“London Pride is a smooth and astonishingly complex beer, which has a distinctive malty base complemented by a rich balance of well developed hop flavours from the Target, Challenger and Northdown varieties in the brew.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Beautiful deep amber hue with full transparency. It forms a thumb of off white head which gradually peels off. It drags a wet lace down the glass.

Aroma: The first thing that strikes us is the impeccable balance. She’s obviously malt-driven…dominated by the sweet caramel and toffee, bready and nutty malts but the citrusy, earthy and kinda spicy hops cut through it like butter. Certainly picking up the fruity/estery yeast as it’s offering up hints of banana, apple/pear and rosewater. There’s even a flutter of umami! Incredible.

Flavour: It follows on from the nose with that exquisite balance. Just as the sweet, bready and nutty malts start to tip the scales the hops counteract with notes of orange citrus, marmalade and more of an earthy spice late in the piece. And keeping with the flow of the beer those sweet malts return to deliver a beautifully balanced finish with excellent duration.

Mouthfeel: Slick, gelatinous, medium bodied. Co2 is perfectly weighted. 4.7% ABV. Everything just screams balance with this beer.

Overall: This is the epitome of English ale. Well structured malt bill with just enough hops to keep it in check. Full flavoured yet somehow sessional. No wonder they call it “London Pride”…plenty to be proud of with this. Top shelf.