Article: PRIVATE VIEW: A modern ale? No way.

The word 'modern' is all too often bandied about thoughtlessly in advertising. The label on a bottle of beer makes Hugh Pearman reflect on its meaning

It was a perfectly nice bottle of beer. I drank all of it, slowly, with reasonable if not extreme pleasure. Not too sweet, not too strong, nicely flavoured while avoiding over-hoppiness. A beer to be quietly and briefly appreciative of. Not a gimmicky beer. That would have been the end of it. Until I made the mistake of looking at the label.

'A modern ale,' said the label, 'from Britain's oldest brewery.' And do you know, that rather spoiled it for me. Because if there is one thing that irritates me ...

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