The Bar Towel

Encouraged by reports on the board I picked this up and find it excellent. It is as expected very English in style, hoppy but well-balanced. If anything it seems hoppier than I remember from English-sourced canned and the real ale versions. I miss the yeasty tang of the cask beer but it is still very good. It seems about mid-way through its shelf life if I read the codes right but seems very fresh as John Walter noted. Like Pilsener Urquel, this one seems better in the can than in the bottle. 20 years ago it would have been a sensation to find a beer like this in Ontario. Even after all the years of imports and craft brewing it is still a pleasure to encounter a well-made classic like this.

Gary

Another even-handed OF review encouraging me to (re-) try something - thanks, man!

It's easy to forget what greatness is right under our sniffer, in the pursuit of exotic beer.

20 years ago it would have been a sensation to find a beer like this in Ontario.

That is for sure. I remember clearly in 1982-83 Toby Dark was considered an exotic brew (in a smaller town like Kingston, at least) and made the Queen's Grad Club a sought-after destination. Seems hard to believe now.

I used to like Toby, especially on draft.

However let me say Fuller's London Pride bears no resemblance to Charrington Toby as we knew it in Ontario.

Gary

I agree about the quality of this new canned version of Fullers London Pride. I read in another post about this so I tried the canned version a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed. It seemed to have a fresher flavor and a fruitier nose. Its a very good effort on their part.

As I said about the Youngs Double Chocolate, I'm a bit reactionary with regard to the usage of canned over bottled beer. Nevertheless, I have to concede that I really enjoyed the London Pride out of a can - probably even more so than in a bottle. It was fresh and flavourful and generally a very enjoyable drink. Though I'd scream bloody murder if they tried to can the Vintage (surely not?!), for the London Pride I will made concessions to my ideals and pop a can and enjoy.

I look forward to trying the canned version of Fuller's London Pride. As an added bonus, it's also $0.45 cheaper than the bottled version!