English Pale Ale beer styles

How does a cask versus keg impact your beer? Do you know how a Best Bitter differs from an Ordinary Bitter? What do the acronyms EPA & ESB stand for? Read on to find out…

Previously we examined Amber Hybrid beer styles, in this article we will cover BJCP Category 8, English Pale Ale, which includes the following Beer Styles:

• 8a. Standard/Ordinary Bitter
• 8b. Special/Best/Premium Bitter
• 8c. Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

First we will cover the history of the category, then take a look at the specifications of each style highlighting the similarities and differences. We then sample commercial examples of each style.

History

English Pale Ales, more commonly known as Bitters, are broken down into three main styles which each have a number of synonyms and acronyms:

• Standard Bitter or Ordinary Bitter
• Special Bitter, Best Bitter or Premium Bitter
• Extra Special Bitter, Extra Strong Bitter or ESB, also know as English Pale Ale or EPA

The name Pale Ale is derived from the type of malted barley used in these beers in that it is pale in color due to the lighter kilning applied. The name Bitter was used by customers to describe how these beers differed in taste compared to other hopped beers around at the time such as Porters and Milds (see here for more details).

Pale Ales, or Bitters, were originally distributed and served in wooden casks in the UK but this limited the shelf life once tapped because the hand-pulled beer was replaced by oxygen which initiated the deterioration of the beer. In the 20th century the wooden casks started to be replaced by stainless steel kegs which used carbon-dioxide instead of oxygen to replace the beer that was pushed out of the keg under pressure and hence extend the shelf-life of the beer. This change-over from casks to kegs also impacted the flavor of the beers due to CO2 giving a carbonic acid bite to the beer compared to the smoothness from a hand-pulled pint from a cask.

This change-over from cask to keg was accelerated by the market shift from Ales to Lagers in popularity as well as the emergence of beer conglomerates that further eroded the local and regional craft beer producers. Late in the 20th century, and in the early part of the 21st century, there has been a resurgence of Real Ales (led by CAMRA – Campaign for Real Ale) in the UK which has seen growth in the number of Micro Breweries as well as more tap handles in Pubs being taken up by hand-pulls. With this resurgence of casks stainless steel versions are more commonly used now due to their durability over their wooden counterparts.

Bottled versions of the various types of Pale Ales, or Bitters, can also be seen competing in supermarket stores from both the traditional players as well as the new Micro Breweries.

Overview

According to Jamil Zainasheff in his book, Brewing Classic Styles, these beers should all be as follows:

• Standard/Ordinary Bitter – low hop character with firm hop bitterness. Fermentation character from the yeast such as subtle fruit-like aromas and flavors. Some malt character in the aroma, often biscuit-like with a touch of caramel, going through to the flavor to balance out the bitterness.
• Special/Best/Premium Bitter – slightly bigger than the Standard/Ordinary Bitter but similar in aroma and flavor. The name comes from the brewers using their special, best or premium ingredients together with effort compared to their ordinary version.
• Extra Special/Strong Bitter – similar to the other bitters above but with significant caramel malt sweetness and more complex biscuity, toasty, nutty malt character that is balanced with more hop bitterness and flavor.

The following table* shows how the 3 styles of English Pale Ale vary:

Characteristic	Standard/Ordinary Bitter	Special/Best/Premium Bitter	Extra Special/Strong Bitter
Original Gravity:	1.032 – 1.040	1.040 – 1.048	1.048 – 1.060
Final Gravity:	1.007 – 1.011	1.008 – 1.012	1.010 – 1.016
ABV (alcohol %):	3.2 – 3.8	3.8 – 4.6	4.6 – 6.2
IBU’s (bitterness):	25 – 35	25 – 40	30 – 50
SRM (color):	4 – 14	5 – 16	6 – 18

The above table shows that all three styles have incremental starting gravities as well as alcohol percentages with no overlap. The finishing gravities are similar apart from the ESB version which tends to be a bit higher and ties in with the caramel and malty sweetness mentioned at the start of this section. The bitterness is similar and only increases a bit with the versions and the color is pretty much the same throughout.

In the following sections we will look in more detail at each of the above Beer Styles.

Standard/Ordinary Bitter

Commercial examples of this style include Fuller’s Chiswick Bitter, Adnams Bitter, Young’s Bitter, Greene King IPA, Oakham Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB), Brains Bitter, Tetley’s Original Bitter, and Brakspear Bitter. We decided to sample Boddington’s Pub Ale.

Boddington’s Pub Ale comes in a draft-flow can with a widget to trigger the release of the nitrogen bubbles that enables the beer to pour with a smooth creamy head. This beer has the following characteristics which is above style for alcohol content but within style for bitterness. Boddington’s other offerings in the UK are more true to style at 3.8% ABV:

• ABV = 4.6% (max 3.8% for style)
• IBU’s = 26 (from 3rd party)

This beer is golden in color with a thick creamy heads that lasts a very long time and laces down the glass. There is a slight hop aroma and the flavor is more of hops than malt. The mouth-feel is smooth with some lingering bitterness and low carbonation.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• Pale Ale, Amber, and/or Crystal malted barley.
• May use a touch of Black malted barley for color adjustment.
• May use sugar adjuncts, corn/maize or wheat.
• English hops most typical, although American and European varieties are becoming more common (particularly in the paler examples).
• Characterful English yeast.
• Often medium sulfate water is used.

Special/Best/Premium Bitter

Commercial examples of this style include Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Adnams SSB, Young’s Special, Shepherd Neame Masterbrew Bitter, Greene King Ruddles County Bitter, RCH Pitchfork Rebellious Bitter, Brains SA, Black Sheep Best Bitter, and Rogue Younger’s Special Bitter. We decided to sample Fuller’s London Pride and Goose Island Honker’s Ale.

Fuller’s London Pride has the following characteristics which is a little too high for alcohol content but within style for bitterness. The draft version of this beer is 4.1% ABV in the UK and within style:

• ABV = 4.7% (max 4.6% for style)
• IBU’s = 35 (from 3rd party)

This beer is golden in color with an average head that gradually dissipates. There is a slight hop aroma and the flavor is of fruity hops with a clean finish. The mouth-feel is medium with moderate carbonation.

Goose Island Honkers Ale has the following characteristics which like the Fuller’s London Pride is a little too high for alcohol content but within style for bitterness:

• ABV = 4.7% (max 4.6% for style)
• IBU’s = 30

This beer is golden in color with a thick head. A slight hop aroma is accompanied by hop flavor and bitterness with some roasted maltiness. The level of carbonation is high.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• Pale Ale, Amber, and/or Crystal malted barley.
• May use a touch of Black malted barley for color adjustment.
• May use sugar adjuncts, corn/maize or wheat.
• English hops most typical, although American and European varieties are becoming more common (particularly in the paler examples).
• Characterful English yeast.
• Often medium sulfate water is used.

Extra Special/Strong Bitter

Commercial examples of this style include Adnams Broadside, Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger, Young’s Ram Rod, Bass Ale, Whitbread Pale Ale, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Marston’s Pedigree, Black Sheep Ale, Vintage Henley, Mordue Workie Ticket, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King Abbot Ale, Bateman’s XXXB, Gale’s Hordean Special Bitter (HSB), Ushers 1824 Particular Ale, Hopback Summer Lightning, Great Lakes Moondog Ale, Shipyard Old Thumper, Alaskan ESB, Geary’s Pale Ale, Cooperstown Old Slugger, Anderson Valley Boont ESB, Avery 14’er ESB, and Redhook ESB. We decided to sample Fullers ESB, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale and AleSmith Anvil ESB.

Fullers ESB has the following characteristics which is within style for both alcohol content and bitterness. The draft version in the UK is 5.5% which is still within style:

• ABV = 5.9%
• IBU’s = 35 (from 3rd party)

This beer is golden in color with no aroma and a head that disappears quickly. The flavor is fruity with a malt balance which is smooth and slightly bitter then a clean finish. There is plenty of mouth-feel with moderate carbonation.

Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale has the following characteristics which is within style for alcohol content and bitterness though towards the bottom of the ranges on both:

• ABV = 5.0%
• IBU’s = 31 (from 3rd party)

This beer is dark amber in color with an average head and a slight malt aroma. The flavor is malty, dark treacle, fruit cake and of noble hops. At the end is some slight bitterness and the beer has moderate carbonation.

AleSmith Anvil ESB has the following characteristics which is within style for alcohol content but low for bitterness. Unfortunately AleSmith do not have the IBU’s on their web site and two other sources quote it as 19 and 30 so based upon this the bitterness is either below style or at the bottom end of the range:

• ABV = 5.5%
• IBU’s = 19 or 30 (min 30 for style & information from 3rd party)

This beer is dark amber in color with a head that goes quickly. The aroma is malty as is the flavor which is also of piney hops. The beer has moderate carbonation and a clean finish.

Typical ingredients used when brewing this style include the following according to the BJCP Style Guidelines:

• Pale Ale, Amber, and/or Crystal malted barley.
• May use a touch of Black malted barley for color adjustment.
• May use sugar adjuncts, corn/maize or wheat.
• English hops most typical, although American and European varieties are becoming more common (particularly in the paler examples).
• Characterful English yeast.
• “Burton” versions use medium to high sulfate water.

What next?

Our next article will look at BJCP Category 9, ‘Scottish and Irish Ale‘, where we will examine the five styles making up this category.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please do not hesitate to contribute to the discussion below.

* Beer Styles’ data is courtesy of BJCP.org.