John Alexander - A Guide to Craft Brewing

Traditional beer styles vary throughout the country with local and regional variations , and it is this great diversity that makes British beers so appealing.

This ale is the English equivalent of Scotch ale, and in nineteenth-century London it was offered as an alternative to Scotch ale, although many pubs sold both beers. The characteristics of Burton ale are its high gravity, OG 10701110, a very red colour, full dry-hopped flavour and an enticing aroma. Old Burton ( barley wine) was a much stronger brew, with an OG of up to 1145!

The term historically evolved as a colloquialism in order to distinguish between highly hopped mature bitter beers and the mildness of less hopped beer. The quality of palate in todays bitters is more associated with hop character and aroma than actual bitterness, and such spicy floral fruitiness gives them their pleasing charm. Their typical profile is a straw to amber colour of 1525 EBC; an ABV of 3.54.4 per cent; and bitterness, 2035 IBUs.

When brewed to full gravity, this is one of Englands finest beers. The colour may be straw to amber, the palate malty, well balanced with hop bitterness and, perhaps, a touch fruity, with a slight bitter edge. ABV 4.55.5 per cent; IBUs 2855; EBC 1530.

These ales are refreshing, low gravity, bottled bitter beers. They were sometimes sold as family or dinner ales, are usually pale amber in colour, with a dry hoppy finish, lively condition and good head retention. Sadly, light is rarely brewed today. Colour is 820 EBC, ABV 2.93.4, IBUs 1015.

Traditionally in England, pale ales were the bottled equivalent of draught bitter. The character varies on locality due to the water, brewing tradition and local taste. The colour may be straw to rich amber, and the flavour medium malt with good hop character and aroma. Top fermenting practices might influence some estery notes in the finish. The condition should be lively with a fast-rising bead, producing good head formation and retention. Colour is 1030 EBC, ABV 4.55.5 per cent; bitterness 2040 IBUs.

This is the illustrious colonial beer of the nineteenth century. Due to the Trent Navigation Act, Burton brewers successfully exported porter and ales to Russia and the Baltic. The strength of such beers, plus the cold northern sea routes, meant that they arrived in sound condition . After Napoleons Berlin Degree in 1806 designed to disrupt British commerce , the German and Baltic ports were no longer an option and British brewers were forced to look elsewhere.

The answer came from an unlikely source: India. To produce ale that would survive the long, hot, tortuous sea journey half way round the world, crossing the equator twice and arrive in good condition was no mean task. But as luck would have it, George Hodgsons stock pale ale was ideal: it was brewed high in alcohol and was very highly hopped, providing plenty of antiseptics. Crates of bottles and casks were stored well below the waterline, acting as ballast; this also kept the beer cool and sound as it matured during the voyage.

Here is a description of this ale, entitled That Tender Froth, from the Cornhill Magazine, March 1891:

The drinking of a glass of Basss pale ale, iced in India, in the hot weather; how it diffuses itself through you! It would produce a soul under the ribs of death. The clean, hoppy perfume. What bouquet of wine ever equalled it? And as you hold the glass lovingly up before you, what ruby or purple of what wine ever equalled that amber tint? The beaded bubbles winking at the brim of a glass of champagne, what are they compared to that tender froth?