Best Bitters

Durdle Door, a fine Premium Bitter

Beer Festival season is upon us and there will surely be a selection of beers brewed with various odd ingredients all vying for the attention of the beer judges and to stand out from the crowd. There will also be a selection of heavily hopped beers, some so overpowering that all the beer has to offer is hops and more hops. These beers are often deemed the prize winners because they are different, but are they the most drinkable? I believe not!

You don't have to look too far back to realise the most popular beers were always those that were the best balanced i.e. the hop bitterness was used to offset the sweet malts and fermentation esters to create a beer that was very drinkable. The fashion now is to brew beers that challenge the boundaries and create beers whose flavour profile, aroma and colour are different from the norm. However does this mean some of the wonderful Best Bitters that originate from 20 years or so ago are suddenly deemed old fashioned?

There are some great beers from the not so distant past that have become overlooked, perhaps partly because their branding is old fashioned and also because they are not heavily hopped. The advent of hops from Europe, New Zealand and above all America that are full of zingy citrus flavours and bags of bitterness have taken over from the solid English hops such as Fuggles and Goldings. Beers that don't have a selection of hops with the "c word" i.e. Celeia, Cascade, Citra, Centennial etc are no longer popular. However, there are some truly great and very drinkable beers that are classified as Best Bitters on the market and they are often far more drinkable than the more fashionable hoppy counterparts.

Beers such as Courage Directors were once the mainstay of the Premium ale drinker, they are superbly balanced and very drinkable. St Austell HSD. a beer of huge reputation but less so in sales is very much a hidden gem in the St Austell range. Durdle Door from Dorset Brewing Co does use the Cascade hop as well as Brewers Gold and Fuggles, but its a fine easy drinking Premium ale. Some of the smaller UK micro/craft brewers are also brewing great beers using solely English hops, partly driven by the cost and availability of the American hops, these beers are a joy when you come across them.

The fashion for hops and to create more beers that test the boundaries will continue for sure, but don't overlook the once old favourites or beers from the smaller brewers that focus on malt flavours. They are superb beers, they may not win beer festivals any longer but they are still very easy and enjoyable to drink.