8C - Extra Special Bitter or
Strong Bitter

Extra Special Bitters or Strong Bitters can be thought of as a bigger version of a Best Bitter. Again, the naming convention is confusing. Normally you would think that an Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter would be the high end product in a brewery's line-up of beers but this is not the case. The Best Bitter are traditionally considered a brewery's finest product. In England, beer is sold by strength, so the ESB or Strong Bitter is essentially a more aggressive (but better balanced) beer. We are not talking America here, so one should not think of the extreme characteristics of some American beers. The beer is not at all overpowering in alcohol or hop bitterness and although the color range is similar to the Best Bitter, these beers tend to fall on the darker end of the SRM scale.

The malt profile for an Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter will be bigger than a Best Bitter and you will often find more toasty and fruity notes in these beers. Despite the name, Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter, they are not really over-the-top bitter like American beers can be. If there is one key to an ESB, it's balance.

As with many beer names, some are exclusive to a particular brand. The designation of "ESB" is unique to the Fuller's brand. In the U.S., we have adopted the acronym of ESB to represent any malty, bitter, standard (American) strength English style ale (as if that doesn't make figuring out what beer goes with what name more difficult).

One of the distinguishing characteristics of Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitters is that they may have a lot of caramel malt sweetness and a complex toasty or biscuity character to the malt profile. The higher levels of hop bitterness tend to balance this sweetness and biscuity character out to make a balanced beer. Several factors are important when brewing this beer and it holds true for all the English pale ales. Number one is to use a yeast that does not attenuate completely and that will produce the fruity esters typical in this style of beer. About 70% is a good target attenuation to shoot for when looking for your yeast. Another important factor is the hopping. Although these beers can be somewhat bitter, they should not be as hoppy as American versions. The hops used should be of the English variety such as Fuggles or East Kent Goldings, although a combination of English and American hops are used by some breweries. There should not be a big "late-hop" character in this beer which might detract from the balance. These hops will provide the necessary bitterness and flavor while still maintaining the expected English characteristics.

• Aroma: Hop aroma in an Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter can fall into the moderately-low to moderately-high range, and can use any variety of hops although UK hops are most often used. You should notice a medium to medium-high malt aroma, that often has a low to moderately strong caramel component (although this character will be more subtle in paler versions). There will be yeast derived medium-low to medium-high fruity esters. In the book Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer, Jamil describes this typical english ester profile as "subtle fruit-like flavors and aromas ranging from pale fruits like apple and pear to dark fruits like fig and plum". There is generally no diacetyl, although very low levels are acceptable. An Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter may have some light, secondary notes of sulfur and/or alcohol in some examples (and these are acceptable as well).
• Appearance: These beers will be dark gold to a deep copper color with good to brilliant clarity. Typical of these beers is a low (when carbonation is low) to moderate white to off-white head.
• Flavor: Hop bitterness in a Strong or Extra Special Bitter will be medium to medium-high. This bitterness is balanced by the malt flavors which normally have a moderately-low to strong caramel malt sweetness. Hop flavors should be moderate to moderately-high (any variety, although earthy, resiny, and/or floral UK hops are most traditional). You should be able to detect the hop bitterness and flavor in an ESB, but these should not dominate the malt flavors (remember balance). Secondary malt flavors such as toast, biscuit or nuttiness should be evident, adding complexity. As in the aroma, you will taste moderately-low to high fruity esters typical of English ales. In some examples, there may be low levels of alcohol flavor, and up to a moderate minerally/sulfury flavor. The finish is medium-dry to dry (especially when water high in sulfates is used). Generally there will be no diacetyl, although very low levels are allowed.
• Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel of a Strong or Extra Special Bitter is normally medium-light to medium-full, with low to moderate carbonation. Bottled commercial versions will have more carbonation. Stronger versions may exhibit a slight alcohol warmth, but be careful to keep the fermentation clean so this character is not over-the-top.
• Overall Impression: These beers are average-strength to moderately-strong English ales. The balance may be fairly even between malt and hops to somewhat bitter depending on the beer. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales. ESB and Strong Bitters fall into a rather broad style that allows for considerable interpretation by the brewer.
• Comments: From the BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines: "Stronger versions may overlap somewhat with old ales, although strong bitters will tend to be paler and more bitter. Fuller’s ESB is a unique beer with a very large, complex malt profile not found in other examples; most strong bitters are fruitier and hoppier. Judges should not judge all beers in this style as if they were Fuller’s ESB clones. Some modern English variants are brewed exclusively with pale malt and are known as golden or summer bitters. Most bottled or kegged versions of UK-produced bitters are higher-alcohol versions of their cask (draught) products produced specifically for export. The IBU levels are often not adjusted, so the versions available in the US often do not directly correspond to their style subcategories in Britain. English pale ales are generally considered a premium, export-strength pale, bitter beer that roughly approximates a strong bitter, although reformulated for bottling (including containing higher carbonation)".
• Ingredients: Pale ale, amber, and/or crystal malts, may use a touch of black malt for color adjustment. May use sugar adjuncts, corn or wheat. English hops most typical, although American and European varieties are becoming more common (particularly in the paler examples). Characterful English yeast. “Burton” versions use medium to high sulfate water.
• Vital Statistics: OG: 1.048 – 1.060 FG: 1.010 – 1.016 IBUs: 30 – 50 SRM: 6 – 18 ABV: 4.6 – 6.2%.
• Commercial Examples: Fullers ESB, Adnams Broadside, Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger, Young’s Ram Rod, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale, Bass Ale, Whitbread Pale Ale, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Marston’s Pedigree, Black Sheep Ale, Vintage Henley, Mordue Workie Ticket, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King Abbot Ale, Bateman's XXXB, Gale’s Hordean Special Bitter (HSB), Ushers 1824 Particular Ale, Hopback Summer Lightning, Great Lakes Moondog Ale, Shipyard Old Thumper, Alaskan ESB, Geary’s Pale Ale, Cooperstown Old Slugger, Anderson Valley Boont ESB, Avery 14’er ESB, Redhook ESB.

References: Information for this page was adapted from the 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines, and Brewing Classic Styles, 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew, by Jamil Zainasheff and John J. Palmer.

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