Strong Ales

I think most people know that I like session beers. For me a critical factor of how good a beer is can be determined by how many pints I can drink of any one beer before I pass out, get in a fight, or be sick. Obviously the higher the number, the better for various sociological reasons. Due to seasonal availability, I have been drinking a lot of rather strong beers lately. These are beers that would make any US based drinker proud, often with an ABV above 6.5%.

Two of these beers which I have come across in recent weeks are neither new, glamorous or exciting, but they do happen to taste rather similar. One is Bottle conditioned and brewed by London's leading regional brewer, the other is filtered, pasteurized and mass produced by a Dutch owned Scottish brewery - but production differences aside they are remarkably similar, well to my tastes anyway.

The beers in question are Fuller's 1845 (6.3% abv) and McEwan's Champion (7.3% abv) - both are strong ales which have a distinct burnt/roast sugar taste and are not particularly well balanced.

Saying that, I am going to be positive today and not slag them off too much. One man's trash is another man's treasure. I'll let you guys decide.

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