Bitter and mild are two different ales. India Pale Ale was brewed for the soldiers in the raj, but was just essentially a bitter brewed to be drunk on ship by the troops. Nowadays the distinctions have got a bit blurred with IPA usually being the stronger of the two and being bottled - but if you set a pint of, say, draught Green King IPA next to a strong draught bitter there is no real difference. I’m only talking about British beer. IPA is usually the stronger of the two at about 5%, and bitter between 3 and 4, but a few decades ago bitters tended to be stronger.
Well snuffster someday you will have to prove me wrong with a taste test. Since there aren’t a lot of british bitters available in my area. Though apperantly Irish Red is a popular style here. Which seems like a very good style that is dramatically over priced.
Indeed. The next time I’m in the States or vice versa of course.
Had my first Samuel Smith’s ‘Nut Brown Ale’ yesterday. Chased it down with some HDT… very nice. My new favorite combo.
well I’am sadly in the states all the time. Nothing wrong with being in the states it’s the all the time part. 
Viva la differance!(sp?). The IPA’s that I get are pretty much all between 8% and 9.5% or so. The barlywines and quadrupels I get are usually running form 9% to 11.8%. But I do like some mild British’es: Sam Smith’s, St Peter, etc.
The very best British beer, which I would be very surprised if there was any of it outside the UK is Thwaites, a genuine, delicous served at cellar temperature bitter. You don’t see much of it outside Lancashire. I found myself in the holy county last week and re-aquainted myself with this wonderful brew. Nut brown and delicious.
sounds great. Then again beer always sounds great when unavailable (I guess I would have drank more dure prohabition).
We have some good beer around here, Wold Top Micro Brewery. It’s out in the sticks between Bridlington and Scarborough, East Yorkshire.
Nah, Snuffster you’re wrong there, it’s got to be Harveys!
Although I’ve just discovered a long lost friend (Facebook) has taken over Phipps NBC and is reintroducing a number of their historic ales. I feel a credit card bashing coming on as the minimum order is 8 cases. I wonder if that would last the weekend?
I’m sorry, go and have a lie down because the pressure of business has obviously got to you. AS I said, Thwaites.
LOL!
How do you U.K.'ers feel about Bellhaven, Meantime, Young’s?
Not heard of Bellhaven or Meantime. Young’s is ok. About 20 years ago there was an explosion of new bottled ales on the market - either from old companies getting into the national supermarket trade or from new, or micro, brewerys. Some of it was pretty contrived and a bit like contract made snuff, some was just like FandT, ie long since bought out trade names. There are now dozens of beers widely available in fancy old fashioned bottles that are pretty standardised and with not much more character than a mass produced lager. In my very humble opinion the best beers are those that never leave their local market. Fortunately the UK is a very small place and you can still find good local beer in various places, properly pulled up from the cellar as opposed to gassed up and chilled.
I absolutely love Belhaven in the nitro can!
I do occasionally drink a Young’s Double Chocolate, also in the nitro can.
I’ve only had the Bellhaven (Scottish) “Twisted Thistle IPA” which is hoppy but in a different way, hard to describe, it’s the only ale that I’ve been getting which is in a colorless glass bottle. Around here the shops tend to have (literally) one or two selections from Young’s typically including the “Double Chocolate” stout. The Meantime (I’ll look it up) is from somwhere in the UK and make another kinda unusual IPA, in that it’s rather herbal and smooth. I’ll have to try the Young’s- been meaning to.
Twisted Thistle isn’t bad either. I’ve only had one Meantime beer, a couple years back, I believe it was a porter.
I just find the hop characteristics of the Twisted Thistle to be unusual and good.
I’ll have to try the Meantime porter. There are three of thiers that I can find locally.