What is a Bitter Beer? -- History of the Bitter Style 

Is bitter beer better beer?

I miss England 🇬🇧 and the English pubs, very special and friendly

I just came back from England and I wondered about that. Thanks for clearing the haze! ;-)

One of the plant leaves the British used to spice beer was Bible Leaf that has a somewhat earthy subtle mint flavor.

Just a bit of perspective from an Englishman. We don't drink warm beer. Bitter should be drunk way below room temperature. Not icy cold like a lager but still cold. I suspect that when our American allies came to Britain during WW2, beer refrigeration was not seen as the most important use of resources so the beer was pretty bad like much of the food also was at that time. Water shapes the taste of bitter greatly, so bitters from different regions of the country will taste different. Northern bitters made with soft water tend to be more foamy than for example London bitters made with hard water. Sadly, probably more generic lager (mostly Carling) is drunk than bitter. I think youngsters find it more palatable and it looks lighter and easier to drink. I started out as a lager drinker but found that the less gassy bitter makes it easier to drink over an evening, but many guys just stick with lager and don't seem interested in variety. I think the name bitter, is a bit of a PR problem, the word bitter as generally a negative trait. In actual fact I think lager has a more bitter taste.

Thanks for this. One of my favorite beers, Honker’s Ale by Goose Island, was discontinued. I can’t seem to find another English Bitter anywhere. So I’ve decided to just brew one and make it my own, and understanding the history is a big part of that. Wish me luck! Thanks again.

The brewery I apprentice at brews a English Bitter. Wonderful beer.

Nice video. This is definitely something that would make a great conversation over a few beers.

I'll say it once and I'll it again: LOVE YOUR CONTENT! Anybody looking to become more educated about beer in a FUN way, your videos are where it's at. This was particularly enjoyable for me because this is a style that I don't drink much at all, but knowing the history and how it evolved is a lot of fun. Maybe it's time for me to review an English Bitter in the near future. ;) Great video, Ryan. Cheers!

very informative, i hope u continue making more of this content

Great video Ryan. Thanks for the history lesson. My fresh hop beer from your description falls nicely into the ESB category. I was a little unsure what style I should call it. Originally I thought my wild hop hybrid would have a citrus profile, but it's definitely more English in nature. Cheers

This was such great information, loved it and thanks for the knowledge even though I am not the biggest bitter fan. Cheers and keep creating

Great video Ryan! Thought the topic that was picked was a good one. Cheers 🍻

Great vid Ryan. I enjoy most styles of beer but I always come back to 'Bitter'. Here in England I it's not labelled on the pump so much as it used to be, but the style is very alive. In my humble opinion I find the distinction with a Bitter being less on the dry hopping. You take more from the hops on the bittering - pre-flame out, rather than the alphas on the dry hop. However, as you put very well in your video, it's a grey area. Also, as you touched on - the session strength of Bitter is crucial, particularly given the pub culture here. Not watched any of your other vids but certainly will now. Cheers :-)

Another great vid! The production value is really good in these vids, not sure why your channels not more popular. Can we get a vid on malt liquors in the future? I'd love to see a vid digging into the history and industry on them. Sometimes people just like getting an 8% tall boy for $.99 lol

Extra Special Bitter sounds like a Good Beer. Dude (Ryan) my friend thanks for this information. Now Iam all set to go to England. ha ha

A Tongue twister, Lol, very interesting video and information Ryan, Cheers Buddy

I love the ESB style of beers.. Nice Video awesome info... I Have Smashed The Like Button... Cheers Ryan..

John Smith and Black Sheep are my favorite's. Both good Yorkshire bitters.

Great Content, Ryan! Now you have me interested in making a Gruit. Cheers, Brother! \m/

There’s a huge variety of flavours in English Bitters. Truly a beer for everyone.

I knew nothing about bitters except for the style name. Now I'm informed. Thanks =)

These are deeeeelicious similar to red ales.

Hooray! Thank you.

A not so fashionable style any more but still has a following me being one of them Nice video as always Ryan Cheers

Love a good bitter, Cheers buddy!

British brewers didn’t use gruit, and it took 300 years for unhopped ales to disappear completely.

UK bitters.....aka a session beer ....lol.....good work and keep the info coming....cheers

Do the history of kolsch beer next!

Great video. ESB are one of my fav. beer styles. Its very hard to find a good English style beer here in Oregon. Everyone seems to make it more of a NW Bitters with lots of hop and little malt.

Very nice👍26

Ryan, Dive head first into the similarities and differences between a Gose and Berliner Weisse...I would love to watch an episode on that! Cheers, Brent

Joey holts bitter is what I drink and I’m proud of manny bitter

Next time you're in London, find yourself a Fuller's pub and check out their 'ESB' - carefully. It's very easy to get shitfaced - guilty, many times - one of those wonderful ales that seems to have a greater effect than it's 5.6% ABV would suggest. Cheers!

Great video, quick question, moved to the US from the UK, can't seem to find a beer I like, what's the closest to an English bitter that I could find in the USA?

Never been huge into English Bitters, but this definitely shed some light on them. Keen to get back into them now, cheers!

They were flavoring their ale like Gin. Hail to Hops

ESB is an awesome style

I’m a home brewer. I became a home brewer because I lived in Britain for four years (when a young man) and can’t get an English bitter style beer without paying an arm and a leg.

Woooo 🍺🍺🍺

I think this is a well-researched and clearly explained piece about a beer that's been an enjoyable part of my life for 44 years. I love bottled bitter, from my beer fridge at 12 degrees C. I think that's about the same as on draught here, but I'm not certain. Very best regards and CHEERS from Wiltshire, England.

Ugh. Gruit ale. Went to a gruit only brewery and had a flight of wit, blonde and amber. Did not like any of them but ordered a pint of blonde just to be nice. Bleh. I like bitters and have had great luck with ESBs over the years. Nice episode. 👍

Bitter beer is beautifully bitter beer.

English bitter is smoth

Ale is the traditional English beer. We've been drinking it for more than a millennium 😂

Who is Car Mel, and what car does he drive?

What's a good bitter to try for a new drinker to this style

Southwark bitter ❤

My absolute favorite these days is English bitter witch is not very bitter. It´s more like a pale ale. Cheers

BITTA BITAAA IT’S LITERALLY CALLED BITTA!!!

6:09. Any fans of iron maiden?

You do it, I'm bitter! (No one here is going to catch the reference, but I made it anyway)

So what is mild and heavy?

CHEERS................

This makes me want to buy a beer engine...

Is anyone making bruit beers today?

black hops stout making an appearance

i love the use o the term "sessionable" try drinking 7 pints of English bitter and saying that word again lad. bitter is meant to be drank like water, it has no fizz like pissy lagers no aggravating overbearing flavour, it is just a soft, alluring drink. somethingto calm the nerves and sink in pints when needed. also "specials" are above 8% 5% is a normal bitter, i.e john smiths.

I'm not a big fan of overly bitter beer buts it's ok Iguess.

I love bitters! Not enough of them out there and it's a shame!

no bitterness! Beer with no alpha acid , more B or why no sulfites, it looks like you cant get a “beer” grain base alcohol without hops ... god dam bitter xD

Bitter was Elizabeth II Command for Beer in the Presence of God with Me Natalie Helferty aged 7 in 1975 as God was Creating through Me as Queen of Canada. Elizabeth II was trying to ruin everything! So God created Bitters for England as she was claiming to be the representative of England and all things English. That is why England has horrible food and drink as Elizabeth II was being mean to Me and God but We did the Requests as Good As We Could given that her Evil Spirit would have made the food and drink otherwise and it really would be bad for the English with her in charge.