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Comment by Thorentis | Hacker News Reader

Is British ale/beer bitterer than elsewhere? I've heard it is, but can't confirm as I've never tried it. This might be a piece of evidence in your favour if so.

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Prior to the craft beer "revolution" (think 2000s and earlier) it would've been. I don't think anywhere outside of UK and Ireland did this style of hoppier, bitter and often (though not always) darker coloured beer.

It's worth remembering though that from the '80s[0] onward Lagers would've dominated beer sales in the UK. So while we could buy more bitter beer than available elsewhere, we often didn't.

[0] - I've no source from this, it may have started earlier but at a certain point in the mid-late 20th century we shifted to lager. Often very poor quality ones like Carling, Foster's or Tennents that would not compare favourably to those available in Germany, Belgium or Czech Republic.

Belgium? It has an abundance of excellent ales, but it isn't noted for its lagers. They're mass (Maes?) produced. The same goes for the UK. I suspect it's mostly down to marketing by big brewers.

Ah I wasn't trying to say these are all primarily lager-producing countries, but I worded the sentence stupidly. Main thing is even the mass-produced and popular beers in these places are far better than ours. While taste is subjective, I don't think anyone would argue for Carling over, for example, Pilsner Urquell.

I don't think so. Craft beers have been pursuing hoppiness and hence bitterness for years and have totally swamped the other flavours for me. A decent bitter should be warm and comforting, not in your face like some of the craft beers go for.

I'm American, but I developed my taste for beer in the UK. It's so frustrating to be back in the States and want something akin to "a bitter" in the UK, and not being able to express it, because when you say "a bitter" the staff hear "the bitterest thing you have".

Classic British "Bitters" are hardly bitter by today's standards. But they are lovely when served out of the cask in a nice pub. One of my favorite things about going to the UK is drinking the old time, local ale's from a hand-pumped cask.

As a former expat kind of. Most of my Spanish friends would find some of the snacks I had with my bitter to be disgusting along with some of the food I used to have at Lunch.

Easy to find stories on the origins of India Pale Ale and how it survived by ship through the tropics...

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