Now that I have my laptop back from the shop its time to get back to this blogging business. I’ll start with a classic. Fullers ESB, or Extra Special Bitter. Throughout the years you will find that breweries tended to differentiate their brews by alcohol with the general flavor profile the same. This happened for two reasons. Usually the beer style depended on ingredients available and the mineral content in the water. You couldn’t brew a Burton-On-Trent style pale ale in a place like Pilsen with the decided lack of minerals in water. Another reason was that governments always wanted their cut, and with generally one style of beer in the area, one of the best ways to figure out a good tax system was to tax by the amount of alcohol in the beer. The extra special bitter is at one end of the alcohol (and original gravity) spectrum with ordinary bitter on the other end and special bitter in the middle.
Aroma
Big malt up front with no appreciable hop aroma. Real sweet, almost citric.
Appearance
Golden color, slightly darker than straw. Clear white head with good lacing.
Taste
Surprisingly bitter. Would not have thought this with the lack of hop aroma. There is a big wallop of malt flavor. It makes me want some Whoppers.
Mouthfeel
Light to medium mouthfeel with light carbonation. Nice and smooth. A warming alcohol feel follows each sip.
Overall Impression
It is a great beer that would go perfectly with some good vanilla ice cream, maybe topped with some homemade caramel sauce.
Helper Monkey Brews 