Tonight's beer review takes on a British character with a review of Tetley's English Ale - served draught style from a can. Before actually reviewing the brew, a few introductory notes are required.
A uniquely British trait is the use of nitro cans or widgets to maintain the creaminess of their beers when served. These devices cause the beer to pour out very creamy and maintain a white foam that sits on top of the beer in the glass for quite some time. I have seen this in bottle form as Guinness uses a "rocket widget" in their draught bottles to create a cream effect. In can form I have observed this in Boddington and tonight's brew - Tetley's.
It is my understanding that when the nitro cans are produced, the bottler injects the beer with nitrogen so that when the beer is poured into a glass it has a texture and appearance as if it has just been drawn from a tapped keg. Some bottlers call this style smoothflow or creamflow because of the appearance of the beer after it has been poured.
One quick note - when serving and enjoying the nitro cans it is important to pour the beer into a glass and not to drink straight from the can. Leaving aside the fact that anything tastes better from glass than from metal (my father in law will not make kiddush with a silver cup because of the impact that it has on the wine) the full effect of the nitro can and the creamy head can only truly be appreciated by drinking and seeing the beer. I had mine tonight in a Coopers Weizen glass.
As you can guess by now, the Tetley's is truly a creamy ale, or as my wife Sarah remarked tonight - very smooth. If you are looking for full flavored beer that will stand up to the food that you are drinking the beer with, forget about this. On the other hand, if you want a beer that is not too heavy on the palate that you can have a few of without feeling too full, this is your beer. The beer has an extremely mild bitterness in the aftertaste and would be an excellent choice for people who want to experiment with something other than macros but are not yet ready to take the plunge into craft or dark beers.
Tetley's is not under direct supervision, however it does fall within the permitted class of unflavored English beers as defined by various kashrut organizations. I had originally written about the general kosher rules for beers in the first posting of Sunday Night Suds. For an excellent article on the brewing process and the permissible assumption in relation to beer kashrut please click here http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-thirst-highspirits.htm . For the experts' take on Tetley's please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8535/706 .
As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.
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