If you are looking for a place in Charleston to get your “English Ale Fix”, look no further than Blues BBQ at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Lee Street. Kay & Jay have added six new beers from across the pond. This is in addition to their existing portfolio of Samuel Smith’s fine ales.

Black Sheep brewery’s Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale is traditional English bitter with a name that is a bigger mouthful than the beer itself. Holy Grail ale is your typical English session beer, meaning light on the alcohol and not too filling as to allow you to quaff a few pints. Blues BBQ has the Monty Python Ale on draught, replacing Shiner Bock on the tap line. Shiner is still available in bottles.

From the Cotswolds, are three very nice bottled ales by The Wychwood brewery. Hobgoblin is a wonderful ESB style beer, with just enough dark malt to give it a toffee flavor to balance the traditional fuggles hops. Wychcraft is my favorite of the Wychwood beers, with three additions of Kent Goldings hops for a nice lively hop flavor. The brewery calls this a summer beer, but I can drink this one year round. The brewery also produces an organic ale called The Scarecrow. This beer is apparently made with garden-grown Kent Goldings hops. I found the beer to be a little thin and sourish. I will give it another go to make sure that it just wasn’t my palate that evening.

The winner of the best bottle design would have to go to St. Peter’s Organic Ale. The flask style bottle is a replica of a colonial design from Gibbstown, NJ (40 minutes from my old hometown — gotta love dat!). The beer is not too bad, either. This beer is a typical easy-drinking session beer with some citrusy notes and a little bit of bready character. The brewery tasting notes mentioned an aroma of smoked ham… Hmmm. I guess I will sniff for that the next time. By far, the best beer of all of these newbies is the St. Peter’s Cream Stout. This beer pours with a creamy, but rocky tan head. The rich, roasted flavors are balanced with a slight fresh green apple flavor. The mouthfeel (body) is somewhat light. “Please Sir, May I have some more?”

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