Daniel Drinks the Styles: Lowest Lord ESB

Continuing to leverage my time at home during the coronavirus pandemic, I am studying for the second level of the Cicerone Certification Program for beer professionals. To remain honest in my studies, I am reviewing DMV beers brewed in the classic styles and comparing them to the official style guidelines.

This week I’m drinking Denizens Extra Special Bitter (ESB), Lowest Lord. Interestingly, ESB is actually not a true style, but rather a trademark from British brewery Fuller’s, who helped popularize English styles in the US through their exports. English bitters are stylized by their alcohol strength: Ordinary Bitter has the lowest ABV of around 4%, Best Bitter a little boozier, and Strong Bitter can be up to 6% ABV. As Lowest Lord clocks in at 5.3%, we will compare it to a Strong Bitter:

Strong Bitter Guidelines from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP): 

An average-strength to moderately-strong British bitter ale. The balance may be fairly even between malt and hops to somewh

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