Grainne’s Special Bitter ESB debut at our Taproom this Friday 10/27!

Hello all,

GRAINNE’S SPECIAL BITTER, our acclaimed Extra Special Bitter (ESB), makes its debut at our Taproom on Friday October 27th!

Robin Shepard of the Isthmus named Grainne’s Special Bitter his favorite beer of 2015 (https://isthmus.com/food-drink/beer/a-look-back-at-the-best-beer-of-2015/) and the following February a firkin (10 gallons) of “GSB” lasted for a whopping five hours at the Malt House during our tap takeover there. 

In fact I recall that back in the summer of ’15 at the Malt House I told Bill Rogers that we had brewed GSB. In response he asked: “So who’s going to drink it?” I replied saying well, Grainne, and Ian, and, umm (the two Brits we could think of offhand who would appreciate it). We both laughed.

What happened afterwards with the first batch was quite a pleasant surprise: it was much more popular than I anticipated and I also recall upon first tasting it thinking to myself: WOW this is really good!!

Our ode to “the” ESB (Fuller’s) is just that. Showcasing English malts (starting with Baird’s Maris Otter) and hops (Northdown, Target, Challenger and Fuggles). I’ve also learned to respect the English yeast strain we use by limiting fermentation temperature to 65 degrees. Any higher (even a degree or two) leads to the production of undesired banana-like fruity esters.

This new batch shows MUCH promise and after two weeks fermentation was clocking in at 6.3% abv. GSB will be on tap when we open at 3 and come on by.

Cheers! Jim

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