Griffin Brewery
Chiswick
London
Imported by: Distinguished Brands Int’l
Littleton, CO
Available: nationwide
London Pride is Britain’s biggest-selling premium cask-conditioned ale.
ABV: 4.7
ABW: 3.7
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Original gravity: n/a
It's slightly weird for me to be drinking an export canned version of this famous cask ale—but horses for courses. In can, it lacks some of the rich complexity of the draft version but the extra strength gives it a pungent hop character and the renowned orange fruitiness that is the London brewery's hallmark. The hopping is complex: Challenger, Northdown and Target varieties, with Target for bitterness and Challenger and Northdown used late in the kettle boil for maximum aroma. Fruit and hops are superbly balanced by a rich and ripe biscuit maltiness and the final flourish in the finish beautifully balances malt, hops and fruit. Not a bad drop, Brits would say.
The can is as handsome as they come. The beer pours a honey amber color. The aroma is sherryish, and that leads me to take a closer look... the beer is hazy. And it ought not to be. The code date on the bottom of the can reveals that the beer is much older than it should be, its sell-by date long since passed. I know London Pride. London Pride is a fine old friend of mine. And this beer was no London Pride. Word to the wise—freshness counts.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
