Ordinary English Bitter Examples

[bferullo]

Does anyone know of any commercial examples of this style besides those listed in the BJCP?

 

[jwalk4]

The problem with Ordinary English Bitters, Milds, etc. is that in order to be true to style, those beers should be hand pumped from the keg or cask, a flavor that is very hard to duplicate in the bottle. Think draft beer Vs. bottle.

But, some of my favorites are Woodford's Wherry, or Adnam's Southwold Bitter.

 

[urbanmyth]

Goose Island's Honker's Ale is said to be a bitter. I've never had it, though.

 

[PhelanKA7]

The problem with Ordinary English Bitters, Milds, etc. is that in order to be true to style, those beers should be hand pumped from the keg or cask, a flavor that is very hard to duplicate in the bottle. Think draft beer Vs. bottle.

But, some of my favorites are Woodford's Wherry, or Adnam's Southwold Bitter.

I've never seen those before. I live in the Midwest of the US and I'm wondering if we don't see a lot of delicate English beers like Ordinary Bitters because of the fact that they don't age very well. I know that if I was going to brew a beer like that I would be loathe for someone's impression of it to be drinking it after having sat on a shelf for over a year because of a market that wasn't interested in my product enough to keep a fresh stock in demand. Just my two cents.

 

[jsberry]

What exactly is the difference between a British "bitters" and normal IPAs, etc.?

 

[bferullo]

Goose Island's Honker's Ale is said to be a bitter. I've never had it, though.

Yeah its an american version of an ESB IMO. Its not bad at all, but more of an ESB than ordinary bitter. Semantics I guess

 

[bferullo]

What exactly is the difference between a British "bitters" and normal IPAs, etc.?

I am referring mainly to beers that fall into the BJCP 8A for lack of a better description.

From what I have read, the "bitter" in ordinary bitters is sometimes mistaken for flavor profile. IMO they are not as bitter as say an IPA. They still have a good bitterness to them, but aren't as heavily hopped as the IPAs.

Personally, I think of them as different styles stemming from similar bases.

 

[PhelanKA7]

What exactly is the difference between a British "bitters" and normal IPAs, etc.?

An ordinary bitter is the lightest end in both color and gravity in the spectrum of pale ales. Think of it almost as the "light beer" of ales where you have a myriad of light lager beers.