Beer,Lager,and Ale, oh my...

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

Wow, thank you all for your recommendations. It appears that I'm going to have to do more research on ales and pubs, than I am on my itinerary! I must say, I love the names of some of your ales and such, sounds very descriptive.
I'm not going to go hog wild on the drinks, but as I travell(mostly by foot, and bus) I thought I would try local brews. The 1/2 pint suggestion is a good one, as are all the others. I still plan on hitting the Isle of Wight, Red, so I'll surely take in the micro breweries.
The only ales from the UK that I've been able to find over here are McEwans, and Newcastle Brown Ale that my dad used to drink.
As I plan my route in finer detail, I'll give you chaps a shout for your local recommendations. I'm getting rather exicited about the trip(planning is half the fun), and having a nice ale in a quiet pub, watching the world go by after a long day's tramp is just what I need.
Cheers
Alex

 

[British Red]

PHG,

The Hampshire Bowman is in Hampshire (mainland rather than the Island) probably 15 miles from the IOW ferry in Southampton. It does have the advantage of a campsite in the pub grounds though - its the next field on from the archery grounds (yes, they really do shoot bows in the garden). Great boozer.

Red

 

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

You mean one can camp on the pub grounds...you Brits are so much more advanced than we are!
Alex

 

[dave k]

If you come to Scotland try Lia Fail, Schallion, Ossian, Nimbus,Arran Blonde and best of all Innes and Gunn. (These maybe avalible in other parts too?) Ed

Hmmmmmmm... Inns and Gunn.. Perhaps the most addictive beer in the world. It has to have the *most* unique flavor of anything.. You have to drink it cold however, and stay away from the stronger 8% stuff..
I can't say I like Badger beer however. To flowery and sweet for my tastes - I prefer Ringwood brew's..

If you're really interested get along to CAMRA - they have really good beer and pub guides. Basically stick to the smaller quiet pubs and always try the local beer if they have one available.

 

[Burnt Ash]

I'll add my vote for the products of the Wychwood Brewery (wearing a Hobgoblin T-shirt is nearly as good as owning a dog for initiating conversations with complete strangers, BTW).

The fondly remembered beers of my youth and student days were Brakspear's (Henley, Oxon) and Gale's (Horndean, Hants). They're still available, but the original breweries have closed, sadly.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Harveys of Lewes www.harveys.org.uk, so I'll put in a good word for our local East Sussex brewery. They make a very decent drop of best bitter and a lovely winter ale.

Burnt Ash

 

[Beer Monster]

If you are heading north of the border then I can recommend the Black Isle Brewery beers. I prefer their Red Kite or Blonde. See here for details:- www.blackislebrewery.com

You say you want something light but I would also suggest you try Belhaven Best. Its a little darker but goes down ever so smoothly. See here for details:- www.belhaven.co.uk

I'm thirsty now .......

 

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

I'll add my vote for the products of the Wychwood Brewery (wearing a Hobgoblin T-shirt is nearly as good as owning a dog for initiating conversations with complete strangers, BTW).

The fondly remembered beers of my youth and student days were Brakspear's (Henley, Oxon) and Gale's (Horndean, Hants). They're still available, but the original breweries have closed, sadly.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Harveys of Lewes www.harveys.org.uk, so I'll put in a good word for our local East Sussex brewery. They make a very decent drop of best bitter and a lovely winter ale.

Burnt Ash

Harvey of Lewes, is this the town of Lewes near Brighton? I'm visiting Brighton, as this is where my grandparents come from. Like the look of the pubs there on the website...
...looks like I'll have a wobbily trek back to Brighton from there.
Cheers
Alex

 

[Burnt Ash]

Harvey of Lewes, is this the town of Lewes near Brighton?

The very same!

Burnt Ash

 

[sam_acw]

If you ever get a real cider then that's well worth a try. Not the sweet orange pretty boy ciders in glass bottles in Wetherspoons but the real ones. Beware they often come up more like a wine in the alcohol strength stakes though!

 

[demographic]

PHG, I am going to get into sooooo much trouble!
Firstly, ignore anything labelled as "larger" - its pants, bland, fizzy and absolutely no taste, brewed with known poisons to give the drinker the headache that he needs to think he has had a good night out!
Secondly, be very careful with anything labelled as just "Beer", its likely to be cheaply made and not very good (though infinately better than larger ).
Ciders and Perry's are worth a tipple depending on your individual taste.
Guiness is in a class of its own and, whilst an aquired taste, makes a good quaffable drink, it doesn't travel well though, so the further you are from Ireland, the lower the quality.
Ales are Gods recommended use of grain with wildly varying tastes, strengths and colours - drink all that you can find! I can heartily recommend anything brewed by the Wychwood Company in Oxfordshire, they even have their own website - http://www.wychwood.co.uk/ For light tasting brews I'd say Wychcraft/Blackwych/Circle Master, whereas Goliath and Hobgoblin are likely to be too strong, but all are worth trying.

Nothing to do with the company, just a very satisfied customer.

Oh, and this is a balanced and considered view - anyone who says different is wrong

ATB

Ogri the trog

Pretty much better than I could have said it

 

[Lostdreamer]

Dano makes a good point about the pub being more important than the beer. He is quite right. Not only is it possible to ruin even the most indestructible of beers if you try hard enough, but a good pub will stock good beer - it's what their customers want to buy. Factor in the importance of a nice atmosphere in the pub, and I would have to agree with him. The pub IS more important than the beer.

Anyways, back to the beer which seems to be the topic of conversation:

Adamns, Wychwood (& several others I forget atm) simply don't make bad beer. Everything they make is normally quite good. However, they don't make exceptional beer either.

Samuel Smiths make good beer. Honestly, everything they make is good.

Sarah Hughes make some downright awesome beer. Pretty much everything I have tried by Ms Hughes - whoever she is - has made me want to marry the lass. I havn't tried their entire range (yet) tho.

I am trying to avoid recommending individual pints, partly because the odds are good you won't find 'em. There are a LOT of different beers about. Also, as you may have noticed, everyone's tastes are different. You mention the Isle of Wight which suggests you will be around the south coast for a while so I will second the recommendation of Adnams Explorer however.

Now, words of caution time:
People are mentioning Cider in the same breath as other people are mentioning Beer. Don't go there because it is a classic recipe for disaster and the kind of hangovers where you arn't so much afraid you will die - you are afraid you won't and the pain will never go away. A good cider is lovely, a good scrumpy is evil in all the best ways, but never mix 'em with anything else - beer especially.

There are also quite a few dark pints being mentioned - Guiness and Innes & Gunn for example. Partly, I am mentioning this because you requested lighter, more 'sessionable' pints, and partly because as a rule of thumb the darker the drink the worse the next day and I don't want your memories of our great country to mostly consist of praying to The Great Ohhh God.

And one last bit of advice:
Have fun! Oh, an drink a pint of water before you go to bed. Drink another every time you get up to take a leak during the night. You will thank yourself for it in the morning.

 

[dave k]

Innes & Gunn

It's a light ale, not dark at all. It's just been kept in old whisky barrell's so it gets infused with a mellow whisky flavor.

 

[nicodiemus]

Wychwood make excellent brews, as do Badger. Believe it or not Sainsbury's own brand Mild is excellent. I don't know many good english Lagers, so i won't reccomend any. In fact, i only know of two good Lagers in the UK, being budweiser budvar (NOT the standard rubbish!), and to a lesser extent Tuborg. Neither British!
Tim Taylor Landlord is superb.
If you happen to be in Northamptonshire, look for any of Potbelly Brewery's beers. The owner is a friend of mine, and i can attest his beers are fantastic!

You could also swing by mine, if any of mine are drinkable by the time you get here i will gladly pour you a pint.

 

[nicodiemus]

Oh and if a helpful local offers you a snakebite, it's lager mixed with cider, and it will give you a hangover that could split a battleship in two.

 

[Womble]

If you're in the Hampshire area, it could be worth checking out the Hogs Back Brewery, and their flagship beer TEA (Traditional English Ale)

 

[Tengu]

Scrumpy is harmless Lostdreamer, its so acidic you will bring it up before it does any harm.

 

[Toddy]

Scrumpy is harmless Lostdreamer, its so acidic you will bring it up before it does any harm.

Hah! but I make Windfall Cider and then I ice refine it on bitter cold Winter nights to mellow it out
Now that stuff makes strong men gasp, but it's smooooooth going down and it fair heats everything up, and it smells like apple jelly but is almost as clear as water.......and technically I suppose it's scrumpy........

I suppose we really ought to advise PHG to read the labels, 'cos sometimes ales and the like get really potent. The half pint idea was a good point.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[daved]

If you want to try a whole range of beers then it might be worth trying to get along to a beer festival. You will find a bigger selection of quality beer at one than you would find in even the best pubs.

Someone already mentioned CAMRA and they have a list of upcoming festivals on their website ( http://www.camra.org.uk/ ). You might get lucky and find that one coincides with your travel plans. There is also some information about the different styles of beer on that website too.

The selection of beers available in pubs is often a bit limited, but if you are in the capital, Fullers "London Pride" is commonly available and is not a bad starting point. If you do make it to London and get a bit home sick then there is a Canadian bar close to Covent Garden called "The Maple Leaf" (surprise, surprise).

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Chris G]

My 2p worth;

1) I third Ogri's statements
2) (I may get into trouble for this:twak: ) If you find yourself in a "Robinsons's" pub (of which there are hundreds across the country) you have two choices;
i) Leave immediatly :sulkoff:
ii) Drink anything other than the Robinsons beer (even lager!! ). Robinsons in an acquired taste and after 33 years and several attempts I still dislike it!

Chris

 

[Bob the Blacksmith]

You need this:

http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=257548

Nowt wrong with Robbies beer btw.