TETLEY’S ORIGINAL
Carlsberg UK
UK, 3.6% ABV
I’ve heard of people fantasising about being locked in a brewery but some people just have to go that little bit further. Harry Houdini was once submerged in a sealed metal cask filled with Tetley’s Original, but for once, the task of freeing himself proved too great even for the famous escapologist and he had to be rescued from the barrel (moral: don’t drink and dive). That was back in 1911, but Tetley’s has been around for a lot longer than that having been brewed in Leeds since 1822. It likes to cultivate something of a down-to-earth Yorkshire air, and this is evinced by the numerous sponsorship deals which the brand is associated with, leaning heavily towards the sport of rugby; the implied message being: it’s full-bodied, unpretentious and can hold its own against any namby-pamby soft southern drink. If it was a body part it would be a cauliflower ear. The bitter ale is still made using traditional brewing methods, such as dry-hopping of cask ales (adding the hops after the wort has cooled) and with Yorkshire Square fermenting vessels (producing a distinctively flavoured beer that is impossible to replicate with other factory methods), and the resultant hoppy flavour has a rather pleasant appeal. I’ve not yet worked out how many cans of Tetley’s Original you would need to fill a metal cask a la Harry Houdini, but I’d strongly advise against trying to replicate his stunt. It would be a complete waste of ale. RM
