Iconic pints of Britain and Ireland

I have recently rediscovered my passion for beer. It has to be draught cask ale and I no longer try to linger over it, it needs the physicality of extremely quick ingestion, something really not optimal with modern fizz or bottled beers even if they happen to taste good.
I always had the impression that Scampi Fries were fried in old chip shop oil. This is not a criticism but there is something marginally depraved about them.
 
Thom Blach said:
I have recently rediscovered my passion for beer. It has to be draught cask ale and I no longer try to linger over it, it needs the physicality of extremely quick ingestion, something really not optimal with modern fizz or bottled beers even if they happen to taste good.
I always had the impression that Scampi Fries were fried in old chip shop oil. This is not a criticism but there is something marginally depraved about them.
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I think it is precisely that sense of illicit depravity that is the main appeal. The intense crunch is a big part of it too.

I find it almost impossible to linger over a good cask ale, its mild carbonation, agreeable serving temperature and pleasant, balanced bitterness making it a perfectly digestible session drink. I've enjoyed my fair share of new-wave craft beers but now find them too boisterous to drink in any great volume, although a good pair of saisons can be dangerously refreshing in the summer.
 
This begs the question, what is everybody’s favourite session beer ?

I think mine has to be Essex boys bitter from Crouch vale at 3.4%

I have posited this With Dan already but we need to get a date in the diary
For 2025 for a mini crawl of London.
 
Recalling most memorable ‘proper’ sessions. i.e. getting to the pub early with a thirst on and unexpectedly finding the landlord had a fresh cask of something really good under 4% on, the beers involved were Fyne Jarl, Oakham JHB and Larkins Traditional respectively.

All of these capable of being knocked off in volume very quickly indeed or complex enough to sip contemplatively, according to requirements.

The decline of mild, and to an extent lower-strength bitter, means that the true prince of session pints has more or less passed into history: the half and half. Always made from King & Barnes Sussex bitter and Dark Mild in my childhood rural village pub and practically everyone drank it.
 
Mixed beers used to be entirely normal. They were partly popular because the half-pint was poured quite generously into the pint glass in expectation of its bottled enhancement, and historically because pre-keg people liked the CO2 kick from the bottle.
Is there anywhere left where it is possible to order a Black and Tan or a light and bitter? In the Young's pubs of my youth I used to like a Ramrod and Special.
 
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Dan Vyvyan said:
Recalling most memorable ‘proper’ sessions. i.e. getting to the pub early with a thirst on and unexpectedly finding the landlord had a fresh cask of something really good under 4% on, the beers involved were Fyne Jarl, Oakham JHB and Larkins Traditional respectively.

All of these capable of being knocked off in volume very quickly indeed or complex enough to sip contemplatively, according to requirements.

The decline of mild, and to an extent lower-strength bitter, means that the true prince of session pints has more or less passed into history: the half and half. Always made from King & Barnes Sussex bitter and Dark Mild in my childhood rural village pub and practically everyone drank it.
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It has to be Larkins Traditional preferably in the Rock Inn a couple of miles down the road from the brewery (the Castle having been closed for what seems like an age, for no discernible reason other than the fact that it's owned by the National Trust and they don't really care whether the pub opens or not).

As for volume, I once attempted to determine whether it was possible to get drunk on Trad. The consensus after 9 pints of it, from wife and friends was "not quite drunk, certainly not sober, definitely ready for bed" which will come as no surprise to forumites that know me.
 
Old Brewery Bitter at the Glasshouse Stores, Brewer St, London

A genuinely exciting pint, making an unambiguous case for its traditional status in the very top echelon of Yorkshire cask ales, fresh, beautifully conditioned and (praise be) exactly the right temperature.

The pub is - charming would be overstating it - cosy and professional, little trace of the end of days, terminate with extreme prejudice, vibe of other London Sam Smiths houses I’ve been in in recent years. It’s quiet enough to sit down too, presumably because all beer drinkers in the vicinity are round the corner at the Devonshire, even though my perfect Extra Stout chaser is clearly a superior proposition to Guinness. Fashion eh?

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