Bull City Dr. Bartlett’s Ordinary Bitter

Brewed by Bull City Burger and Brewery
Style: Bitter
Durham, North Carolina USA

Serve in English pint

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Pours soft amber with a light haze and one finger of creamy off white head. Nose of fresh baked bread with a lightly citric hop character. Bready flavor, very mild and soft. Some toasted cereal grain and an herbal hop character with just a hint of diacetyl. Light soft body with a very low bitterness.

Served at the brewery, this one has a warm, tawny brown color with a meager but persistent soap-bubble off-white head. Although not very aromatic, what is identifiable is a pleasant light and clean combination of biscuits and citrus. The flavor features more of a nice, dull, floral bitterness on top of dry biscuity malts. The fine, soft carbonation works well with this flavor profile by lightening the texture without masking the subtle combination of characteristics.

On tap at the brewpub. Had this a few times now, and really enjoyed it consistently. A darker pour, obviously in the Brit tradition. Nice full body, frothy head, and the nose is softly bready with some dry Fuggles-y hops and sweet malts. Body is medium, a bit of a grainy palate, but that suits the beer well. Taste is dry enough to balance out the sweetness from the malts, and there’s a hop undercurrent that’s consistent but not ostentatious anywhere. Very good stuff.

pint at brewpub. ok aroma, litely tart. little grassy. little toffee/caramel. tad hazed brownish orange. ok head, minor lace. bitterr flavor. mildly so. medium body, creamy smooth mouthfeel. bitter finish that tapers off. it’s ok. easy to drink. session beer. nothin.g bad, bad nothing outstanding. flavor best part. has a nice bite.

This Britishs-styled bitter is true to form. Pours a hazy amber with a one-finger white head. Toffee is the primary in the aroma with a laid back floral hop character. Finishes balanced and slightly tart.

Ok beer. Taste a lot like an English bitter with a few more roasted flavors lingering around.

Amber pour with small white head and no lacing. Aroma of toasted malts and flavor was a bit muted and slightly metallic and watery in the finish. So so.

Dark amber, reddish hue, small white head. Nose is lightly roasty with some English porter type tartness, some toast, light hops. It’s pretty solid and definitely tastes similar to some of the English bitters I’ve had, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan. Will have to revisit with a bigger sample size.

Might be the best beer in the Triangle now. I’m not sure its an Ordinary Bitter. It just so dark....maybe a mild. Either way, if you’ve been to England & miss the low ABV & big hop profile bitters, this is as good as you can find in the States. I absolutely loved this beer....i’m planing to head back mid week for a growler. Bull City has a winner here. I wish other brewers would brew more bitters.

I enjoyed a pint of this fresh from the brewery last night. It’s much darker than I expected, nearly black while it sits on the table, but shows a nice bright red color when held to light. Small, tight head caps the beer all the way to the bottom. Understated nose of toast and maybe a hint of leather. Flavor starts with a light cereal note, some earthy character, then a very short, clean finish capped of nicely with mild hops. I haven’t had a lot of bitters to compare this to since being in England many years ago, but I loved this one. It’s excessively drinkable, on a hot day or cold. Here’s hoping sometime in the future they decide to start offering this one in true bitter fashion...from the cask.