Cruel Britannia

So I'm a pretty big fan of Britain. I spent two years of my life in the UK, and I enjoy a good pint of English bitter on a hot day. Or a cold day. Or really any day. Personal favorite favourite: Morland's Old Speckled Hen. Delicious stuff, and brewed not far from the dreaming spires I called home. But that's another beer for another post.

Which was why I was so excited about two British beers I was able to find in my local beer establishment, and why I was ultimately so let down by them.

First up, Wells' Bombardier. This poured a very promising ruddy amber, with a creamy off-white head with a decent staying power. From the looks of it, a good start.

Given the gorgeous look of this beer in the glass, I really expected better.

However, there was really no aroma to speak of. Granted, I poured the beer all the way to the top of the pint, so the glass was unable to trap any of the aromas. Clearly, I had to empty some space at the top of the glass by imbibing some of the liquid therein. Sadly, even the first sip was weak, a little bready and yeasty, but without the characteristic burnt caramel bite that I expect from a traditional English bitter. Additional attempts to coax an aroma out of the glass were roundly unsuccessful, and the mouthfeel got thinner and thinner as I continued to drink. It even developed, by the end of the bottle, a faint sourness, which was very out of place, and overall, the beer felt and tasted exceptionally watery.

Incidentally, I've provided the link to the Bombardier website, in case you are so interested. I cannot, however, in good conscience recommend clicking on it, however, as the site itself is designed very poorly, and the user experience assaults the sensibilities. Blah.

I also held out some promise for the Fuller's Vintage Ale 2009. Fuller's is the brewery of one of my favorite beers: London Pride, which is a wonderfully well-balanced session beer, as well as the previously and very well-reviewed London Porter, so I had very high hopes for the Vintage 2009. Sadly, this was also not to be.

Unlike the aforementioned watery mess of the Bombardier, the Vintage 2009 was awash in heavy flavors and aromas. The aroma was of sweet fruit, toffee, and candy, and the flavor was about the same, but with a kick of alcohol spiciness.

A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.

Unless the medicine is already as sweet as this stuff.

The pour was a deep amber, with a beautiful fluffy head that concentrated the aromas of cherries and, perhaps, cotton candy (or at least, severe amounts of sugar). The carbonation was pleasant and kept the sip interesting, but the flavor was severely disappointing. Instead of a molasses (treacle?) complexity that combines both bitter and sweet, this smacked of pure cane sugar. There were some banana esters that managed to escape being drowned out by the heavy sugar content. Instead of hops, the flavor of raw alcohol punctuated each sip, making for a truly bizarre counterpoint between cloying sweet and harsh spice. In the end, however, the syrupy sweetness of the beer won out and became very unpleasant, making the bottle a chore to finish.

It's almost enough to make me take up arms in revolution.

Session Beer

I remember in one of my first beer columns for my old school newspaper, my editor flagged the term "session beer" as a possible typographical error. Now clearly, I don't make errors. But aside from that, I'm not sure "session beer" is a terribly familiar term in the US. A session beer is a beer that's light enough to make a leisurely afternoon drinking without becoming too intoxicated, but that's got enough flavor to support sustained interest as well. Usually this means under 5.0% ABV, though the UK definition is actually under 4.0%. There are plenty of American macrolagers that will satisfy the first requirement (Bud, Coors, Miller, and their light equivalents), but would you really spend an afternoon drinking Budweiser? Me neither.

The challenge is getting a clean hop crispness that stimulates the palate without overwhelming it. Old Speckled Hen is a favorite of mine, but only on tap, where it registers only 4.5%. The bottles and cans, it's 5.2%, which is fine, I suppose. It's bright and flavorful, but a little too malty to be fully refreshing. I do appreciate that it reminds me so much of my time studying at Oxford, and its increasing availability in the US is wonderful news.

My first real session of session beers occurred at the seaside town of Levanto, in Italy. I was there on a singing tour, but we had a free day, so my friends and I found a nice cafe on the boardwalk.

Peroni on the boardwalk: Levanto, Italy.

Ultimately, we drank through their supply of Peroni over the course of four hours. Peroni's not a great beer, but it's crisp enough to sustain interest. We were drinking the regular Peroni - the Peroni Rossa is darker, more malty, and a little too flavorful for a session (though in a one-off setting, I'd take the Rossa, as the classic feels a little watery at times).

Full Sail Session Lager

Now, Full Sail, out of Oregon, has two great session-style beers. I say "session-style" because neither is technically under that 5.0% ABV threshold. Nonetheless, they're really tasty, and because their bottles are smaller, there is less alcohol in each glass. Session Lager is a wonderful little beer with good hopping and clean grassy hops. It's got a light bitterness that's super drinkable, and it's both tasty and reasonably light. Also, the short stubby 11 oz. bottle makes drinking a lot more relaxing.

Full Sail Session Black: A full bottle pour.

And Session Black makes for a wonderfully drinkable dark beer that isn't too heavy. To be sure, I have had some lousy luck with black lagers - usually they're syrupy, sweet, and kind of unpleasant. But this one was great. Despite its much darker color, I found the flavor differential quite mild - yes, there's dark roasted malt and grain, but the flavors aren't so saturated that they overwhelm. Instead, there's a very refreshing finish to this beer that made me want to continue drinking.

I should mention, incidentally, that the undersides of the caps have Rock-Paper-Scissors logos on them, providing a convenient way to decide who buys the next round. And as for Rock-Paper-Scissors, it also shows a fun playfulness and whimsy. Nice job.