Fuller's - ESB

Widely considered, so says the bottle, to be one of the best beers the world has ever given us. It is hard to look past the awards for "world's champion bitter" and "Britain's best" but does it deserve the praise it has received?

Yes... Of course it does. A beer can't become this popular and renowned world wide if it's a big old pint of cat piss with a frothy top now can it? ESB is one of many shining diamonds in the Fuller's repertoire, a repertoire that is steeped in both history and grandeur. The beer is slightly hoppy on the nose and tastes like a delicious mix of thick cut marmalade and figgy pudding with a smoothness that would put Rasputin himself to shame and a finish as predictably one sided as an Italian football match. The, lightly effervescent, dark amber body is aesthetically satisfying and the pour is as easy as pouring milk. I was rather violent with the pour and the fizz never took the reigns and bolted, it is a magnificently well behaved beer.

It may well not be as powerful or deep and intricate as some of the new breed of beers but this has well earned it's reputation. It's like a sweet cup of tea and slippers after a Sunday roast, it's as soothing as a walk through a field of bluebells and as warming as a low, comfortable, armchair in front of a fire. It even has hidden whiskey notes near the end that give you a little kick once you start to get too cosy with it but it always brings you back to a smooth body and a sweet core, the comparison to whiskey doesn't end there because when you get right down to the dregs the beer itself starts to resemble a single malt that you just want to swirl around the bottom of your glass. It's a house cat that occasionally likes to flex it's claws while it sits purring on your lap and at 5.9% those claws could well draw blood if you linger too long, but for the most part ESB is a leisurely jaunt into the world of good beersmithing (a term I wish to coin,) and I advise anyone who hasn't tried it to try it at least once.

Food Suggestion: Best had post-dinner with cheese, grapes and some chutney. Better had with hard cheese, maybe a nice Applewood cheddar with a spot of Cambozola just to mix things up a bit.

Drink this if you like: It's unfair to compare this to ALL of the other Fuller's because that involves Chiswick and Bengal Lancer which fall, dramatically, short of this standard as well as Past Masters Double Stout and the Vintage which are delicious and somewhat surpass this in certain areas. It may sound odd but if you've ever had Honeydew by Fuller's, one I consider to be more of their gimmick beer, and you liked it then I think you'll enjoy the sweet smoothness of ESB.