Hey guys, I'm pretty new to British beer, and I'd enjoy some help. I've recently had Fullers 1845 and London Pride, both good beers. I also really enjoy Iron Maiden's Trooper, except the damn price. Can any of yall help me out with finding similar tasting beers to the Trooper beer? I personally like the beer, and I'm not being biased even though they are one of my all time favorite bands. Thanks for the help!
I see you're from California. I'd suggest Firestone-Walker's DBA (aka Double Barrel Ale). Or better yet, Unfiltered DBA. That was from last year. I haven't seen any this year locally but since you're from CA you could probably find some in your area. Also, since this is your first post here I'd suggest you start right here and work your way down the list. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/66/ when you are done with a few of those, branch out and try some more styles https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/
In the menus above, find beer, pull down to beer styles, and find and click on "Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)". Then click on Avg. This will give you a list of ESB style beers that have the highest rating in descending order. Stick to the ones with the highest rating and the highest number of reviews - those will be the ones folks agree on and those that see widest distribution. Probably need to go to the second page to get by the ones that are tap only. Can't tell you which ones taste like Trooper, but it will give the names of some highly rated ESBs to try. You'll need to be the judge of which you like. Some won't be available in your area, but certainly California has decent distribution.
Have you tried Fuller's ESB? -- that, along with other ESB's (Extra Special Bitter) should be fairly similar to Trooper. I agree that Trooper is good but a bit pricey.
I can usually find the Fuller's 6 pack of 12 oz bottles for $9-10. I concur that Fuller's is the measuring stick for the ESB style.
Thanks for all the help guys, there's some good places down here in Southern California to shop for beer or go to a bar. I get out of the marines soon and I know South Carolina doesn't have shit when it comes to stores that sell beer other than the usual bud and miller
You'll find many overlapping flavors in the "regular" English Bitter Style too: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/98/ Goose Island Honker's Ale might fit the bill and it's fairly widely distributed... Goose Island is owned by Anheuser-Busch after all (don't hate me). If you haven't had New Belgium Fat Tire I would recommend it. It's a different but similar style to Trooper (an amber ale with mild to moderate hops) and has been a gateway beer for many a craft beer drinker.
