English Beer

[A. E. Lowan]

Having a hard time figuring this one out, so I am turning to our dear English compatriots for help. In our urban fantasy WIP we have several English characters, mostly from London. One of them is served a cold beer. Now, I have him react to this as being strange based on things I've heard about other European countries... and then found out from a friend that it may not be so strange after all.

So, my question is, is it normal in England to serve beer cold?

 

[Svrtnsse]

So...
Ireland here. I hope I don't step on any toes, but I'll give it a go anyway.

If England is anything like here, then there will be plenty of lager boys who like their beers cold. It'll be served like that in most places. If you go to a proper pub and order an ale however, you'll probably get it un-chilled. It really depends on what kind of beer it is.

If' your character is an ale aficionado he might scoff at chilled beer, but I doubt he'd find it strange or surprising.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

It's faerie beer, which probably complicates things. It changes depending on the drinker's tastes, and now that you mention the idea of personal taste I suppose it could even chill and warm itself. Thanks, Svrt!

 

[Svrtnsse]

It's faerie beer, which probably complicates things. It changes depending on the drinker's tastes, and now that you mention the idea of personal taste I suppose it could even chill and warm itself. Thanks, Svrt!

That makes perfect sense. Also keep in mind the foam may have different characteristics. It can be light and frothy, or thick and creamy, and probably other things too.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

That makes perfect sense. Also keep in mind the foam may have different characteristics. It can be light and frothy, or thick and creamy, and probably other things too.

I didn't know that! I drink Guinness, mostly, and not too often. (I know, bad Irish girl!) Mostly, I drink sweet wines. That is very good to know.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Mildly unrelated trivia regarding Guinness. The shamrock thing they do, that's really just a tourist thing, and you never really get that in "real" Irish pubs. After over a decade living here I've only ever had a shamrock in my Guinness once, and it was after someone caught on to my accent and thought me a German tourist.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Mildly unrelated trivia regarding Guinness. The shamrock thing they do, that's really just a tourist thing, and you never really get that in "real" Irish pubs. After over a decade living here I've only ever had a shamrock in my Guinness once, and it was after someone caught on to my accent and thought me a German tourist.

That's awesome. lol I don't know how I would react to finding random plantlife in my drink.

 

[Svrtnsse]

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Okay, even for a tourist thing, that is fabulous. I love that. We don't do that here in the States, but we also usually don't use nitrogen, which sucks.

 

[Svrtnsse]

If you're ever over here, I'll take you to the pub for a pint.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I would absolutely love that. My mom actually wants me to go at some point, sooner than later. We have relatives in County Cork that she would like to meet. So, someday.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Well, Cork's the real capital of Ireland, as they say here.