Fuller’s ESB

Fuller’s ESB

Fuller’s Brewery

London

Imported by Paulaner HP USA

Fuller’s pioneered the Extra Special Bitter style in 1971. ESB features Pale and Crystal malts balanced by a blend of Northdown, Target, Challenger and Goldings hops.

ABV: 5.9

ABW: NA

COLOR: NA

BITTERNESS: 35

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: NA

AVAILABLE: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MI, MN, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI

Fuller’s has been brewing beer for more than 350 years and introduced ESB in 1969 as a winter beer. It was such a hit that it became a regular beer two years later. 5.9% in bottle, 5.5% on draft, it’s brewed with pale and crystal malts and hopped with Challenger, Goldings, Northdown and Target varieties: to create a good hop character to balance the rich malt, it’s matured over a bed of Goldings and then dry-hopped with more Goldings. It has an explosion of malt, marmalade fruit and peppery hops on the aroma with an enormous attack of juicy malt, orange peel and bitter hops in mouth and finish. A classic.
- Roger Protz

It takes a special beer to inspire a whole new style, but 43 years after its launch, how good is Fuller’s ESB today? The answer is good, very good. This is a beer that embodies the best of British brewing. There’s nothing overstated, nothing out of place. Orange marmalade, soft caramel and faint chestnut notes in the aroma lead to delicate caramel, subtle floral notes and lots of juicy oranges in the gently warming taste. English hops surge into the finish, leaving a tangy, leafy bitterness. It’s very quaffable for the strength.
- Jeff Evans

Roger Protz
Author of 300 Beers to Try Before You Die and 300 More Beers to Try Before You Die. Respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and www.protzonbeer.co.uk.

Jeff Evans
Jeff Evans is author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide, The Book of Beer Knowledge and Beer Lover’s Britain. More of his writing can be found at www.insidebeer.com.