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Are you sick of having to ‘split the G’ every time you go to the pub? Well, why not give the Guinness a rest and go back to drinking lager instead. London has tonnes of top tier indie breweries making delicious, home-grown lagers. From the wheaty to the citrussy, every brew has its own unique flavour profile. But which one should you try?
We tasked our beer-savvy editors to sample 11 of London’s finest independent bottled lagers to come up with the ultimate ‘London lager matrix’ – your guide to which has the highest ABV, which is the tastiest, and which ones taste a bit like yeast-y fizzy water. Did Five Points come out on top? Was Kernel the firm favourite? Or was it a home run for Gypsy Hill? Here’s what they said.
Coming on top for flavour and high ABV was The Kernel Brewery’s Lagerbier. This 5.3 percent ABV drink retails for £4.30 a bottle. ‘Toffee notes, it’s got a wink in its eye. A significant beverage,’ said Joe Mackertich, editor in chief, UK.
At the other end of the spectrum was Small Batch Lite by Pillars Brewery. At 2.5 percent ABV, this low-alcohol brewski costs £2.70. Rose Johnstone, head of commercial content, said: ‘Tastes like flavoured water. You could drink it at 10 in the morning and not feel weird.’
Standing firmly in the centre of the matrix was Hammerton Brewery’s Groll Pilsner at 4.2 percent ABV and costing £3.00. ‘Zingy, zesty, bright. Almost citrussy, with a specifically lemony aftertaste,’ said Rose.
Andrzej Lukowski, theatre editor, UK was a fan of Gipsy Hill Brewing Co’s Swell lager. ‘It’s got a cheeky little tang,’ he said. ‘Something a little more than “just lager” is going on there.’ While Guide’s Editor Ella Doyle liked Eko Gold by Eko Brewery, which she said, ‘Tastes like brown sugar, and it cured my headache.’
Scroll below to see the full ranking.
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