For as much as I enjoy the staid reliability of a recipe that produces what I know, every time, there’s also a lot to be said for going through periodic updates on your beers. So, occasionally, I’ll revisit beers that I’m happy with and try some variations, especially if I’ve recently had an example that is notably different but a distinct improvement. One such occasion happily occurred about eighteen months ago, and the result was a marked improvement on a recipe that (luckily) we hadn’t covered here yet!
Between the Ordinary Bitter and the ESB we find the Special/Best/Premium Bitter (which we’ll just call Best Bitter) from here on). Far from being just the “middle child” of the British Pale Ale family, the Best Bitter (which recently got a bit better) should be one of your favorites because it combines the lightness of the Ordinary Bitter with the more flavor-forward nature of the ESB.
STYLE
With all due respect to the 2015 BJCP Guidelines – and I’m not saying they’re wrong – this style is undersold in terms of its hops. One of the things I love about visiting the UK is the number of hops-forward Best Bitters I can get my hands on, and an increasing number are dry hopped (and a few always were).