Best of British

Why would you not drink beer? I mean, seriously, it’s pretty much the best thing there is. Fair enough, if religious or health reasons preclude you from taking alcohol, but if not – why don’t you drink beer? How can you be satisfied with cheap lager or wine? What does Smirnoff have that decent beer doesn’t? Other than alcohol content, obviously. But if that’s your thing – there are so many ways of fulfilling that urge through beer. British ale might traditionally be lower in strength, but not anymore. Get your buzz from beer. Numb those fingertips with something other than spirits. I’m not being a hypocrite here – I love gin, wine etc etc but I also drink a shedload of Britain’s most revered non tea-based drink – the bitter, malty stuff you get in pints. Or half pints. Or three/eighths of a pint. Drink it from a test tube if you like – but just drink it. Try it. Even if you don’t really like what you’re tasting, there are plenty of other styles of beer to try. And here’s a little truth – nobody really likes their first taste of beer. Bitter, astringent – it takes some getting used to. But then, so does every food or drink that is ultimately rewarding. It’s not a chocolate milkshake – you’ve got to put the work in. I’ve put in plenty of work over the years, trust me – in pubs all over the country. Take last night in Edinburgh’s Bow Bar. Sat in the best seat in the best pub in the best city in Britain – does it get any better? Yes – when the bar sports about a dozen beers on cask and keg from the UK’s best new breweries. Sitting there, in that window seat looking in at the pub (not out at the canyonlike Victoria Street), you realise why pub seats have their backs to the windows. In coffee shops you sit down and look out at the view – in public houses, everything worth watching happens inside. At that moment there was literally nowhere else I would rather have been. Not a rooftop bar in Sydney. Not a hip dive bar in New York. Even typing that sounds faintly daft, but at that time I truly believed it. And that is what makes Britain’s pubs, and British beer, the very best thing about this country. The sense that the outside doesn’t exist when you’re there. Nothing else matters. People passing by the Bow on the way to somewhere else are making a huge mistake – this has everything you will ever need. Take the beer – it’s as good tonight as it’s ever been. From Hardknott Katalyst – a zingy grapefruit bitter – to the sweet, pineapple flavours of Tempest Citra. If you’re not a fan of fruit, then drink the stunning Cresta Black – also by Tempest. Rich, smooth, with a nutty chocolate aftertaste – I defy anyone not to like it. Put down your pints of Fosters and just bloody try it. These guys are the best brewery in Scotland at the moment. They really are. Hardknott are also doing astonishing things. As for Dark Star – it’s hard for me to express in words what it’s like (to non beer drinkers) to appreciate their Imperial Stout. A 10% cask ale that slides down as easy as anything. Sweet, oaky marzipan. Anybody who enjoys sherry or port should be made to drink this. People who like the fortified stuff but don’t like beer. You do like beer – you just don’t know it. Or rather, you don’t like the wrong kind of beer. Try the right kind. Try it in somewhere like the Bow Bar. Believe in what British breweries are producing, and how British pubs are serving. Now, more than ever, both need your support. They already have mine. Give them yours – I promise they won’t let you down.