10 best British beers: Traditional brews, from ale to lager
Have you missed out on your favourite beer festival this year and find yourself yearning to discover a varied selection of beers from throughout the land?
With the disruption caused to beer festivals and pub openings you may have found yourself sticking to familiar local favourites rather than enjoying ales from further afield.
To help expand your drinking choice and discover something new, we’ve put together this list, gathered from all corners of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, that showcase the very best of the nation’s brewing.
With so many ace regional breweries deserving our attention we’ve had to think hard about what to include, so have decided to focus on beers that might be deemed “traditional”.
This is, admittedly, an imperfect term, but one we’re suggesting encompasses beers that follow popular British styles and, wherever possible, represent the kind of beers associated with each region.
With a few modern twists thrown in for good measure. In other words, it’s the kind of line-up you would expect at a quality British beer festival, minus the hog roasts, live music, sweaty beer tents and the promise of sunshine but a high likelihood of rain.
You could, of course, opt for a pre-selected box of beauties, such as the Best of British Virtual Beer Festival Box but for a truly national line-up dig out your finest dimpled beer mug and give these top brews a go.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
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Cheddar ales, Potholer, 4.5%
Region: South West
Style: Golden ale
For our trip to the South West we’re dreaming of summer holidays and the kind of sunny golden ales that were hugely popular at the start of this century. Somerset’s Cheddar Brewery has an excellent range of British beers, with this golden drop scoring maximum points for refreshment.
There’s some light, grainy malt character and the bitter hops have a slightly plummy and zesty edge to them, which are rounded off nicely in smooth sipping style. Worthy of accompanying the finest Cheddar cheese.
Buy now £2.90, Beers of Europe
Anspach & Hodbay, the porter, 6.7%
Region: South East
Style: Porter
Named for its popularity among London’s early 18th century street and river porters, this was once the most guzzled style in the land. Anspach & Hobday’s porter is the beer that set the brewery on its way, so it’s no wonder they brew it with extra care and attention. The brooding black brew has rich, roasted malt flavours of coffee and chocolate, and a slight tang that will get you licking your lips with satisfaction.
Buy now £3.89, Honest Brew
Wrexham export lager, 5% 24x330ml
Region: Wales
Style: Lager
When German brewers started conquering the world with their lagers, most of Britain ignored their advances, apart from Wrexham in North Wales, where the local brewery was able to boast of “the only lager served on board the Titanic.”
The Wrexham Lager brand has recently been reborn and it’s a top-notch drop, lightly coloured and with a prickly fizz popping out from a very smooth and full pale cereal malt body. The hopping is subtle, but enough to leave a waxy lemon character at the finish. A proper lager that should meet with German approval. Price is for 15 bottles.
Buy now £34.99, Amazon
Buxton brewery, axe edge, 5.8%
Region: The Midlands
Style: IPA
Thanks to its excellent brewing water, The Midlands was once the envy of the brewing world, producing the most incredible IPAs and magnificent milds, with Burton-on-Trent being the home of many of them. An hour’s drive north of Burton lies the spa town of Buxton, equally famous for its water, where axe edge is one the most incredible IPAs around today, full of pithy and piney bitterness, some fruity freshness and a crisp, dry finish.
Buy now £3.29, Honest Brew
The Old Dairy brewery, red top, 3.8%
Region: East Anglia
Style: Best bitter
This part of the country is famed for its hop growing, so it seems right to choose an English bitter loaded with locally grown East Kent Golding, English Cascade and Challenger hops. Those hops give it a decent amount of bitterness with a slight citrus twist, while the sweet and creamy malt flavours are also allowed to shine through. Price is for 12 bottles.
Buy now £27.00, Cattle Shed Brew Co
Ilkley Brewery, Mary Jane, 3.5%
Region: Yorkshire
Style: Session pale ale
No beer festival is complete without at least one beer from Yorkshire and, no matter what else is on offer, Yorkshire natives will tell you it’s the best in show while chugging their way through a fair few of them. This sub-4 per cent pale ale is well worth a repeat purchase, with a soft, easy going feel, lots of fruity flavours to enjoy and the kind of grassy bitterness that gently persuades you to keep on chugging.
Buy now £1.75, Morrisons
Allendale wolf, 5.5%
Region: North East
Style: Strong ale
Newcastle’s most famous Brown Ale is now owned by Dutch brand Heineken and brewed in Yorkshire, so we’ve headed west of the city to the Allendale Brewery and a strong, brown beer with a ruddy glow. The malt is extra toasty with a caramel coating, while the classic British hops Target and Bramling Cross lend some hedgerow fruitiness and earthy bitterness.
Buy now £2.75, Northumbrian Gifts
Mobberley playback, 5.2%
Region: North west
Style: West coast IPA
Centred around Manchester, the north west’s brewing scene has embraced the current “craft” ale trends as much as anywhere in the land, so we’ve checked into Mobberley Brewhouse to try and seduce some traditionalists into the modern beer world. Playback is a punchy IPA that’s loaded with fresh and fruity American hops. It has a big malty backbone, big citrus fruit flavours and is a brew that is a big hit with us.
Buy now £2.90, Beers of Europe
Heaney Irish stout, 4.3%
Region: Northern Ireland
Style: Stout
Stout is the most popular beer style in Northern Ireland and, while much of it arrives across the border from Dublin, the locals still produce a fine array of their own. If you’re lucky you might be able to track down stouts from Boundary, Whitewater or Heaney throughout the UK, with the latter being your most likely find, a typically black brew with unfussy roasted malt flavours and a dry, chocolatey finish.
Buy now £3.49, Honest Brew
Swannay old Norway, 8%
Region: Orkney
Style: Barley wine
If you’re in the mood for a strong ale then head to Scotland where they love ramping up the alcohol with wee heavies, Scotch ales, whisky infused stouts and more. Brewed on the island of Orkney, this bottle of boozy goodness is a sumptuous barley wine, thick with smooth, sweet malts and a sprinkling of zesty hops to liven up the leathery raisin flavours. The kind of warming, comforting beer a whisky drinker might relish.
Buy now £3.70, Swanny Brewery
The verdict: British beer
We think Somerset’s Cheddar Ales are worthy of more national acclaim and their golden Potholer is a great beer with which to start exploring their range.
Take the search for great beer further with our round-up of the best beer subscription boxes and German beers
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