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Reading around the blogoshire today, there seems to be a connection to be made between two interesting posts.

First, Matt ‘Total Ales’*Curtis reports on the Hop & Berry, a pub in Islington, North London, which sets out to act a showcase for the booming London brewing scene. (See Beer Guide London for the list we always refer to.) Our first thought was:*“Beer geeks visiting London from overseas will find a one-stop-shop very handy.”
But then there’s Joe*‘Thirsty Pilgrim’ Stange writing of a recent trip to London:
As a Traveler with Thirst I don’t really care about British ‘craft beer.’ It’s OK as a curiosity. As a journalist it’s interesting. But these days you can get aromatic, bitter IPA nearly anywhere in the world. Even Costa Rica. Even Germany. Why would I drink that in the UK, which has its own, special, underappreciated thing? Yes, I can see how folks who have drunk brown bitter all their lives might be bored with it. I’m not.
It seems that native style, then,*might be a more important idea than local manufacture.
Thought experiment: if*you were to visit Berlin, would you feel*you’d had a more authentic experience drinking American-brewed Berliner Weisse, or locally made Cascade-hopped IPA?
Native or Local?


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