Hail to British Ale.
Britain is one of the great brewing nations of the world. More than 1,200 different beers are brewed in Britain and each is unique. The United States is not only Britain’s largest beer export market, but also one of the oldest. In 1697 it is recorded that 7,308 barrels were exported to ‘America’ and by 1800 this had grown to 21,522 barrels. Today more than 1 million barrels of beer make the journey across the Atlantic from Britain to the United States every year.
Bitter, Best Bitter, Strong Bitter, Mild, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, Scotch Ale, Old Ale, Light Ale, Lager and Specialty Beers are all brewed in Britain. Porter, once the dominant beer style in Britain, all but disappeared, but in recent years has made a significant revival. While lager has been brewed for over a hundred years; ale is the distinctive traditional style of beer in Britain. Ale differs from lager in that it is top-fermenting, the yeast used to ferment the beer does so at the top of the beer, as opposed to the bottom-fermenting yeast which is used to make lager. Top fermenting yeasts usually impart a distinctive fruitiness to the beer.
British ale styles captured the imagination of the craft brewing revolution in the US more than those of any other country. Much of this may owe to the close cultural ties between the US and Great Britain; though a large factor is undoubtedly that British ales lend themselves relatively easily to home brewing, which was the starting point for many of today’s successful brewers. High quality home brewed Germanic or Bohemian lagers are a rare species.
