Last week I was sipping whisky, this week I was supping something that has beer drinkers in a tizzy, although that isn’t exactly difficult to do.
The event I attended was the launch of Fuller’s flagship ale London Pride; dispensed not from a cask but from a keg and not only that, it’s unfiltered!
Before we start, let us acknowledge the grumbling voices stating, quite correctly, that London Pride is already available in keg.
It is, mainly for the overseas market and is a totally different recipe to this version, which is dry hopped to account for the colder dispense temperature.
It’s a wise move by Fuller’s. There is a big market for decent beer, not necessarily craft beer, just decent beer.
Fuller’s London Pride is that in cask. Due to Fuller’s exacting standards, you seldom get poured a bad pint of Pride in a pub so if there is nothing else that appeals and it is an option, that’s what I’ll go for.
It’d certainly make a change to be able to go to a hotel bar and find they had something other than a dusty keg of John Smiths or a selection of bottled gnats piss, all brewed under license.
Hilariously some of today’s craft beer drinkers are turning their noses up to the idea of drinking something from a brewery known for their cask output. How unaware they seem to be of the hypocrisy; so many of them who once railed upon cask drinkers and CAMRA members for being elitist.
My personal thoughts are it’s a nice enough beer. It doesn’t claim to be anything particularly mind-blowing and that’s because it isn’t. I enjoyed the drinking experience. As the beer warmed in your hand some of the flavours, such as the toffee flavour, became a bit more prominent.
What Fuller’s London Pride Unfiltered is, is a decent beer that is likely to taste as good when you’re on your sixth as it did when you started your first!