A city founded by Romans.     Real Romans, when they were a big deal.

       History can be found on almost every corner.       Castles.      Buildings that survived the Blitz of World War II.  

      Some of the world's most impressive museum collections reside there, not to mention The Crown Jewels.      

      The streets are a teeming United Nations of accents, dialects...people of all nations gathered for a taste of culture, legacy and freedom, not to mention one of the planet's most varied collections of authentic international cuisine.

       Yet, when people find out that I'm fresh back from London, one of the first questions I often get is, "So, is it true that they drink warm beer?"

        After vigorous personal research, I can report that, during my seven days in England, I tasted nary a room temperature grog.     And, trust me, I did some serious sampling.

         Most places had the same set-up--a variety of European tap beers including Guinness, all of them poured as cold as you'd get in any Milwaukee tavern.       Right next to the chilled taps sat another array, with local brews like London Pride which became my personal choice.     It came cool, not cold--to me, it seemed "basement temperature" which is what this website confirms.

         I can't speak for the whole country, and if anyone wants to fund my personal fact-finding mission, I'd be more than happy to check every British pub to confirm my conclusion: Londoners don't drink warm beer.     

        By the by, a check of the London Pride website shows it can be had here in the U-S.       I haven't started the search, but I wonder if it'll taste the same in the bottle (presuming that's the way it comes) as it did in a London pub.      Guinness poured there and in Ireland (where I also did some in-country research about eight years ago) tastes different than it does here in the states, perhaps because of the use of nitrogen to "push" the beer from the keg.      Even Miller product from the taps in several Irish locales my tour group hit tasted different, and several brewery types I was traveling with personally checked the pub taps at one stop to find out why.       Their conclusion: nitrogen.        

        I'm off to find some London Pride, if it's to be found here in Milwaukee.     If you know and can point me to some, I'd appreciate it.    

       If I find it, you can rest assured I'll be back in the laboratory this weekend for some vigorous research.         It's my gift to you.