The British have given the world many great things , among them the Stones , 007 , Dickens , and Monty Python . Oh , and a little countrycalled the US of A. More importantly , the Queen ’s land has a tenacious story with beer … in fact , the country can lay claim to some of the most influential contribution to fill a ( proper ) dry pint history . When you flux this with the historically huge styles make for to you by the Irish , you have a brewing culture as big as the Beatles and U2 combined .

Strong bitter/ESB/English pale ale

Booze factor : passably light to moderate ( 4.6 - 6.2%)How ’s it taste?It ’s outset for maltiness here : intend biscuits and bread with a soupcon of a yellowish brown and earthy , flowered hops . What you should know : In the US , many workmanship brewers have dramatise the terminus " ESB " ( or " extra peculiar bitterness " ) to refer to this vogue , while in England the full term ’s been trademark by Fuller ’s , meaning nobody else can apply it , even though they ’re sticking to the style . To confuse thing even more , some Americans advert to these as English pale ale . Sometimes , you just need to stop think about it and drink one . What you should eat with it : stock taphouse menu like Pisces & flake goes together with ESB like Drake and Toronto . For a more Americanized pairing , stress fry chicken with mac & cheese . premier examples : Fuller ’s ESB , Southern Tier Harvest Ale , Left Hand Sawtooth Nitro , SweetWater Motor Boat

English IPA

Booze element : restrained to moderately firm ( 5 - 7.5%)How ’s it taste?None of the piney savor of American hops that define American IPAs are here : the flavor profile is quintessentially English , with floral , gross , and grassy notes sour alongside a bready malt base . What you should know : The ( purported ) story about the conception of India pallid ale has become most beer geek ' go - to small beer to ejaculate out at bars . Legend claims that in order for wan ale to make the tenacious ocean trip from England to thirsty British troops in India , brewer pumped their ware full of hop and up the booze to help foreclose skunk during the long voyage . The style was n’t very popular domestically ( except with honest-to-god citizenry and shut-in ) , and it all but died out during WWII . It stayed comparatively dead until American craftsmanship brewers ' interest in the dash pick up in the ' eighty . What you should exhaust with it : True to its name , the aromatics in India pale ale recreate well with Indian curries . They also playact nicely with fragrant soups like pho . Prime examples : Samuel Smith ’s India Ale , Thornbridge Brewery Jaipur , Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted , McNeill ’s Dead Horse IPA , Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA

British brown ale

Booze factor : Light to moderate ( 4.2 - 5.4%)How ’s it taste?Toffee , biscuit , and toasty look abound in these malt liquor vehicle , sometimes with a gentle kiss of sweetness and almost no noticeable hoppiness at all . What you should know : The style of brown ales we drink today is comparatively young on the British beer tantrum . The limit versions were acquire in Northern England in the twenties as a response to the popularity of wan ales , where beers like Newcastle Brown Ale ( still considered to be a gilt standard of the style ) became super pop with ember miners and the hungry racy - neckband gang . WWII did a numeral on a lot of the gamy - alcohol version made across the pond , but there has been a revivification in both the UK and the US in production of the panache ( even if the American versions are drier and hoppier).What you should eat with it : Dark malty flavor call for roasted , hearty food like pernil ( roasted pork ) , London broil , or grill glacial char . Prime examples : Newcastle Brown Ale , Samuel Smith ’s Nut Brown Ale , Sixpoint Brownstone , Ithaca Beer Nut Brown

English porter

Booze constituent : igniter to contain ( 4 - 5.4%)How ’s it taste?These dark beers are know for their upfront flavor of roasted coffee tree bonce , chocolate , and yellowish brown . What you should know : It ’s technically legend , but many claim this beer pay off its name in the 18th C from its popularity with the hardworking porters of London , who deliver goods from market to businesses . Traditionally , it was a blend of three beers behind the prevention that were mixed together ( known as " three thread " ) to help mask spoiling and liven up flavors . Thanks to the timeliness of the Industrial Revolution , special cognitive process and machine were developed that flowing production and removed the need for blending , changing the way advanced porters look and taste . Besides this muddled account , defining porters can still even confuse brewers , particularly when trying to tell them between stout ( which were bear out of the porter family ) . The main difference between the two is the use of roasted , unmalted barleycorn instead of just obscure patent of invention malts . What you should eat with it : Like Guy Fieri , ostiary will easily plow any amount of BBQ you throw its style . Bacon - wrap anything also goes well , but greener options are still on the board : grilled veggies , especially zucchini or ( notoriously impossible - to - pair ) Asparagus officinales , taste awing with porter . prize example : Harviestoun Old Engine Oil , Mayflower Brewing Co. Mayflower Porter , Greenport Harbor Black Duck , Heavy Seas Deep Six , Boulevard Bully ! Porter

Irish stout

Booze factor : Light to moderately light ( 4 - 4.5%)How ’s it taste?Stouts are roasty like your morning time cup of coffee berry and dark like a snack of unsweetened chocolate , but with a much lighter consistency than appearance might suggest and a dry last . What you should recognise : The parentage of stouts is as confusing as it gets , but we do know that they were birthed out of the porter craze of the eighteenth century . There are more than a few branch on the stalwart family line tree , but what makes Irish stouts stand out is that they ’re often made using roasted , unmalted barleycorn . This reach them a drier conclusion than other dark beer that use traditional patent malt ( aka super - roast barley ) to get their dark colour and toasted flavors . What you should eat with it : interchangeable to porter , stout goes well with anything grill or roasted , whether it ’s lamb or ham . And never forget that they ’re an incredible chaser for peeled oysters , despite everything the Champagne cabal will tell you . Prime examples : Guinness Draught , Sly Fox O’Reilly ’s Irish Stout , Harpoon Boston Irish Stout , Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout

Imperial stout/Russian imperial stout

Booze component : Strong like bull ( 8 - 12%)How ’s it taste?The flavors here are signally sheer : dark , productive , and roasty with notes of coffee and chocolate buoyed by a full - bodied mouthfeel and an alcoholic heat . What you should get it on : Even though this style was cook up in Britain as an export - strength porter to transport to Russia ( hence the soubriquet ) , it ’s now a Brobdingnagian part of the workmanship move in the US . Barrel aging the style has added a new moral force to the beer ( oak being the most common ) , and its alcoholic strength and obscure flavor profile make it a popular alternative for cellaring . What you should eat with it : If you have never tried a secure blue cheese ( like Stilton or Cashel Blue ) alongside a sheer imperial stout , you are gravely missing out . Likewise , rich desserts like chocolate lava cake should always be accompany by beers like these . Prime examples : North Coast Old Rasputin , Sierra Nevada Narwhal , Oskar Blues Ten Fidy , Thirsty Dog Siberian Night regal stout , Firestone Walker Parabola

Irish red ale

Booze factor : Light to jolly light ( 3.8 - 5%)How ’s it taste?Somewhere between a pallid ale and less biscuity brown ale , this malt - driven mode has a broken hop profile and a teetotal finishing ( even though some mass - produced commercial-grade examples have a toffy bouquet to them).What you should know : This style might be the unadulterated example of a beer who has seen its identity molded by monumental beer conglomerate marketing over the retiring few decades : what was historically a drier , gold - colored ale became a mass - produced lager that tend to be on the sweeter side . Luckily for purist ( and for anyone who likes full beer ) , these days have see Ireland ’s impressive craft beer movement revitalizing the way and producing more examples of the well-heeled - drinking , style - appropriate versions . What you should consume with it : Irish red ales are like a perfectly time Springsteen call : you ’ll never go incorrectly pairing them with good , uncomplicated bar solid food . They ’re also perfect with Meleagris gallopavo pigboat and electrocute crybaby sandwich . premier example : Smithwick ’s Imported Premium Irish Ale , Toppling Goliath Murph ’s Irish Red , Harpoon Celtic Ale , Saranac Irish Red Ale

“Wee Heavy”/strong Scotch ale

Booze factor : Moderately inviolable to " That ’s a cock-a-hoop lad ! " ( 6.5 - 10%)How ’s it taste?Like a brooding Scotsman with a profoundly personal blood feud , these beers are smell powerhouses : they ’re malty AF , with boss around caramel notes that usually dominate any perceived hoppiness , sometimes with preeminence of dark yield like plum or raisins . you could expect them to be slightly sweet-smelling and noticeably higher in alcoholic drink . What you should love : Don’t have the name fool you : any overt peat or smokiness in a strong Scotch ale is not technically right to style . If you need a single malt liquor , we suggest you order a whisky instead . What you should eat with it : Just like the feeling that bears its name , Scotch ales make for excellent after - dinner party drinkable , and sip nicely alongside any desserts incorporate caramel or dark fruits . Prime examples : Founders Dirty Bastard , Arcadia Loch Down Scotch ale , Big Sky Heavy Horse Scotch ale , Great Divide Claymore Scotch ale , Oskar Blues Old Chub

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British Beer

OREN AKS/Thrillist

Strong Bitter

Kirill Z/Shutterstock

English IPA

Flickr/Thomas Hawk

English Porter

Flickr/Smabs Sputzer

Irish Stout

Flickr/Aaron Hockley Follow

Irish Red Ale

Flickr/quite peculiar