Fullers London Pride (Pasteurised)

Brewed by Fullers
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
London, England

(Draught at Bull & Bear, Stockholm, 4 March 2009) Dark amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Malty, fruity nose with orange peel, apricots and a clean but fairly boring malt profile. Malty, fruity taste with notes of dried apricots, orange and a slightly earthy bitterness in the finish. Medium body. Well balanced and tasty but not really outstanding.

A pretty straightforward traditional british pale, with no apparent flaws - a smooth malt base lays the groundwork for moderate challenger bitterness - a wee bit of diacetyl/butterscotch flavors underneath this, which is pretty common for british styles, and it works pretty well - slightly bready in the finish - there are far better bitters out there, but you have to give respect to the originals.

(18.6 oz bottle) This is fairly complex beer, undergoing significant changes in the flavor; It starts out very woody and dry, becoming fruity and malty, and then finishing with a nice smokiness and a moderate bitterness, progressively becoming sweeter in each stage, but still only moderately so, and never sugary; The nose is strongly woody, fruity, and mildly malty; Nice, soft, medium to full bodied palate; Copper in color and slightly hazy; Off-white head is smallish on the pour and fades to a thin sheen on top, and bubbly around the edge of the glass

The aroma is filled with caramel and toasted malt as well as some hops. The Appearance is a copper brown and it pours a decent head. The flavor is rich with plenty of hops as well as toffee and roasted malt. It is sweet but not to sweet. Finish is like toasted bread but it does not linger just a little bitterness. Palate is average but overall I like this one quite well.

Re-Rate 10/03/02: A clear deep amber delight, the head is creamy, light beige, the lace in clinging sheets. Nose is malt, the top is light, the finish is corporeally hopped, pleasantly dry, leniently carbonated. Fuller’s is one of my top ten all time favorite breweries. Ranks #584 on my current 1000 beer master list.

*Weeps, knowing that I won’t get many better than this...* Appearance is great -- bottle, label, light tea colored ale and standing froth. Aroma is butter-rum, caramelized sugar and hops. Flavor is well-balanced for a pale ale, the hops catch you going rather than coming. Palate is a borderline 4, more like a 3.5.

"Astonishingly complex" is a longshot if there ever was one. Aroma is a bit vegetably... got those british hops, ya know? Flavor has a dash of malt, even some chocolatiness, and a very mild, british-hoppy finish. Light on the tongue and drinkable but some flavors are a little off putting.

Clear amber color with a medium creamy off-white head. Caramel and light bitter aroma. Floral and grassy hop flavor, with some light bitterness in the end.