Hello everyone! I am visiting my in-laws in England for the holidays. Any underrated or highly-recommended UK beers I should look for while I'm here? My husband and his family have introduced me to some classics, Old Speckled Hen, Fuller's London Pride and a couple of the Badger ales. I've been I'm here for another week, vaguely near Reading.
Harvey’s brewery of Lewes. You won’t see it in supermarkets but if you make it into London, they have a pub there called the Royal Oak.
Hey there! How close to Reading are you and will you be visiting the center at any point? If you do, 2 must visits are the Alehouse and The Nags Head. Both are very much cask beer centric, Alehouse has 6 cask lines and the Nags has 12. You'll be bound to find something you want to try in either of these. Classic beers I would keep a look out for while you're out and about are: Sussex Best By Harvey's Old Hooky by Hook Norton Landlord by Timothy Taylor's Breweries from that surrounding area that you might spot beers from and that i would recommend: Amwell Springs Rebellion - Especially the IPA Loddon - I believe The Allied Arms in Reading usually have a couple of theirs on. Lovebeer More modern breweries in the area: Elusive - They do some lovely WC and black IPA's Phantom - Mainly NEIPA style beers but they do them so well. Dolphin - Very good sours. Double Barreled - Good mix of Sours, IPAs and stouts - Their brewery tap is well worth a visit if you're near by, it's not far from the center. Siren - Good mix of beers and they have a bar in the center. If you don't mind saying, where are you actually staying? I might be able to help out with some better suggestions. Enjoy your visit!
I'd key on styles + serving format more than individual brands: Styles: bitters you've got covered so look for dark milds especially but also porters, old ales + barleywines. Format: cask + more cask, until you see why it's worth preserving. Good luck!
Asking a question like that is equivalent to me asking for recommendations for APA's and IPA's if I visit the USA. Find a nice looking pub advertising cask ale. Go to the bar and order a pint. Sit down and soak in the atmosphere and culture. If that doesn't work go to another pub and end up on a crawl. Happy New Year!ii
