One of the many historic pubs whose threshold I crossed.

As I hinted a couple weeks back, I have spent the last number of days in Britain – Manchester and Edinburgh more specifically. In addition to the usual traveler things to do in those cities, I made a concerted effort to dip my toes into the beer scene in those two fine cities. (I know, what a surprise!).

My original plan was to write up some posts while there, but the days were busier and more action packed than expected, meaning writing took a back seat. However, I am now sitting in the Edinburgh airport awaiting my flight across the Atlantic, and it seemed a good time to again pick up the metaphoric pen.

I will undoubtedly be offering more specific missives in the coming days, and you can fully expect my columns in the coming months will relay my experiences. For now, I just want to jot down a few initial thoughts about what I saw, heard, and drank.

Three quick caveats. First, I am well aware that I have a sample size of 2. Neither city might not reflect the beer culture in the rest of Britain, especially London. So these comments may not translate to other areas of the islands. Second, my experience will be somewhat skewed as, thanks to CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, I knew where the good pubs were and due to my own research I had isolated some of the better breweries. That said, I did try to hit the “average” pub to see what they were like. Third, the two cities have a unique feel and approach to beer, differences which for now I will glide over in the interests of offering a bird’s eye overview.

My general observation is that the U.K. beer scene is one of bifurcation. It really is two scenes in one. First there are pubs. Traditional, eclectic, mostly charming, sometimes quirky, pubs remain the cornerstone of the beer experience. It exudes sociality, community and appreciation of beer. I drank mostly cask ale while there (I mean, really, why not), but unlike many travelers the temperature of the beer was my least concern. I was most struck by the atmosphere. Almost no pubs played loud music. Often there was no television either, and if it was, the sound was off. At first it was almost unnerving, the quietness of it all. But I soon grew to love it and know I will struggle the next time I walk into a Canadian pub with its sensory overload.

Despite many arguments about the death of the British pub, they seemed, to my novice eye, on the contrary to be thriving. Almost every block had a decent looking pub, and many had multiple. More significantly I was surprised how much “cask ale” was a marketing tool for most pubs. They displayed signs proudly proclaiming “Traditional Cask Ale” – even if they only had one or two from the corporate breweries. Cask is alive and well, thanks mostly, I suspect, to the evangelical efforts of CAMRA. Lest you think Britain is awash in real ale, I did also observe that more people ordered standard keg lager, although not to the proportion I observe in Canada (keep in mind, here, my caveat #2).

However, I did find after a while that most cask ales started to taste the same. The vast majority (there are some notable exceptions which I will discuss another day) comply to the traditional English bitter/mild style. Fruity, with low to moderate hopping levels. No fancy additions in the cask, just a sessionable (alcohol levels usually below 4%) classic ale. Nothing wrong with this at all. To the contrary that they continue to produce low alcohol beer with good flavour is a testament to their brewing skills and respect for tradition.

But it did leave me wondering where the experimentation was? That was answered when I found each town’s premier bottle shop (each really only had one that is worthy of a beer geek’s patronage). There I found walls of beer of all sizes and shapes. I felt I could have easily been somewhere in Canada. Explosive double IPAs, Russian Imperial Stouts, single hop beer, quirky additions. Bourbon barrel aging, like North America, was particularly the rage. As are Saisons. (I don’t give examples for the moment as it is too hard to check my notes in an airport departure lounge). My only struggle was figuring out how to stay under my Canada Customs limit.

It leaves me wondering if cask ales and pub culture, despite my initial thoughts, is resigned as an “old man” thing. Younger craft beer fans are seeking out bottled product and consuming them at home. While older drinkers revel in the atmosphere of the pub and are content with their pint of bitter, younger drinkers may be looking for beer more keeping with the spirit of North America’s craft movement.

Is that a good or bad thing? I don’t know. For me, it was just nice for a change to have the option of both.