Fuller's ESB

Advantages: A totally wonderful beer
Disadvantages: at 5.9% abv, it could sneak up on the unsuspecting

I can’t quite believe I did it, but I gave away…GAVE AWAY…my last bottle of Affligem beer…which left my fridge looking sadly empty (Hey…why would I want to clutter it up with food?) and sad. Beer drinking at home hasn’t been the same since my mate Duncan moved to Switzerland. I had become more than a little accustomed to the sound of him berating Doogie (my faithful canine companion and drinking buddy) through the letterbox; stooping his 6’8” frame ...
...to “get de deeyam daag to shot de fo*k op han’ let me de fo*k in!” then clinking through to the kitchen with a couple of carrier bags full of fine ales for our delight and delectation. “Get your laffin’ gear roun’ dat and tell I whaat you t’ink” Duncan; Scottish to the core by his reckoning, has more than a touch of the Jamaican about him…what with having been born there of Jamaican parents and living there all his life until he was about 34. By ... Read review

Advantages: Strong and fruity
Disadvantages: A little too fussy

...that's all history now. Fuller's beers are awash with awards but ESB takes winning to an unprecedented level having been voted Best Strong Ale a massive seven times. It's brewed using Target, Challenger, Northdown and Goldings hops and with Pale Ale and Crystal Malt. Their beers are pretty widely available all over the UK, but not surprisingly, especially so in London. ESB can also be bought in 500ml bottles and, at 5.9%, this version is a little ...
...draught version I'm about to describe. But first... Working down in London meant I had to cancel my appointment at the sperm bank. No biggie, I just phoned and told them I couldn't come. Back to the beer... ESB pours a bright, copper-red colour with just a suggestion of haze which is crowned by a very respectable half-inch of tan coloured foam which shrinks a little, but never disappears and so leaves some nice lacy rings all the way down the glass. ... Read review

Advantages: Tasty and lovely texture. Nice and very drinkable.
Disadvantages: Quite a high alcohol content.

We’ve recently got back from a really nice few days in London; an A-ha concert at The Royal Albert Hall, some sightseeing and a chance to try some excellent Fuller’s beers! The latter came about when we turned up early for our train from St. Pancras. We had a couple of hours to kill and didn’t want to carry our bags around any longer…what was the obvious solution? We went to the pub! We went to an O’Neil’s pub for lunch and ended up having to fork ...
...no way we were staying there for another drink, so we toddled off to a pub called The Euston Flyer (a few doors down!). It’s really convenient, being located near Euston, St. Pancras and Kings Cross stations……but this isn’t a review of the bar, it’s supposed to be about the BEER! From a good selection of Fuller’s beers on offer we tried Chiswick Bitter (£2.10 a pint), Summer Ale (I can now reveal it cost £2.10 a pint) and some ESB. ESB is the subject ... Read review

Advantages: A very nice, full flavoured strong bitter
Disadvantages: Difficult for us northerners to find the draft

I have been delighted with some of the bottled brews produced by Fuller’s of Chiswick in the past. My personal favourite is their “Jack Frost” – brewed with blackberries. I can’t wait for winter to come around again. When I came across another of their labels at the local supermarket recently time was right for another taste testing. “ESB” stands for Extra Special Bitter – and the brewers want you to understand that these are three words “that you ...
...of the prime labels from Fuller Smith and Turner operating from the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London. Fuller’s was established in 1845. The Griffin Brewery name is trademarked in 1895. A brewery has stood on this same Chiswick site for over 350 years, and a wisteria plant, the oldest in Great Britain has clung lovingly to the brickwork of the brewery house for 186 years. John Fuller joined the brewery in 1829. Fuller Smith & Turner is founded ... Read review

Advantages: A big, uncompromisingly hoppy and fruity strong bitter
Disadvantages: Cask version only normally available in Fullers pubs

Fullers are best known for their London Pride Best Bitter, which is available all over the UK, heavily advertised and promoted, and now exported overseas. Don't get me wrong, Pride is a great beer, but ESB - Extra Special Bitter - is the King of the Fullers Range. Fuller, Smith and Turner have been brewing in Chiswick, West London for centuries, but the pedigree of ESB dates back only to the real ale revival of the 1970s when they supplemented ...
...premium market. ESB has also been available for some time in a slightly stronger (5.9%) bottled form, and this is distributed nationally through supermarkets, but as this is filtered and pasteurised and slightly fizzed-up, it is scarcely comparible with the cask version. It's one of London's best kept secrets, as you can rarely find the beer outside of Fullers tied pubs - a couple of hundred outlets concentrated heavily in the Greater London area. ... Read review

Advantages: great taste, good value, you get drunk
Disadvantages: you get drunk

...in my area and so it has been adopted by Brighton beer drinkers as one of its own. I came across HSB when I moved to Brighton as a student and I was looking round for a suitable replacement for my favourite north London drink Fuller's ESB, which was not easily found on the south coast. The first time I tasted HSB I was struck by the similarity between the two beers and was immediately a convert. THE BREWERY George Gale & Co Ltd the maker of HSB is a traditional brewer first established in 1847 at Horndean, just 12 miles north of Portsmouth in Hampshire. The brewery now owns and supplies over 120 pubs on the south coast. As well as it's premium ale HSB it produced a wide variety of ale types of varying strength and flavours. In addition it also makes over 20 types of traditional wines using traditional flavourings from cowslip... Read review

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Advantages: Lovely refreshing ale
Disadvantages: None evident, if you discount the Stormtroopers in Sainsbury's

...should tell you that Duncan and I have an ongoing challenge regarding beers, and to fail to find a new one would be unthinkable...and expensive, so I couldn’t just buy a couple of dozen Fullers ESB or anything. Home...bang as much as’ll fit into the fridge, and the rest into the back storeroom. Sort out the 8 or 9 kilos of assorted snacks, and give Doogie (my canine companion, who’s poorly at the moment) the good news; he and Duncan get along well – must be a hair thing. All this activity has got me knackered, but fortunately, I know where there’s a beer I’d like to try. (See? Patience...I always get there in the end) Opening a bottle of St. Peter’s (which was the name of my primary school...is there anything in that, do you think?) I was struck by how...unlively...it seemed. I poured the brew into a 500ml glass, thus emptying... Read review

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Advantages: Taste and Strength
Disadvantages: You have to part with cash to drink it!

...drinking houses, something that seems to have been lost on the vast gastroboozers that dominate the trade. Ideal locations serving the ideal winter beer, if for any reason the Winter Warmer is off or unavailable the I would suggest a pint of Ram and Special, again in a jug, this is half a pint of draught Ram Rod with a bottle of Youngs Special poured in, an ample replacement. If not drinking in a Youngs pub then for a similar taste try Theakston's Old Peculiar, Fuller's London Porter or for the strength but with lighter taste a pint of Fuller's ESB goes down a treat. The pub I usually frequent to indulge my passion is The Crown in Chertsey, Surrey, where the beer is well kept, the food an excellent accompaniment, and the welcome and atmosphere warm and friendly.... Read review

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