East End Session #12 - Best Bitter

Brewed by East End Brewing Company
Style: Bitter
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Got this at the brewery.....was hesitant to try by this surprised me. Very mild and very easy to drink. Slight malt and slight chocolate with just a hint, and I mean hint of hops. I could drink this all afternoon, and thats a good thing.

3/11/08 - Growler at homebrew club courtesy of Nate and Naka. Pours heavy, viscous brown with small, white head. Bitter and piny/citrus nose. bitter, brown sugar and caramel, touch of chocolate w/ a good bitter. Some grainy sugar. Tastes like wort, kinda, w/ alcohol (also known as beer). Decent.

Has a friendly aroma. Cloudy brown. Big head that does not fade. Not too much carbonation. Tho I think I detect some hops to an extent, this is very enjoyable on the tongue. Finish is mild and accepatable. A very friendly beer that is easy to get along with. Way above average for the style. Nice session brew.

From growler. Pours a very heavy amber brown color. Maybe it didn’t clear enough, but it really looks like it would be thick and soupy. However, it really tasted great. A thick foamy head that lasted for awhile. A sort of peachy pineapple nose with some tea and bitterness. A very mild tea flavor; almost reminds me of peach Snapple inspired beer. A very light taste. A nice dry finish as well.

From growler. Musky herbal hoppiness, with that organic undertone of coffee grounds (but not really with a coffee smell), mild pine resin, grassy. Light sweetness. There’s a freshness to this, too, with some tea leaves. For a bitter, this looks rather bizarre you’re expecting the highly filtered medium amber to brown liquid. This is a murky, murky brownish color, like cloudy tea, with a thin lacing off-white head. It has a medium watery body, though a bit thicker than I would have expected for a session. Carbonation is medium with some carbonic acidity. This starts fairly dry, with carbonic acidity, orange zest, and quite a bit of grassy hops. A bit of mild sweetness is in there, but this is a bitter, after all. Fresh tasting hoppy character, but no big presence of grapefruity or piney juiciness. It’s solid herbal-grassy in character, with a strong bitter presence from start to finish. The after is medium to strong bitterness on the tongue, with some chalkyness about it. One of the more bitter session beers I’ve experienced.

Pours a dark brown color, almost seems a bit filtered. Aroma is malty, but not as sweet as expected. Flavor is dry malty with a bit more hops than expected from a bitter.

Poured from a growler. Opaque brown, off white head. Aroma is hoppy (citrus) and earthy. Flavor is hops, malt, caramel. This is more hoppy than most English bitters, so of course I like it! Nice roasted nuttiness and malt/hops blend.