Extra Special Bitters.

Southern Prohibition's Jack the Sipper is a good one of you are ever down in MS

 

I'm a fan of the style. But, unlike the OP, I tend to prefer the maltier examples of the style. Too many, especially American, versions tend to be IPA-lite.

 

I'm not too familiar with the style, but I recently had Fuller's ESB for the first time. To me it smelled and tasted exactly like apples, kept going back to try to pick up other flavor and absolutely could not pick anything else out besides the taste of unfiltered apple juice, you could have told me it was a cider and I would have believed you. From what I've read this doesn't seem indicative of the style, other than the marmalade fruitiness described on the label. To me it wasn't enjoyable at all, but won't stop me from trying other ESBs. (bottle date was fine by the way).

Has anyone else had this experience with ESBs? Are they an acquired taste? I used to not be able to pull out the more subtle flavors of IPAs, so maybe I just need a palate shift.

 

The beer on cask in London is excellent, in the bottle in the US is not.

 

Currently have seven ESBs at Hawthorne's. Always a priority of mine to have solid examples from each style. Sawtooth Nitro is one of the best you'll ever have, but it's leaps and bounds behind Bombardier which is on at The Khyber, right now. As previously mentioned, Yards ESA, Brawler, and Philly Pale are constantly floating around the city. Chester Co. Bitter is always a solid local option as well.

 

Well this won't do much good in finding them here in the US, but my fav beer when visiting the UK is either a local bitter on cask or an ESB on cask, depending on how long I'll be sitting around chatting and sipping beer. (Wish it was easier to find Cask beers in the US. There are some properly cared for cask beers but to few and far between.)

But of those I've had in the US I have to give the nod to the Climax Brewing (New Jersey) ESB and the Heavy Seas Winter Storm, throwing in some recognition for the Theakston's XB which may be more widely available than either the Climax or the Heavy Seas. For me Fullers is OK but bottling it is not the best way to to go.

 

Fuller's ESB was one of the first beers I fell in love with. Truly an awesome beer. Locally, I really enjoy Climax ESB, but I have a hard time finding it even in NJ.

 

Fuller's is just phenomenal. Some good US ones are Anderson Valley's and Victory's.

I see you're from PA so you should also check out Stoudt's Scarlet Lady (not anywhere as good as Fuller's but still good - I like it more than Yard's ESA) and Helltown's Extra Sinful Bitter, which is delicious but probably hard to find outside of SW PA.

 

Im not sure I would classify Hobgoblin as a bitter. Its sort of a weird beer to classify but I think its closer to a Brown Ale than a bitter. Maybe halfway between the two. I dont know.

 

ESBs are wonderful and we need more of them. That is all.

 

I like Well's Bombardier a lot, ESB was my preferred beer years ago and this post reminds me that I have forgotten my roots and need to grab a few.

 

My first ESB was Fuller's. And I started trying all I could find.
My list:

Belk’s ESB Anderson Valley
14ers ESB Avery
LunaSea Empyrean
Fuller's ESB Fuller
25th Anniv. Ale Goose Island
Harvest Ale Goose Island
XX Bitch Creek Grand Teton
HotShot ESB Great Divide
Saranac ESB High Falls
Sawtooth Ale Left Hand
Sawtooth Nitro Left Hand
2 Below Winter Ale New Belgium
ESB Redhook
Iron Maiden Trooper Robinsons
ESB (Early Spring Beer) Sierra Nevada
ESB Special Ale SKA
Oasis Tallgrass

The only disappointments were Empyrean LunaSea and Robinsons Iron Maiden. They were good, but not great.

 

Love ESBs. Fuller's is always solid and I was crushed when Goose Island discontinued their Harvest Ale. That was an excellent ESB. I make sure to pick up Short's Autumn Ale every fall because that is a favorite of mine as well.

I was happy to see a year or so ago that Arcadia Ales added an ESB to their year-round lineup called Thunder Trail ESB but it was a disappointment. Too many off flavors in that beer.

 

I've had 6 ESB's so far, not a style that is abundantly available around here. And sadly my favorite of the six, Tallgrass Oasis, is no longer brewed. But yes, I do enjoy a bitter now and then, when I can get one. Schlafly Winter ESB is quite good also, as is Southern Tier Harvest. But they are hit and miss each year in my area.

 

Only had Fullers ESB on cask once, (Philly) don't know how fresh it was but I liked it a lot. Their bottles are a miss most of the time, but I do buy them occasionally when they look fresh. Recently a few brewers in town have had a go at making ESB to some small success, at least the "biscuty" taste was there. Ska makes a good one,... Like someone said up thread, most American ESB's are watery IPA's with a different yeast.

 

Fullers ESB on cask is something else.

 

Amen.

I love the traditional examples of this style but the ones that take the word "bitter" literally frustrate me. Too many of these attempts miss the mark.

 

Only one I've had so far was 2 Below from the New Belgium variety pack I picked up back in November, but I enjoyed that one. I'd like to try other examples of the style at some point if 2 Below is anything to go by.

I don't see them in stores very often, though... I think the only one I've seen is Redhook's ESB, and only as part of their variety packs rather than in six-packs on its own. I do know that one makes a pretty tasty beer batter for fried fish (thanks to Hardee's) but so far have not had the opportunity to try it in actual beer form. Looking over the list of beers on the site, I see that Foster's Ale also apparently is in the ESB category too, and I've seen that in the jumbo-sized cans. That's all I've seen in grocery stores and such, though... guess I might have to seek out an actual beer store sometime if I want to try more in this style.

 

You'll only find Fuller's from these shores. The term ESB is regarded as a Fuller's trade mark (they tried to register it but it was deemed "too generic") ESB isn't a style at all, simply a bitter (aka Pale Ale) at the stronger end of the scale. Gales HSB is worth seeking out.
Many bottled bitters are of greater strength that their cask equivalents to try to counteract the dumbing down of cask ale by bottling it.So a beer regarded as an ESB in the US would be an ordinary bitter in the UK.Bombardier has already been mentioned; it's 4.3% ABV on cask but 5.2% in bottle.

 

Not to be snarky, but Honkers is considered a(n Ordinary) Bitter, not an Extra Special Bitter -- though it's still pretty special.