Part of the initial appeal of homebrewing was the opportunity to make for myself a beer that I couldn’t find anymore (and in case anyone’s curious, it was Double Diamond, an English pale ale that I used to drink at a place called Charlie’s that served the freshest seafood I’ve ever had). It was something different from the “usual” beers on tap, and that was enough to get me hooked.
Looking back, and with the benefit of nearly a decade of brewing and drinking high quality beer, I have no idea whether or not DD is any good. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that in about ten years of brewing I’ve brewed more English pale ales (bitters) than any other style, and it was the first beer I ever made. I love brewing them, even if I’ll never manage to recreate what drew me to them in the first place. And if we’re being honest, it was probably the sautéed calamari that I really loved.
Style
English bitters are generally low-alcohol (3–6 percent ABV, though stronger versions do exist), easy-drinking, and can exhibit a narrow but deep array of flavors. They’re generally characterized by a noticeable bready, biscuit, or cracker-like flavor profile, often with fresh earthy or floral hops in support. And they are, of course, bitter. Not double-IPA-in-your-face-120-IBU bitter, but bitter in the sense that one sip leaves a noticeable bite in the flavor that prompts you to take your next sip. Because bitters are lower in body and alcohol than some other beers, that bitterness can be a defining attribute, but shouldn’t overwhelm the other flavors in the beer.