Readily Available English Bitter?

I filled up for $2.03 today.

Also stopped at BRBP, had a pint of ESB, a 10 oz of English barleywine and left with a growler of ESB. I'm taking my son to the midnight release of some Mario game tonight and pondering how bad it would look if I were drinking fine ales in a Gamestop line.

 

If you're waiting outside in this weather without an adult beverage, you'd be crazy.

 

That beer seems to have vanished compared to before.

After having had two of those this season, I’m going to go out on a limb and agree with you agreeing with me.
It’s a lovely beer. Unmistakably “English” with it’s fruity quality and packing a huge whole leaf hop assault (even though most would disagree with me on that characterization). Easily identifyable as “fresh” with the year on the front label. I know people don’t think of it as a strong bitter (and the brewer doesn’t label it as such), but it’s the camp I put it in. In my eyes, “winter warmer” is one of the more nonsensical style categories on BA and in the case of Winter Welcome it establishes a false set of expectations that some people hold against the beer.

Regarding some other options mentioned in this thread... and some that haven’t been mentioned (and ignoring any distinctions between ordinary and strong bitter) here’s the opinion of a dolt (myself):

Fullers ESB is the only choice if you want an “ESB.” Unfortunately, either this beer is inconsistent in the US, or this beer causes my impressions of it to swing radically based on my shifting palate. I like it better than London Pride.

Hobgoblin (marketed as everything from a “ruby beer” to a “strong dark ale”) is a nice fruity beer but it feels like it lives at the extreme borders of the realm of bitter.

Robinson’s Trooper is a good, safe, unexceptional choice.

I personally love nitro Boddingtons Pub Ale even if it’s verboten by beer geeks. As a nitro bitter, it’s a very unique thing though and not at all something to recommend as an example of anything other than a nitro pale ale.

Coniston Bluebird is inconsistent (at least over here) but when it’s good it’s great.

I never cared for Bass... at least not in it’s current incarnation, but I have no incarnations to compare it to other than whatever was over here in the last two decades.

There’s something about how the hops are used in Southern Tier Harvest that makes the beer feel too American in tone for me.

As mentioned above, Honkers is gone around here.

Sam Adams Boston Ale (like a lot of the BBC lineup) just strikes me as weird.

Schlafly Pale Ale and Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale are two beers that I would like on paper, but somehow don’t end up scratching my itch.

Cisco Whale’s Tale can be pretty good, but without a bottle date it’s not worth the risk.

Left Hand Sawtooth is OK.

Montauk Driftwood feels like it has potential but could benefit from better QC or brewing.

I used to really like Alesmith Anvil but I haven’t seen it in ages.

Yards ESA is OK. This is an unpopular opinion, but all of their portfolio just feels “OK” to me.

Smuttynose Shoals, a bit of an English / American hybrid, is OK.

And now for the comment that’ll make people force me to turn in my beer drinker license - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a good choice for a “bitter” like beer that has had the yeast profile turned down and tropical fruit flavors turned way up through the use of American hops. Yeah, I just typed that.

 

Might look to trade for a Seattle offering from Machine House. They recently started bottling and primarily if not only to English and/or Real Ales. Worth a look perhaps.

 

Blue Bird is a good standard easily attainable ESB I think Samuel Smith's makes one as well

 

ISWYDT

 

Yards Extra Special Ale is a pretty decent ESB. I haven't had one in a few years, but I remember liking it. As one of Yards oldest offerings, it's a true surviror.

 

Yes, it is technically surviving but presently is only available in kegs and casks:

“FORMATS Exclusively on draft and cask”

http://www.yardsbrewing.com/ales/extra-special-ale

Cheers!

 

English golden ale is definitely a thing in summer, but it's just lighter coloured, less flavourful bitter. Nothing like a prescribed style. Didn't it come about as a way attract the lager drinkers? Merry Christmas y'all!

 

Used to be here too, haven't seen this or Batemans in many years. Fullers is really good too, I haven't had one in years.

 

I love Bateman's XXXB ! Was lucky in that our niece's hubby is from Wales and goes back home periodically. Brought a case back for me on a trip earlier this year. Yum.

 

To add, in the days when IPA actually went to India it was almost always the weakest beer in a brewers range.
The effects of WW1 and the following depression reduced beer strengths and IPAs such as Green King were the result. Still very often the weakest beer in the line up.

 

Prefer our American varieties?

 

I've never encountered one of these Golden Ales but I've listened to a podcast where of the British cast members brought a load of them back to try on the show.

It sounded like they were more focused on hops than other English pale ales or bitters. Even a number of them had non traditional hop flavors.

They thought they were more like a Pilsner with a bit of a different yeast character. A unique enough beer from the sound.

 

I have received a few bottles of such beer for Christmas, I shall find out.
But I do like beer that I can drink by the pint or three

 

I always liked Old Speckled Hen, but I admit it’s been a while since I had it.

By the way, I generally didn’t care much about the InBev purchase of Goose Island, but my biggest problem with it is how the English style beers are either being phased out (Hex Nut) or taste different (Honkers) than they used to.

 

Yeah, I think that describes golden ales well. Worth mentioning though that English pale ale / bitter is a heck of a lot more diverse than our exports would suggest. You'll find plenty of naturally light ales that won't have 'golden ale' on the pump head.

 

That's good to hear. I've been to the UK three times. Once in high school before I started drinking.

Once when I was 20 and I was more exploring European lagers but I tried an English ale every day but couldn't drink more than one.
Then I went to Salisbury and Somerset in 2011 drank a lot of ales but I don't think I encountered any golden ales.

 

Why not?

 

Back then I just thought that I got very full feeling after just one ale. The lagers were lighter bodied so I could drink them all day.

Looking back it doesn't really make any sense to me but that was what I felt at the time. I was in England so I wanted to make an effort to try them but after one each day I just didn't feel good enough to drink a second one.
I believe that was June of 2007.

Now on my trip in 2011 I drank ale all I could punctuated with a small amount of exceptional local cider in Somerset.