I guess… doesn’t really make my socks go up and down.

Rather stout-like coffee/caramel flavor. But not sweet or wimpy underneath; at 7.2% this is not a girly-beer. Yum. And it’s local!

from Maine. I never found it in Maine; I wish I had. Beer in Maine last time around was really pretty dreary.

But God bless ‘em, my local, now-yuppie Nanny O’Brien’s has Peak on draft, and It Is Very Tasty Indeed.