PretendPint

Which beers sold as foreign are brewed in Britain, and what to buy instead

Work in progress. We are still reading cans and settling where listings disagree. Seen a beer whose small print contradicts its label? Tell us.

What to drink instead of Shipyard American Pale Ale

Shipyard American Pale Ale is sold as American and brewed in Britain, at Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, at 4.5%. If you were buying it for an American ale, these are the beers on the same shelves that are brewed in the country on their label, or are British and say so, within a point of its strength.

Where Shipyard American Pale Ale is really brewed, with the pack wording and the sources.

British, and honest about it

  1. Greene King Abbot Ale
    Bury St Edmunds · 5.0% · sold as English
    Verified

    British, brewed at Westgate Brewery, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 5.0% here.

  2. Hobgoblin Ruby
    Burton upon Trent · 4.5% · sold as British
    Honest British Verified

    British, brewed at Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. 4.5% here.

  3. Shepherd Neame Spitfire
    Faversham · 4.2% · sold as English
    Verified

    British, brewed at Faversham, Kent. 4.2% here.

  4. Black Sheep Best Bitter
    Masham · 3.8% · sold as English
    Verified

    British, brewed at Masham, North Yorkshire. 3.8% here.

  5. Adnams Ghost Ship
    Southwold · 4.1% · sold as English
    Verified

    British, brewed at Sole Bay Brewery, Southwold, Suffolk. 4.1% here.

  6. Wainwright Gold
    Burton upon Trent · 4.1% · sold as British
    Honest British Verified

    British, brewed at Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. 4.1% here.

How this list is made. Nobody here has tasted these side by side, and no beer pays to appear. A beer is listed when the record says it is the same kind of beer, is either imported from the country on its label or British and sold as British, is not itself brewed under licence in Britain, has at least one source we trust, and sits within a point of the strength of Shipyard American Pale Ale. Beers from the country on the label come first, then the same style from elsewhere, then British beers. Where an import is weaker in Britain than at home, the card says so.

Every beer sold as American · The full list of what to buy instead · Alternatives for other beers