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Score
8897
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
London, England
Serve in English pint

bottling
unknown

on tap
common

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 206   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.39   EST. CALORIES: 165   ABV: 5.5%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Cask: Regular.
First brewed in 1969 as Winter Bitter - renamed Extra Special Bitter in 1971.
Ingredients: Pale Ale and Crystal malts; Target, Challenger, Northdown and Goldings hops. Dry hopped in the brewery.
CAMRA Supreme Champion 1978, 1981 and 1985.
Brewed at 5.5% ABV in cask and 5.9% ABV in bottle, ESB is a true liquid legend, and should be savoured as such.
ESB has a wonderful rich mahogany appearance. Taking in the nose, the beer is bursting with cherry and orange, balanced by soft malty toffee and caramel notes. The flavour delivers everything you would expect from such a full-bodied ale. The unique blend of Northdown, Target, Challenger and Goldings hops imparts grassy, peppery notes on the tongue along with intense citrus fruit characters of grapefruits, oranges and lemons. The blend of Pale Ale and Crystal malts in the brew give a biscuity, toffee element to the beer. A smooth, mellow bitterness lingers on the palate to give a superbly satisfying finish.

NOTE: Most Fuller’s beer in the US is served by handpump kegs and not a cask. Ask your server.


2.9
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
iammadeofjelly (183) - Liverpool, Merseyside, ENGLAND - NOV 9, 2005
now thats a brew, ESB are the best, english beer all the way, not fizzy good taste nice colour, what more could you want from a beer?

2.9
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
swoopjones (3430) - Buffalo, New York, USA - SEP 24, 2009
copper colored pour, small & quickly disapating head, caramel malts, mild bitterness, medium body, better on tap

2.9
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
cgarvieuk (8656) - Edinburgh, SCOTLAND - MAR 6, 2007
A Dark amber coloured ale, with a sweet full RICH malty fruit with honey tones showing through.

2.8
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
herrbrown1974 (182) - Toronto, CANADA - APR 17, 2012
Handpump. Brownish amber pour. Frothy tan head. Aroma is nutty, surprisingly boozy, lemon, pepper and toffee. Boozy again on the palate and not nearly as pleasant as the aroma. They sure this stuff is 5.5? Opens with biscuit maltiness and grass. Bitter lingering black tea finish. All in all kind of bland, way too much booze prevalent and not a good balance at all.

2.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
gnoff (5004) - Göteborg, SWEDEN - JUN 20, 2006
Pint at Bishops Arms (Västra Hamngatan) Gothenburg, Sweden. Brown color, big tan head. Fruity hoppy aroma. Quite bitter flavor, high bitterness. Medium mouthfeel. Some bitter almond taste in there. Bitter aftertaste. Feels a bit thin after a while. I can remember it tasting better.

2.8
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
skortila (4160) - Baarn, NETHERLANDS - SEP 5, 2008
Cask @ Jan Primus. Aroma has malts some citric hoppiness. Amber-orange coloured ber with an off-white, creamy head. Good lookin. Taste is a bit soapy, has caramel malts, some hops. Light bodied. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter.

2.8
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
DanielBrown (2722) - Birmingham (via Leicester), West Midlands, ENGLAND - NOV 30, 2003
UPDATED: DEC 4, 2003 Draught at the Old Joint Stock, Birmingham. Nice bitter, well balanced, with a pleasant mouthfeel and aftertaste.

2.8
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
TomSpears (65) - Norfolk, ENGLAND - APR 29, 2005
The Bush at Friars ford over the sweet river - boring pub. Boring beer. Nothing stands out. Cloggy, dull and blurred. I fail to see how this stuff got so many awards and is so acclaimed around the world. I’ll keep trying it when I’m in the vicinity, but if I’m in the smoke I prefer Youngs.

2.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
harrisoni (10070) - Ashford, Kent, ENGLAND - JUN 2, 2005
UPDATED: APR 12, 2008 Cask at The Tiger, Stowting, Kent I was really looking forward to this on a hot sunny Friday lunchtime. However, the barrel had come to an end and this was hanging. Shame as I do really like it 0.9/5.0. Re-rate, Barrow Boy and Banker, Southwark. Deep copper with lasting beige head. Peppery hop aroma. Soft fruity malt. Fullish and a little unsubtle in mouth, bit pukey to be honest, but the peppery hop aroma/finish is outstanding. Apart from a red beery syrupy pukey bit in the middle, it’s good. Needs another re-rate.

2.8
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
hughie (3993) - Bedford, Bedfordshire, ENGLAND - FEB 10, 2008
Cask at the Bear, Oxford, on Ratebeer Oxford Day ’08. Copper amber with a sweet malty aroma. Taste was sweet, oddly spicy and mid bitter. To be honest I was feeling pretty claustrophobic in this 13th Century pub with my head touching the ceiling and a wedding party in progress.


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