Esb

[El Pistolero]

I'm sipping my first ever ESB...Thames Welsh ESB. I thought ESB stood for Extra Special Bitter, but this sucker isn't bitter at all...it's actually kind of sweet. What gives?

 

[Brew chick]

Yeh strange that,i allways thought it ment extra special bitter too but i've just had a look at a fullers esb recipe i've got lined up to brew and it shows a bitterness off 35 ebu,maybe it's "beer" not "bitter".

 

[El Pistolero]

No, it's Extra Special Bitter. I guess it's more to do with the historical definition of a bitter.

 

[Caplan]

I'm sipping my first ever ESB...Thames Welsh

London and Wales? What did you expect? Double the trouble......

 

[cweston]

No, it's Extra Special Bitter. I guess it's more to do with the historical definition of a bitter.

I think that's it: a bitter was called a bitter to distinguish it from a mild. A stronger bitter is "special" and stronger than a special is "extra special."

Actually, I think most ESB's have a higher IBU to gravity ratio than English Pale Ales. Fullers ESB is about 1.050 and 45 IBUs. Bass is about 1.052 and 37 IBUs. ESBs probably are made with a little more crystal malt, though.

We now conclude this beer geek moment.

 

[Janx]

Try the Belk's ESB from Anderson Valley for a really fine example of the style. It's a fantastic beer, and probably the best they make.

It's supposed to have a very malty character balanced by an equally hoppy character. Neither should outshine the other (as in an IPA). It's a big beer...the biggest of the Bitter styles.

But, yeah, a new-school American style IPA it aint. That's extra special bitter for you (little b).

Cheers

 

[flip143]

Redhook makes a good example of ESB. It is available almost everywhere I have ever been.

 

[mpetty]

As has been said previously, the name "bitter" is just to distinguish the beer from a mild. The only difference between bitter, special bitter, and extra special bitter, is initial gravity readings. BU:GU's should be the same, etc. They just get more alcoholic the more "special" they get.

 

[NEPABREWER]

anyone have thst Fuller's Recipe? I had the pleasure of overdoing it with the Fullers this Saturay evening past. I still feel it - Very nice beer though.

 

[Ize]

I think that's it: a bitter was called a bitter to distinguish it from a mild. A stronger bitter is "special" and stronger than a special is "extra special."

Actually, I think most ESB's have a higher IBU to gravity ratio than English Pale Ales. Fullers ESB is about 1.050 and 45 IBUs. Bass is about 1.052 and 37 IBUs. ESBs probably are made with a little more crystal malt, though.

We now conclude this beer geek moment.

Nononono... This is one of the many reasons I hang out here. Info like this... I mean sure there are bouts of laughter that SWMBO shakes her head at, but this and all of the GREAT technical info you guys freely (and without any snobbery) give is what sets HBT apart from other boards...

IMHO of course...

And for the record I think ESB as "Extra Special Beer" has to be an American bastardization of the style... I almost grabbed an "ESB" from a small American brewery in my pick a six this past Friday but I went on an IPA binge instead... I don't remember which one it was, but it was clearly labelled "ESB, Extra Special Beer". I'll be back there this week and I'll grab one...

Bitter sounds better tho if you ask me...



Ize

 

[Brewpastor]

There are three categories (in the eyes of the Association of Brewers:
Standard/Ordinary Bitter = 1.032-1.040, 25-35 IBUs
Special/Best/Premium Bitter= 1.040-1.048, 25-40 IBUs
Extra Special/Strong Bitter= 1.048-1.060, 30-50+ IBUs

It is interesting to note flow from one category to the other, the wide range of IBUs and the open end on ESB's IBUs. ESB runs right into English Pale Ale in terms of style and forks into Old Ale as well. Often ESB is thought of as a BIG (strong) beer, but really it is pretty average for Homebrew.

Terry Foster in his Beer Stlyles book "Pale Ale" (which you should own) says bitter is a draught, real ale and the bottled version is Pale Ale, which is on the strong end of the scale. Ordinary Bitter is a session beer, made to be drank fresh and in large amounts. It now is made by many breweries as a Summer brew and is often along the lines of a Golden Ale. Part of what we are faced with today is there is very little draught real ale available in the US and Breweies like to use these distictive style titles because the have a market appeal, but don't always reflect the traditions of the particular styles.

I agree with what others have pointed out, "Bitter" as opposed to "Mild".

Maybe we should try both an ESB and a Pale Ale for our style this week and do a little side by side comparision.

 

[drengel]

ESBs are definitely a little on the sweet end, but the key is balance. they should not be percieved as bitter, just enough to balance out the alcohol and crystal malts. they are definitely a nice style though.