Adnams SSB (Suffolk Special Bitter)
Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery

Adnams SSB (Suffolk Special Bitter)Adnams SSB (Suffolk Special Bitter)
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From:
Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 10.62%
Reviews:
132
Ratings:
141
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 19, 2015
Added:
Dec 21, 2002
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by IntriqKen:
Photo of IntriqKen
Reviewed by IntriqKen from California

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a nice slightly cloudy amber with a half finger white head that melts quickly to sticky lace.
Aroma pretty typical British amber malts and yeast with a nice toasty presence.
Taste is toasted amber malts that are pleasantly balanced with a nice hoppy swallow at the end.
Mouthfeel is a little drier than expected and that's pleasant..
A very decent British bitter and very drinkable with no unpleasant or lingering aftertaste.
Expensive, but I've already bought it again.
Mar 29, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of papat444
Rated by papat444 from Canada (QC)

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Flashback #391
Aug 19, 2015
Photo of Wobbly
Rated by Wobbly from Missouri

4.75/5  rDev +23.1%
A true classic. One of the best strong bitters in the world.
Oct 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 05, 2013
Photo of Hopheadjeffery
Reviewed by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

3.84/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Tasted in a pint glass from a 500 ml bottle. Look is bright clear amber with a thick foamy head and lingering lacing. Smell and taste is spice, resin and aniseed with biscuit malt aromas and flavors. Feel is medium in body with a smooth dry finish.
Jul 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by TomRB from Massachusetts

May 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by matjack85 from Illinois

Jan 31, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Nov 22, 2012
 
Rated: 2.75 by HankC from Sweden

Oct 09, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by cdwil from Texas

Dec 29, 2011
 
Rated: 4.25 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Nov 28, 2011
Photo of claminat420
Reviewed by claminat420 from Michigan

2.31/5  rDev -40.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
A- poured a deep brown/ mahagonay color. white half a finger head with thin lacing.

S- raisons and alcohol.

T- dark malts with a raison taste. no hops. lame.

M- medium. hardly any carbonation.

D- pissed i bought a 4 pack.

Overall- for 12 bucks a 4 pack this is just rediculous. and only 3.7 abv??? pass this up!!
Nov 09, 2009
Photo of TLove
Reviewed by TLove from District of Columbia

3.17/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12 oz bottle poured into a glass tumbler.

Has a truly beautiful pour, color, head, and retention. Without a doubt the best appearance of its style. A nice, balanced ESB that is actually quite smooth and yeasty. Tangy, buttery, sweet, and slightly smoked in flavor, the beer has a slight, malty structure.

Sweet finish, with some very soft, apple-like finish with moderate carbonation. A solid beer of its style. Decent finish, though a bit dry and sparse tasting.
Nov 06, 2009
Photo of cswhitehorse
Reviewed by cswhitehorse from California

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The Suffolk ESB poured a caramel color with a 1-2 finger foam head that dissipated quickly. Not much in the way of lacing.

It smelled of caramel and a slight hoppiness. The taste reminded me of a Scotch ale which has that unique taste to it. It had a nice bitterness on the finish which rounded it out nicely to me. Overall a good ESB and I would recommend it.
Feb 09, 2009
Photo of BedetheVenerable
Reviewed by BedetheVenerable from Missouri

3.56/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: 16.9oz brown bottle with a cool lighthouse label...best before date of over a year ago...Damn you Friar Tuck's...

Appearance: A SUPER hazy orange/gold beer with medium carbonation and a thin ivory cap.

Smell: Large sweet caramel and toffee presence up front supported by a mild fruitiness and just a TOUCH of leafy hops.

Taste: Fruitier than expected from the nose...there's a mild/grainy presence up front, backed by slightly tart fruit (apple) and a decent kick of hop bitterness on the finish. The beer finishes tart and dry, and bitter.

Mouthfeel: Slightly fizzy and light-medium bodied.

Drinkability: Fairly high.

Conclusion: Not bad, not great. It's pretty on target for a Special Bitter, but it's a little TART and aggressively bitter (without much hop flavor for my taste). I'd really like a FRESH sample to compare this to as I think this beer might have greater potential than shown here.
Jan 08, 2009
Photo of avalon07
Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a yellowish-brown color and a cloudy consistency. There wasn't much head with this beer, but it did have excellent lacing.

S: There was a very malty, bready smell, along with some mild spices.

T: A nice roasted malt flavor accented by some brown sugar and other spices. Not overly complex but good.

M: A fairly well-carbonated beer with a very dry finish. Medium-bodied.

D: On the whole, this is a well made ESB with a solid taste.
Dec 19, 2008
Photo of Spikester
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon

3.51/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours cloudy brown with a fat one finger light tan head. Plentiful lacings.
Aroma was malty with some euro hops.
Taste is sweet malts and a good amount of bitter hops. Some leather, minor citrus, and a medium dry finish. Not a bad ESB overall. Quite sessionable considering the 4.5% abv.
Dec 10, 2008
Photo of champ103
Reviewed by champ103 from Texas

3.98/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A: Pours a dark copper/brown color. A two finger beige head forms and leaves sticky lace down the pint glass.
S: Light buttery and caramel malt. A light citrus hop aroma.
T: Toasty sweet caramel malt. A subtle fruity flavor with pears and apples that come out as the beer warms a bit. A light hop bitterness to balance out the sweetness.
M/D: A medium body, but thin and watery. Low on the carbonation end. Easy and smooth to drink, like most good ESB's. A good session beer.

I enjoyed this. Pretty much everything you want in the style, I just find it a bit typical. Though, I will take a typical ESB over most anything else.
Nov 08, 2008
Photo of clayrock81
Reviewed by clayrock81 from Florida

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a light copper body with a foamy one-finger head. Has a strong malt smell along with some citric notes and dark fruits from the hops.
A mix bag here - there is some tartness and fruit notes from the hops, yet this fuller-bodied beer goes down smooth and creamy, and has some sweet malt taste to it. Finishes with a dry backbite. A great beer that I'm glad I got to try.
Oct 09, 2008
Photo of AKBelgianBeast
Reviewed by AKBelgianBeast from Alaska

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a nice slightly clear ruby red/deep orange amber color with a nice frothy white head that leaves good lace. Nose is mostly malty. Taste has a good malt profile with some decent british hop presence. Almost some toffee or caramel hints in here. Mouthfeel is nice, but a bit thick. Nice dry finish. Drinkability is good but not the best. Overall a good english bitter and a fair representation of the style. Im not that crazy about it, but it is a good representation. I think this bottle may be a bit old. A good brew, but there are enough better bitters available that I probably wont be purchasing this one again, except maybe at a bar.
Aug 22, 2008
Adnams SSB (Suffolk Special Bitter) from Adnams plc, Sole Bay Brewery
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 141 ratings