Beer tasting 48: Red Hook Extra Special Bitter Seattle, USA

I tasted the Red Hook IPA a wee while back...this time I bought myself this ESB from Point Roberts, WA (Check where this place is -- it's very interesting geographically speaking).

ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter or Extra Strength Bitter but this style of beer is no where near the bitterness of an IPA. I drank gallons of traditional bitter when I lived in Britain between 1979-1992. It's the standard pub drink for anyone and everyone! Those who drank otherwise except Mild were sometimes classified as somewhat 'outsiders'...at least that was how I felt anyway.
The northwest style of ESB is more forward, fruitier, sweeter and higher in alcohol than the original British version but I am not sure if I can say it's more complex...it really depends on the brew individually. Although the name implies bitterness, brewers actually strive for a balance of malt to the bitterness in this style of beer. The colour was deep bronze and the nose was actually quite malty with this brew. The mouth feel was smooth and creamy and the balance between malt and bitterness was also fair. What's intriguing was a taste of dry red tea in the background. The finish left a good pure chocolate bitter taste. This is a forward off dry beer running at 5.8% compare to the 3-4% British bitter. The Yanks seems to like everything bigger...from the size of a steak to a pop to body sizes (!)...a regular pop would be an equivalent of a large British pop in size and a large pop from the USA would instantly send any kids hyperactive...(Rating 87-89 points) by Michael Lam of The Beverage Review.

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[Mooktopia]

put the dog back on

[michaelyblam]

Ha ha. The dog is actually a kangaroo! I named him Gibson as I 'rescued' him from a junk / second hand shop MANY years ago at Gibsons, BC, Canada. The pesky pet is a constant drunk - stealing my beer, wine and especially whiskies when I am not watching...

[orecul42]

Hi Michael, can you make a mention of the temperature at which you are tasting. Even rough estimate will help. Also..can you review some BC beer? Like the Granville Island Brewery. I am always delighted with their beer when I visit from Seattle. Thanks for your videos.

[michaelyblam]

Rough guide is to chill the bottom fermenting ale type beers as you normally do then take it out the fridge for 15-25 minutes to warm it up (10-14 range). The bottom line is you don't want to drink those beers too chilled or the temperature will disguise the complexity of the brew. Pilsner and lager, like a white wine should be drunk at colder temperature (5-7C say) including dark lager to enhance the crispness and focus of the brew.

[michaelyblam]

I will taste local brews every now and then but my priorities would be to focus on international brews of good/fair/outstanding/excellen­t qualities so that most global viewers can gain access to these brews.

[GhostMint]

HAHA! That pesky roo! You are quite a character. Anyway, what's the difference between the flavour of a bitter and a stout?

[michaelyblam]

A bitter is an ale that usually employs medium roasted malt but would have a high level of hops (especially IPA) to create the bitterness. A stout is much darker in colour (usually have a creamier body especially when nitrogen pumped). It has a burnt, roasted coffee, dark chocolate and somewhat sharp / tart grainy taste. Low level or no hops are employed in brewing stout. The bitterness in a stout is mainly derived from the burnt characters of the heavily roasted malted grain.

[MikroBadass]

I like you, you remind me of my dad

[lifeonmars56]

Because it's dubbed in English.... LOL

[Chad9976]

why are the video and sound so far out of synch?

[papouliot]

10 months ago I made a comment and favorited this video.

[Stonebrews]

I was replying to someone's comment by the way. I enjoyed the videos though!

[Stonebrews]

haha. Shakespeare stout is so not hoppy. Its a dark creamy stout. I think you are confused about what hops taste like. Try Stone Ruination IPA, that's hoppy. :)

[thegreatbasher]

IPA= Idia(n) Pale Ale if I am right, hope so!

[papouliot]

I get my Red Hook ESB from the east coast New Hampshire brewery. Great stuff. For some reason they changed the meaning of ESB to Extra Special Beer now.