Beer of the Weekend #124: Fuller’s London Pride

To closing out BotW’s second year, the beer this weekend is Fuller’s London Pride, brewed by Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C. of London, England.


P.L.C. stands for “public limited company.”

Serving type: Six 11.2-ounce (330 ml) bottles. Euro style. Grr. “Best Before” date is 28/APR/10.

Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a hazy, tinted honey with amber tones. Very attractive. Two fingers of white head developed and dissipated quickly to leave a foamy lacing and ring around the edge.

Smell: Very fragrant. Nice honey and caramel scents. There’s a little toffee, too. Reminds me of Belhaven’s Scottish Ale.

Taste: Perfectly sweet. Lots of honey, but not as much caramel as in the smell. There’s a faint hop bite just at the end to give it a nice English kick. There are also slight lemon citrus and pine notes.

Drinkability: Simple but flavorful…and oh so enjoyable. This is a great brew, and the empty bottles are perfect for throwing at rival hooligan firms.

Fun facts about FLP:

-Style: Michael Jackson’s
Great Beer Guide classifies it as a “bitter ale.” In Beers of the World, it is a “best bitter.” BA calls it an English pale ale. Here’s the BA description:

The English Pale Ale can be traced back to the city of Burton-upon-Trent, a city with an abundance of rich hard water. This hard water helps with the clarity as well as enhancing the hop bitterness. This ale can be from golden to reddish amber in color with generally a good head retention. A mix of fruity, hoppy, earthy, buttery and malty aromas and flavors can be found. Typically all ingredients are English.

-Price: $11.99/sixer at the Beach BevMo!.

-Serving temperature:
The Great Beer Guide recommends 50-55ºF; Beers of the World recommends 54-55ºF; and BA recommends the usual, and probably default, 45-50ºF.

-Alcohol content: 4.7 percent ABV. The UK draft (“draught”) version is 4.1 percent ABV.

-Food pairings:
Beers of the World recommends “hearty meat pies and stews.” BA recommends Indian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisine; peppery cheeses (Monterey, pepper jack), sharp cheeses (blue, cheddar), and meat (fish, shellfish).

-According to
Beers of the World, Fuller’s et al. is one of London’s two largest brewers. What’s the largest? It doesn’t say.

-FLP is an official partner of the London Marathon, which is being run April 25. (WAAH! I wanna run, damnit!) FLP has teamed up with BBC Radio London to sponsor “official cheering stations” at Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf and Marsh Plaza, and Tower Bridge.

-FLP is also a huge golf sponsor in England. Golf sucks.

-According to the Fuller’s website, Steven Cox, a Brit beer nut and former CAMRA big-wig, likened the flavor of FLP to “the sensation of angels dancing on the tongue...”

-Fuller’s is based at the Griffin Brewery in the Chiswick district, where beer has been brewed for 350 years.

-The sixer of FLP has to be the heaviest six-pack I have ever bought. It felt like 10 pounds. However, maybe that’s just my imagination. I haven’t lifted in over a week, so I might be getting weak.


The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.

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