hoping to identify an english beer from my youth...

[tedzap]

When in college I played rugby, and our team went to England for six weeks over the summer break. It seemed every pub had a generic ale on tap, sometimes it was pulled from a cask. This was in 1987.

Does anyone know what style of beer this likely was? bitter? mild? brown? I don't think it was very strong, but lots of flavor and it was very drinkable in quantity. If I had to recall I would think it was more malty than hoppy... but not overly sweet.

It seems like every pub had a variation of the same beer on tap, and I have never had it since. It all tasted the same to me anyway, coming from a world of coors light and natty bo. Would like to figure out what style it was and brew some at home.

 

[9Kegs]

ESB short for extra special bitter

 

[Robert65]

In 1987, as today, "ESB" was in England a brand name owned by Fullers, a unique beer best classified as a Winter Warmer (as originally introduced in 1969) or a Strong Ale (it became a year round beer in the early 70s, with a cult following.) American craft brewers later invented a style under that name with little other connection. I doubt that's what the OP is remembering, as it was not easy to find.

The generic draught beer you'd get in every pub would be simply a Best Bitter, in the 4% ABV range, or even an Ordinary Bitter, nearer 3% ABV, the staples of every brewery then. Full of flavor and low in alcohol indeed. I was drinking an awful lot of those beers in the late 80s in England. Great beers, great times.

 

[tedzap]

Thanks.

Rob, I expect that what I am remembering is the "best bitter" that you describe.

Anyone know of a good recipe for this style? I am a big fan of session IPAs these days, this could slot right into that same "all day" kind of beer.

 

[Robert65]

You can search and find endless recipes. But most American interpretations use a fair bit of crystal malt, making them a little less sessionable than the originals. They also tend to be stronger, hoppier... more American.

A typical English bitter, especially back then, would have been made with pale ale malt, up to 20% flaked maize adjunct, and a good portion of brewing sugar, rarely any crystal. If it was a bit darker than golden, it was typically from caramel color, not dark malts. I think a decent compromise, at least as a starting point, is to use English pale ale malt, no more than 5% light crystal if you want it, and 5-10% raw cane sugar for lightness and a bit of unique flavor. Keep the gravity around 1.040 or just above. Bitter to about 30 IBU with English hops like Challenger and Target at the start of the boil, and a much smaller amount of finishing hops than American pale ales use, Goldings preferred. English yeast. HTH.

(BTW I started homebrewing over there because I knew it was the only way I'd get beer like that when I came back to the States. Hadn't brewed anything like it in years, till last year I did some for old time's sake, and it took me right back!)

 

[Hackrsackr]

I think I’ve heard to those beers just being referred to as “pub ale.”

 

[ba-brewer]

There is a recipe book called "CAMRA's Brew your own British Real Ale", most bitters look pretty similar mostly base malt a little crystal and a touch of black malt for color. Most IBU at 60min, a few IBUs at 10min. It pretty much matches up with Robert65's recommendations. It is the house yeast and process that make the beers unique.

Using the recipe outlines by Robert65 with either WY1968 London ESB or WY1469 West Yorkshire Ale would be a good start to building your own bitters.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I think I’ve heard to those beers just being referred to as “pub ale.”

Not in the UK - maybe a US marketing term, but not one you get in the UK.

ESB short for extra special bitter

No - as explained above, ESB is a specific brand in the UK, and in general strong bitters are pretty rare. Except in city centres it's unusual to see beers of more than 4.5% ABV on cask, which is the main method of dispense for traditional British ales. To British eyes the US obssession with ESBs is a bit weird - they're not really sessionable, which is the whole point of British drinking culture.

The generic draught beer you'd get in every pub would be simply a Best Bitter, in the 4% ABV range, or even an Ordinary Bitter, nearer 3% ABV

If there was one generic draught beer, it would be a bitter, which would typically be 3.6-3.8%. If there's two then you'd also get a best bitter of 4.1-4.5% - personally I think around 4.2% is the sweet spot.

A typical English bitter, especially back then, would have been made with pale ale malt, up to 20% flaked maize adjunct, and a good portion of brewing sugar, rarely any crystal.

There's lots of regional variation (where was the rugby tour?) and things have changed through time - for instance in 1981 Fullers were using maize, glucose and invert #3 in their main beers, whereas now they are all-grain. Maize is more of a southern thing, further north more sugar is used. Southern bitters tend to go heavier on crystal - Fullers use 7.2% of light crystal which is about as much as I care for, northern brewers will generally use less (and also will tend to go for a more mineralised water profile, and more bitterness - up to 0.9 BU:GU compared to 0.6-0.7 down south).

Rob's recipe is in the right ballpark though - and pay attention to the yeast, it's a vital part of the mix. British beers are all about balancing all the components - yeast, malt, hops, water and carbonation - if any one of those is out of balance then it wrecks the whole.