boring brown bitter

[Pangolin]

Brakspear was a revered brewer back in the 70s and early 80s. All their tied houses were within about 15 miles of the brewery so there certainly weren't any in Sunbury. They were all in South Oxfordshire, Berkshire, South Bucks and just one in Hampshire. Many of them were unspoilt rural pubs.

I don't believe it was a tied house then but the Flower Pot was supplied by Braks for many years and was the best source of it locally for a long time, being one of the few sources of Mild in the area for a long time. Since refurbishment as a boutique hotel, it is indeed now owned by the Brakspear pub company, as is the Phoenix along the road. I haven't checked out the condition of the beers there recently, but well looked after they are still quite pleasant even if not a patch on the Henley brews of 20 years ago.

[sheffield hatter]

On my sole visit to Manchester in the 1970s,the unanimous verdict on Holt's bitter is that it made grown men weep,being so bitter.Can't remember the colour though.

Tears of joy, of course. (Copper-coloured I would say.)

The main problem with BBB seems to be when they are the token real ale in a disinterested pub:a tired pint of Pride or Bombardier does cask no favours,especially as they are advertised prominently.

Having said all that, a well brewed, well served bitter is a thing of great joy,especially when one doesn't want to be challenged by one's drink.

Yes. This is why I avoid beers that I know will taste like pineapple or passion fruit.

I'm a bit confused by the term Boring Brown Bitter. Judging by some of the contributions above it seems to be a brown bitter that the drinker doesn't care for rather than a generic term based on the colour of the beer...

I agree with Nick.

TT Landlord: I'm with OB, the elusive well kept pint is an absolute joy BBB or not.
Fullers ESB: Again, kept well this is excellent. Does its strength preclude it from BBB status?
Bass: Been very good since brewed by Marstons and closely resembles the drink which my formative years saw plenty of. Prefer it to the new and abysmally treated Pedigree. Both can be classed as BBBs.
I'd also add Everards Tiger which again, when kept well, is a very reliable session ale and easily defined as a BBB.

Struggle to find anything positive to say about Bombardier, GK IPA, Batemans, Lees, Holts, Robinsons, McMullens, Youngs (now), Sam Smiths, Spitfire (what have they done to it?) etc. Then again, there are plenty of non-BBB's which fall into this category.

The words "well kept" keep on cropping up (though not necessarily in that order, as Eric Morecambe almost said), and this chimes with previous contributions to this thread about nationally available bland beers and the way they tend to appear as default real ale in places where not much real ale is drunk and hence not much enthusiasm for it from the licencee (and vice versa). A lot of the beers named as BBB (and not just by Charlie) are not even brown - unless you include copper- or amber-coloured as shades of brown.

[london calling]

I'm a bit confused by the term Boring Brown Bitter. Judging by some of the contributions above it seems to be a brown bitter that the drinker doesn't care for rather than a generic term based on the colour of the beer and that its traditional nature was to be scorned in the face of the straw coloured acid and the dark soupy gravy that is in vogue these days.

I assumed that BBB draws its opprobrium from ubiquity and that the great unwashed like it (actually they like lager) than anything to do with taste.

Brewers called the beer pale ale but the common term adopted by the customers was bitter.So all bitters are really pale ales hence the colour doesn't real matter.

[Tris39]

None of the first six beers meet the bbb rules.

Not even when 'brown' is substituted with 'bland'?

[NickDavies]

None of the first six beers meet the bbb rules.

Why? I am yet to divine what the rules are.

Would I be right in thinking that Pride joined the BBB list the other week by virtue of its change of ownership from a family concern to a multinational? I'm sure there are people who reckon it isn't the same already.

[Thuck Phat]

The words "well kept" keep on cropping up (though not necessarily in that order, as Eric Morecambe almost said), and this chimes with previous contributions to this thread about nationally available bland beers and the way they tend to appear as default real ale in places where not much real ale is drunk and hence not much enthusiasm for it from the licencee (and vice versa).

A very valid point.

"Struggle to find anything positive to say about Bombardier, GK IPA, Batemans, Lees, Holts, Robinsons, McMullens, Youngs (now), Sam Smiths, Spitfire (what have they done to it?) etc. " This is true whether well kept, kept well or not.

[Mobyduck]

Why? I am yet to divine what the rules are.

Would I be right in thinking that Pride joined the BBB list the other week by virtue of its change of ownership from a family concern to a multinational? I'm sure there are people who reckon it isn't the same already.

Pride was boring long before the other week.

[Aqualung]

Pride was boring long before the other week.

You're right there, I had loads of it when doing the Fullers 200 Passport over 25 years ago and it's put me off it for life. The trouble is that ESB gets a bit heavy handed when trying to chase round a long list of pubs.

[oldboots]

Why? I am yet to divine what the rules are.

very simple, they are beers that trendy (mainly young) drinkers who suffer from neo-phillia dislike because they

1. are drunk mainly by old men
2. are usually clear
3. do not contain New World hops (or very many hops in some brews)
4. are mainly long established from usually long established breweries (see neo-phillia)

easy

[Tris39]

You're right there, I had loads of it when doing the Fullers 200 Passport over 25 years ago and it's put me off it for life. The trouble is that ESB gets a bit heavy handed when trying to chase round a long list of pubs.

Why? I am yet to divine what the rules are.

Would I be right in thinking that Pride joined the BBB list the other week by virtue of its change of ownership from a family concern to a multinational? I'm sure there are people who reckon it isn't the same already.

The first rule of Bland Club: You do not talk about Bland Club.

I don't remember having a problem with Pride over the years - for me it seems to be a more recent thing. I was in a pub this summer and two of my mates said they thought that the recipe had changed as the beer was seemingly now slightly lighter in colour so maybe they are right. I really can't drink the stuff any more though for some reason it tastes better than average at https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubreviews/23595/. It certainly has more depth of flavour than Fuller's Swing Low which presumably relates to the reduced alcohol content.