We can talk all we want to about how craft beer is gaining respect as an honest-to-goodness alternative to wine, but that’s simply not the case in the British Royal Court. Queen Elizabeth herself has chosen the menu for the royal nuptials, and beer is definitely NOT included. Why? Because it simply isn’t worthy of such a royal event. Here’s what one royal insider says:
There won’t be any beer. Let’s face it, it isn’t really an appropriate drink to be serving in the Queen’s presence at such an occasion. It was always their intention to give their guests a sophisticated experience and they have chosen the food and drink with this in mind.
So there you have it. Craft beer lacks the sophistication to be served at the royal wedding. While I’d like to muster up the energy for a tirade, this really isn’t surprising. After all, the craft beer renaissance is a largely American phenomenon, and one that has only been happening for about 15 years or so. I doubt the Queen of England is aware of the ornate brews the folks at places like Dogfish Head and The Bruery and Dieu Du Ciel have crafted. And even if she is aware, beer still lacks the status to even be considered for such an occasion.
And this makes me happy. We always talk about how beer snobs are irritating, and how craft beer is great because a regular person can afford to buy the best beer in the world. If beer had the status of wine and was good enough to serve during a royal wedding feast, much snobbery and inflated prices would follow. I’ve never been big on status – I shy away from flashy things that might make me look like a douche – and that’s what I love about beer; it’s premium but not fancy.
In a nutshell, beer isn’t good enough for the royal wedding, and I say thank goodness for that.
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UPDATE: Pete Brown has a pretty nice take on this from the British point of view.
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Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
I’m sure the guys at BrewDog are crushed.
Beer (unlike wine or champagne) is a traditional British drink, so why can’t it be a part of the festivities? This is why a growing segment of the UK’s population thinks the royal family needs to go.
I just added a link above to British beer guy Pete Brown’s take on this. He mentions how past generations of royals would go to Burton-on-Trent to brew special beers for occasions like this. Not this lot.
It’s quite a snub for the Brits.
I think Pete’s take is becoming more and more typical. I have several friends from the UK who are embarassed by the royal family and who think their ancestors had the right idea when they sent Charles I to the chopping block. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England
They’re really no more than snotty mascots at this point.
I wonder what The Prince’s Navy buddies/mates think about that??
They probably think it shows what they already knew – he’s an elitist douche.
… but he DOES attract the Ladies
So did Charles and look at him! There’s something about unlimited wealth and power that the ladies seem to like…
You would know about that, Jim. Am I right?
Yes, it’s a burden, Zac. 🙂
Mr. Seinfeld’s opinion on the Royals:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/jerry-seinfeld-slams-royal-wedding_n_849620.html
Awesome.
Ha! He nailed them:
“It’s a classic English thing of let’s play dress-up. Let’s pretend that these are special people. OK, we’ll all pretend that — that’s what theater is. And that’s what the royal family is — it’s a huge game of pretend. These aren’t special people — its fake outfits, fake phoney hats and gowns.”
Nice.
Have none of you had British beer? I can’t say that I blame them.
In all seriousness, the royals will be the only ones not drinking beer in the UK that day. I’ve been chatting with a British friend who plans to spend the day at the pub drinking beer on behalf of the ‘appy couple. So, who cares what rich people with outdated titles do? Pass me another beer.
I agree – screw ’em. But beer is such a part of the British identity, it’s a shame that these elite inbreds can’t at least raise a pint for the people. How happy would that make folks?
Whatever. Its their loss. I can’t think of a more British drink than beer, but that’s just me. What ARE they serving? Love the picture though!
I know it’s not beer. And I’ve heard they’ve also snubbed British wine. Not making them really popular with the common folks…
WTF? Didn’t they ever read Andy Capp?
No British beer and no British wine? They’ll probably serve some Eurozone crap. I hope it rains.
Maybe a Tsunami?
I am stationed in the Air Force over here in England and the funny thing is, a lot of the major breweries and numerous smaller ones have all brewed Royal Wedding ales to commemorate the wedding yet no wineries have done so. Nearly all of them are low percentage session beers 3.5-4.2% that have are pale in complexion. Even the brewery/pub I work part time for was all about making an ale for the wedding but for the most part, people have just been happy to drink a new pint regardless of what it was made for.
Yeah, they probably know that the royals are just a bunch of pretentious Nits and don’t give a rats ass about what they will drink at the royal nups.
Maybe I’ll make one, too, Tim, with an image of a chimp with a crown on the label ad call it “God Shave the Queen!”
I was in London a few weeks ago and was very disappointed in the pub scene. There are very few independents left and they all carry the same couple of brews.
I’ve never been, but I imagine that’d be a bummer. It’s weird to think the American scene might be more vital than Britain’s.
OK. I made fun of British beer earlier in this thread, but one of my main commenters (of the three) at my blog lives in London. That bloke is all about the cask scene. He and his lads hit certain pubs that specialize in cask ale. They discuss the condition and temperatures of every cask they sample. So, there is an underground cask scen in London. It’s not just pubs Mark describes serving swill.
Well there’s an above ground one here.
Yes and it controls all of 5% of the market.
I had heard that that moved up this year to something like 8%. Did I dream that?
The point is that the craft beer movement in the US is far from being mainstream or “above-ground” when the vast majority of beer drinking involves ABI/MC.
They’re serving Champagne? As in… French? And they’re calling beer inappropriate. Sheesh.
I wonder if they’ll drink that viagra Brewdog Concoction behind closed doors:p Maybe this is all a ruse.
No, they wont be drinking Royal Virility Performance. After all, Viagra is for commoners. Instead, William will drink an ancient vial of unicorn tears and then impregnate Kate with His Royal Semen, as is the tradition.
Funny thing is, the Princes are known to drink their share of ale so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a hidden stash somewhere at the dinner.
Yeah, Prince William is a good boy, but Harry on the other hand will probably have a keg around somewhere. I’m guessing partying with the caterers.
FWIW, there was some debate over the beer scene in London. A regular commenter on my blog had this to say about the pub scene there…