The Pub
By Judith Schrut email judith0777@gmail.com
Ask your best British friend the quickest route into UK life and you’re unlikely to be told to hop a black cab to Buckingham Palace, go on a Harry Potter tour, or ride the London Eye at sunset. Nope, it’s a pretty good bet you’ll be told, “go down the Pub.”
Four hundred years ago, writer Samuel Pepys described the pub as the heart of England, and today this rings just as true. Pubs - and the ale, lager and cider within - are about as ancient and quintessentially British as anything could be. In days gone by, pubs were the community’s meeting place, with family visits the norm and beer regularly served to children - safer than water which was often contaminated. In King Henry VIII’s reign, his household at Hampton Court Palace consumed 600,000 gallons of beer yearly, that’s more than 13,000 pints each day.
So, if you want to know what Britain is really about, you need to pop into a pub. Over three-quarters of the adult population do so, with over one-third visiting their ‘local’ at least once a week.
But let’s be clear: the pub is not just about beer. It’s where the natives meet and talk, exchange news and gossip, argue and debate, celebrate and commiserate, where strangers are welcome and where buying a round of drinks may bring you friends for life. Visit any of Britain’s 48,000 pubs and you’re likely to find more than a good pint and a packet of crisps (that’s 20-ounces and a bag of potato chips, to you and me). Numerous pubs also have live music, theatre, quiz or comedy nights, darts, pool, table games, karaoke, movies, beer festivals and more.
You can enjoy a pun with your pint at The Nobody Inn, near Exeter, The Sir Loin of Beef, Portsmouth or The Hung, Drawn and Quartered near Tower of London’s famed execution spot. Or hook-up with history at legendary pubs like The Fighting Cocks, St Albans or Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham, reputedly the UK’s oldest. In London, look out for Ye Old Mitre Tavern, an ancient hidden gem where a young Queen Elizabeth I danced round a cherry tree, the Prospect of Whitby, famed for its clientele of sailors and smugglers as well as Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys, and the ornately Victorian Dog and Duck, favoured by George Orwell and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Mayflower, Rotherhithe, was a stopping point for our Pilgrim forefathers on their way to the New World, the Ten Bells hosted the infamous Jack the Ripper, and it was over a drink at The Eagle, Cambridge, that Crick and Watson announced their discovery of DNA.You can even experience pub life without leaving your armchair, with pubs a plenty appearing in classic British movies like The Long Good Friday, American Werewolf in London and Hitchcock’s Frenzy.
British pubs changed forever with the legal ban on indoor smoking in 2007. Pub landlords raged loudly at the time, but in reality the ban brought many pubs a lease of life and a new golden age. Gone - or going fast - are age- old traditions like salty, stodgy, deep-fried pub grub, nicotine-stained walls and early closing times. In their place you’ll find a joyful explosion of small local breweries and specialist quality beers, artisan ciders and non-alcoholic tipples, and the advent of the ‘gastropub’ has led to seriously much better food.
Now, if you’re a pub novice there are a few basics you should know. Firstly, don’t expect waiter service for your drinks. Instead it’s the norm for one person to buy drinks at the bar and carry them back to the table. And that bar may be the only place in Britain where anything is sold or served without the formation of a queue, although you may notice that skilled bar staff possess a silent tracking technique telling them who’s next.
Secondly, British beers are nothing like their American cousins. There are a huge range of beer styles, each with different tastes, qualities and strengths, the main ones being pale ale, bitter, brown ale and stout. Bitter is the most popular: rich, dark and served at room temprature. Lager is lighter and served cold.
Finally, when tasting beer take advice from native experts – don’t sip it, swig it. Chug at least a full mouthful to wash the flavour over your taste buds and experience its full glory before swallowing. And don’t be afraid to sample those old-fashioned beers which come in wooden barrels and need to be hand-pumped but be wary: some British beers are as strong as wine.
Further information: www.camra.org.uk www.pubs.com
Image: American in Britain goes down the pub, The Beckford Arms, Wiltshire. Photo copyright Geoffrey Davies