The strongest and maltiest tier of English bitter — amber to deep copper, with medium-high English hop bitterness and flavor over a biscuit-toast-nutty malt backbone. Fuller’s ESB — first brewed as “Winter Beer” in 1969 and renamed Extra Special Bitter in 1971 — is the archetype and gave the style its global name. Typically 4.8–5.8% ABV.
In the glass
Origin
The name “Extra Special Bitter” was popularized internationally by Fuller’s ESB, brewed at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, west London. The beer was first brewed as “Winter Beer” in 1969 and became a regular product under the ESB name two years later, in 1971. Fuller’s zealously guards the ESB name as a trademark in the UK, but the initials have become the inspiration for hundreds of beers called “ESB” worldwide — the style is particularly prevalent in the United States, where it is a mainstay of many brewpubs. While parameters have broadened well beyond Fuller’s original, the style is generally agreed to be malty and fruity, showing sweetness mid-palate and drying to a clean hoppy finish.
Notes
ESB is unusual among beer styles in being, in effect, a single brewery’s product that grew into a category. Fuller’s holds the name as a UK trademark, so British brewers rarely label a beer “ESB” outright, but the initials seeded hundreds of imitators abroad — it is a brewpub staple in the United States, where many versions lean on citrusy American hops over the earthier English originals. As the strongest tier of bitter, it is malty and fruity, often described in Fuller’s case as having a marmalade-like orange character, finishing dry and hoppy.
Defining examples
Fuller’s ESB·Morland Old Speckled Hen·Redhook ESB·Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger