Pubs in Scotland

With at least one pub for every thousand people in Scotland - from small independents in the Highlands to style bars in major cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh - Scotland's pubs and bars are central to the country's culture. There are about 5,200 pubs in Scotland. Scotland is famed for its full-bodied, malty ales. Scotch ales are sweet and very full-bodied, with malt and roast malt flavors predominating. They are deep burnished-copper to brown in color. Scottish ales are invariably rich and mouth filling. They have a maltier flavor and aroma, darker colors, and a more full-bodied and smokier character than British ales. Bitterness and hoppiness are not dominant factors in Scottish ales, and they are less hoppy than their British counterparts. And, it's fair to say, that if you haven't already been to a Scottish pub - or sampled one of Scotland's famous beers - you haven't really experienced Scotland.

Irish pubs

Irish pubs like pubs in the other parts of UK are homely informal places where people go to relax and to listen to Live Irish music. You can see some of Ireland's best musicians and hear songs dating back over a hundred years. As in the folk music of other lands, love songs constitute the most numerous class of folk-song in Ireland. Unmistakably deriving from the popular poetry of the Middle Ages, the themes and types prevailing are a legacy of the Norman invaders. Their adoption into Irish is believed to have begun towards the end of the thirteenth century. Sometimes pubs give you a chance to watch traditional Irish dances. Many people today have been introduced to Irish dance through stage productions such as Riverdance or Lord of the Dance. But this is only one form of Irish dance. Today's traditional Irish dance include ceili, step, and set. In pubs people usually drink beer. The Irish kinds of beer are ales and stouts.

Irish ales, a minor category, are malt-accented, often with a buttery note, and are rounded, with a soft but notable fruitiness. Irish ales are similar to Scottish ales but are a bit lighter and paler. Hop bitterness is usually low. Ireland is one of the first countries to brew stout; there it is considered a national beverage. Ireland’s dry stouts are markedly aromatic, with rich maltiness and intense hop flavors. Hop bitterness is medium to high. The beer is extra-dark, black opaque ale, with low to medium body and a creamy brown head. The degree of sweetness and dryness will vary in dry stouts, yet they are all top-fermented and have the unique and special character of roasted barley, which produces a slightly roasted (coffee-like) trait. The most famous Irish stout is Guinness.

Welsh pubs

In Wales there are many colourful pubs offering beer, cider and tasty food. Welsh beer remains to this day low gravity and sweetish, able to be consumed by the pint to quench aday-long thirst. Welsh breweries and pubs are caught between producing traditional ales for working men in neighborhood and village pubs, and younger generations that seem inclined to abandon old styles in favor of lager and alcopops served in city-center theme bars. Can the best of the old survive the prosperity of today? One of the events that helps to support beer traditions is the Great Beer and Cider Festival in Cardiff City Hall. This Festival is called CAMRA in Wales.