Clear English Beer

[Swinging Beef]

Why are so many bottles of English ale being sold here in clear glass?
Im new to english brew, but is this normal?

 

[cubbie]

Yeah not a lot of sunlight over there

Yes it is normal, I have had a couple of Bishops fingers that have been well wrong. Perhaps it is just not my favourite beer.

 

[Adamt]

It's good for show, the colour of those ales look damn awesome. Can't say many good things about the effects on taste.

 

[drsmurto]

Ruddles County is in a clear bottles as is Fursty ferret from memory.

Both tasted luverly :icon_drool2:

 

[Bribie G]

Newcastle Brown has always been in clear pint bottles since the 1920s. I never heard of the term 'skunking' until I arrived in Australia. There was also a piss weak Amber Ale , that is no longer available. Thinking back, most bottled beer came in Quart bottles that were brown and the 'specialty' beers such as Guinness, Mann's Brown, Mackeson etc were in smaller brown bottles. The bottles were returnable and came in wooden crates, and returned to the breweries for refilling in those crates.

There has never been a tradition of swilling beer direct from bottles as in the US and Australia. When take home beer from supermarkets became established from the 60s onwards, returnable bottles died out and beer was nearly always in four packs of tall cans (440 ml and later 500ml).

I think the increasing use of clear bottles by UK exporting breweries is a very recent trend designed to promote and show off beers such as Spitfire, Youngs etc to the 'boutique' and especially export market.
For example when I lived in Cardiff, Brains put out all their bottled beers in brown quart bottles (Bitter, Mild) and small brown bottles (Strong Ale). No cans. Today they have switched to tall cans and 'showcase' their flagship SA and relatively new SA Gold product in a clear bottle.

 

[Swinging Beef]

For example when I lived in Cardiff, Brains put out all their bottled beers in brown quart bottles (Bitter, Mild) and small brown bottles (Strong Ale).

Bribie.. what is Smooth Beer?

 

[Bribie G]

Bribie.. what is Smooth Beer?

Nitrokeg. Draught Guinness was nitro from the 1970s, but then other breweries decided to experiment with nitrogen/CO2 and smooth beer ("smoothflow" "creamflow" ugh) has more or less taken over from the old CO2 only keg beer.
Nitro gives a more 'real ale' mouthfeel to the beer, similar to a beer that has been hand pumped through a tight sparkler.

If you can find Kilkenny on tap anywhere around the Gong, that's a perfect example of smooth.

 

[stillscottish]

I have had a couple of Bishops fingers that have been well wrong.

:huh: :huh: :huh: :huh:

I don't think I'll have what he's having.......

Campbell

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Alot of the English Ales I've bought have been light struck - It's a little disappointing

Cheers

 

[mwd]

Ruddles County in the U.K. was always in dumpy little brown bottles in the 80's.

Seem to remember it tasted much better than the modern export model too.

Times change.

 

[Adamt]

Is it possible they've caught on to the fact that 99% of Australian beer drinkers associate skunked flavours with special, expensive, imported beer?