Extra Special Bitters.

Fuller's ESB is my favorite, readily available ESB.

 

Mine too though it isn't available locally.

 

Goose Island Honkers Ale always seems to find it's way into my fridge. Low ABV but plenty of flavor. A fan of the style for sure.

 

You know, it's a far cry from a go-to style...

...but damn that Fuller's ESB is awesome every time...

 

I'm a huge fan of the style, but not enough breweries find enough space in the lineup for it. Middle Ages The Beast and Anderson Valley Belk's ESB are awesome

 

Lord Admiral from Three Floyds is also a real treat.

 

Gotta be on cask....bottled ESB is an oxymoron.

 

So I should avoid the style cuz I can't get it on cask? Nah.

 

Fullers ESB is one of my favorite beers. Unfortunately, the one bar in NYC (of which I'm aware) that always had four Fuller's beers on tap no longer serves ESB. They said it became too expensive. I now have no reason to go there.

 

Love ESBs. Schlafly and Grand Teton Bitch Creek are two favorites of mine.

 

Technically, the Grand Teton is an Extra Special Brown Ale.

 

Yeah, I know, but...wiggle room.

 

Yeah, delicious none the less.

 

How close are you to Philly?

Because Yards ESA is often on cask around town - usually pretty good. Stoudt's Scarlet Lady is decent, too. Though I rarely find it from an engine.

Wells Bombardier is another good one that you can find on cask in maybe a handful on spots (I'm thinking Khyber, any of Hartranft's spots, and a few others that I'm forgetting right now). The bottled version's not bad either, however, 10 out of 10 times, I'd prefer it on cask.

Bottled ones you may like (if you can find them) are: Hobgoblin, Adnams Broadside (one of my faves), Bateman's XXXB... Any English bottles you'll find though seem to taste the same after a while, especially if they've been sitting around warm on a shelf for long enough. Fulllers does stand out amongst them all anyway, so I don't include that in that statement.

And... should you avoid on cask??? Don't have all that much confidence yet on America's attention to detail as far as cask. You have to know where to go. I've had a countless number of shit pints even in a great beer town like Philly.

Don't stop trying new ones though.

 

I agree that ESB is an extremely undervalued style. I think a lot of people get turned off by the name "Bitter" but I find the beers to be quite the opposite of bitter. Malty and easy drinking has been my experience with Extra Special Bitters.

Wychwood's Hobgoblin is easily my favourite ESB.

 

I had Fullers ESB on cask at Barvolo, it was one of the best beer experiences I have had.

Completely different from in a can.

 

YES! I love the English pale ale family enough to marry it, and family member ESB is fantastic.

Fuller's is perfect. I can get Well's Bombadier here in my town and touch base with it a handful of times a year. And Texas' Real Ale makes a decent-tasting facsimile of the style called Phoenixx Double ESB.

The world is full of different hop bites, and a good ESB delivers one of those bites very well. Just thinking of Fuller's has me wanting to grab some next time I head to Houston.

 

Love ESBs a lot! Definitely better from a cask, but I've got an Ordinary Bitter that I made and bottled that's pretty damn good. I intentionally left the carbonation low and the mouthfeel is close to what a cask provides.

I desperately want to see more made and sold in the US.

 

Not rare or limited release enough for most people on this site to enjoy it.