Bitter/ESBs in Texas?

I'll work on compiling a full list for DFW but right away:

Community Brewing (Dallas): Public ESB

Pegasus City Brewing (Dallas): Highpoint Porch Ale (bitter), and they had a Dark Mild last time I was there.

New Main Brewing (Pantego): ESB but it's 7% so not a standard one

Holler Brewing (Houston): They have a few Bitters/ESBs. They had 1 ESB when I went there.

 

I'd like to know what these beers are shooting for.

A lot of the American versions load down on the caramel malt and I find them fairly one dimensional. I understand these are trying to imitate old oxidized English beers after they get here.

Other bitters are more accurate to actual English bitters. Bready, toasty or nutty with just a little caramel malt possible to add complexity. A moderate hop character is also desired.

I'd say that Community and New Main's examples lean towards the caramel bomb.
Pegasus City is more enjoyable in my opinion.

Edit: it looks like I really need to check out Skull Mechanix.

 

I wouldn't consider Spindletap ESB true to style, it is more of a Dundee Honey Brown (probably the most egregiously named). At least the others try to be somewhat true to style.

Anyway, I absolutely love Holler ESB, and is great on cask.

One note, Fuller's is really the only true ESB. As that is the name of the beer, and not really considered a "style" in the UK. Kind of like Quad is not really considered a style in a lot of Belgian Trappist breweries.

There is also Real Ale Phoenix Double ESB, which they continue to pull out from time to time.

Edit:
I'll add Walking Stick ESB and Eureka Heights Wicket Awesome. Both in Houston.

 

Also Saint Arnold Amber is essentially a Bitter, and has won many awards in that style. I have always enjoyed it, and find it very underrated here.

 

In addition to my previous post:

Four Bullets
- Pub ale - a really good one, I think it's comparable to Holler's ESB. The time I had it Holler ESB was a exercise in East Kent Golding hop flavor. Four Bullets Pub Ale is fairly strong on the hop character. But a unique one that I am not familiar with. The owner says it's Boadicae hops.

Peticolas
- Royal Scandal yet another caramelly higher ABV English pale ale/ESB

HopFusion
-Bailiwick pub ale I've never tried it. They largely do high sugar flavored beers but this one sounds more traditional.

Thirsty Bro - Never had anything from them
-ESB

 

Does Oasis brewing still make their London Homesick? I don't think I've seen it up in North Texas recently.

Also I know that Austin Beerworks had a great Mild the last time we went but I don't know if they make other liked batch English ales regularly.

Celis Pale Bock may be best described as a English Pale Ale.

 

We really liked Skull Mechanix. The bitter was very good. Great malt and great hops. And I think they used something other than EKG which is refreshing.
We really liked that out of the 16 beers they have on tap 8 were less than 5% and 12 were less than 6%.

 

Freetail used to make an exceptional ESB called Broken Promise that, in my opinion, was closer to the nutty, herbal English flavor than some other US examples I've tried. Their Broken Treaty English-style IPA (a label that some US breweries lazily slap on under-hopped American IPAs) has a similar flavor, but with more hop character. I was told that this flavor is achieved by manipulating the water chemistry to mimic English water.

 

Braindead just went through a few casks of Ordinary Bitter lightly dry hopped with EKG, the draft version should be out soon, dry hopped with Challenger. We've also,done an English Pale called Kopman's Pub Ale and a Rye ESB called The Sword and The Crown, those are both long gone, though.

 

I was wondering if Braindead made or was making any bitters. Y'all make excellent Pilsners. I think the best in the area so I'd assume the Bitter is good too.

 

Thank you! Thanks to my years at Schlafly I've brewed more Bitter/English Pale than any other beer style! My crew should be transferring the OB to Brute today. (I'm headed back from Mexico today)

 

Lol I meant to Brite

 

I just found True Vine Brewing's Round Table amber pub ale and I was very pleasantly surprised.

It's a good English style pale ale of some sort (Strong Bitter?)

I like that caramel doesn't overwhelm the palate. It has a nice toastiness to it.

 

I had Pegasus Highpoint yesterday at a bar in Houston called Cobble & Spoke. That is the only place in town I have found Pegasus, and was a nice surprise. I enjoyed it, and will be back there in a day or two so I can have a few more pints. With this style it usually takes me a few times to really appreciate it. I think this is a good one though.

 

I'm glad you liked it. I've enjoyed it many times.

I'm really surprised that you were able to find it in Houston. I've never seen it on tap in Arlington but I buy it in the stores and have been to the brewery many times, it's just ~30 minutes away.

The beer is a fairly unique one in Texas. An English ale focusing on the base malts with maybe just a small amount of specialty malts. And the hops just play a minor supporting role.

 

Yeah, I'm surprised to see it here as well. It reminds me of PUB Gb Ale by Astral Brewing. They are a new one to open in Houston. Mostly IPA's but they make that one English Pale Ale/Bitter (really the same thing) that I enjoy a lot as well. As far as I know that is only available at the brewery though.

 

I may have to try Astral Brewing sometime. I don't see the pub ale on the website right now.

I think the Southern Heights' english ale may also be a similar pub ale style.

 

For what it's worth, Draught House in Austin and the Hay Merchant in Houston do serve proper pints of cask ale. I made it to both earlier this summer, and while neither had a good bitter on cask, the beers that I tried at both were very good. Draught House had a beer called Blackpool Summer Ale that was close to a good English pale -- a bit high in ABV at 5.2% or something like that, but it was very good.

Houston's Saint Arnold has at least one beer on cask at the brewery, but it's pot luck what style of beer it is. I think they put one on cask every Wednesday and serve it until it runs out, then start over the next Wednesday.

Thanks to @Roybert for starting the thread and to the rest of you for contributing. If I run across anything else around Texas worth mentioning here, I'll do so.