Fullers London Pride

12 oz into shaker. Nice amber color with a very minimal head and no visible carbonation. The aroma is kind of weak but pretty good - caramel malt and faint bittering hops. The flavor is also pretty weak, and I didn’t like it much till the last half of the glass when I started picking up some more subtle flavors - cherries and sweet candy sugar, almost like a Belgian; aside from these subtle, hard to find notes, there is only a kind of funky malt and grass bittering hops flavor. No signs of alcohol though. It is light bodied on the palate with no carbonation and a pretty watery texture. Overall: this beer was fine, nothing special though. Sessionable.

pint can - Pours a fairly clear medium copper/amber color with smallish creamy off white head. Aroma has light caramel, touch of apricot and pear, slight biscuit notes. Flavor has chewy malts, light caramel, touch of apricot and vanilla, hints of herbal hops. Finish has a firm but not overwhelming bitterness.

Clear amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma of malt, caramel, light earthiness, some hoppiness and fruity notes. Flavor is sweet with caramelly malt, toast notes and a rather bitter and hoppy finish with light floral notes. Medium-bodied but maybe a tad too thin. Quite nice.

Mt First Rating: Cask, The Dove, Hammersmith. Light amber colour, smallish head. Familiar London water taste. Somewhat thinner than I remembered. Eminently drinkable, gone very quickly. Extraneous comments. I waited in order that I could start my ratings with this beer. Canadian mainstream beer - particularly Export Ale - had put me off beer drinking altogether. My interest in beer only started when I first tasted this beer at a pub close to where I was living in Chiswick, not far from the brewery, some thirty years ago The first pint was a revelation and sparked an interest in beer that lasted for my three years in London, that lasted, in fact, until I returned to Canada. A trip to Belgium this spring revived the interest, and this summer trip to England has provided the opportunity to sample English beers. The original goal was to sample one new beer every day of my stay, trying a few beer styles unique to Britain as opportunities arose, and drinking local brews to the largest extent possible. In the event, I tasted over fifty beers during my three week stay. Some memorable, many less so. The following ratings form a sort of diary of my progress through England.

Great. Strangely watery compared to the many times I’ve drunk it (without rating). Maybe the keg, who knows. Was expecting more. Will drink again.