Red Hook ESB: Extra Special Bitter

I looked at the label that read Red Hook ESB or Extra Special Bitter. I was worried. EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER?!? All that was going through my mind was the image of beer commercials from the 90's.


I got past it and sucked it up. I opened the bottle and pour it into a cup. The beer looked like a light beer, a dark gold hue, with light white foam bubbling to the top. This 5.7% ABV beer was not the bitter beer the label might be taken to suggest. It's not overpowering but in fact a good easy to drink beer. This is a nice transition beer from those beers that feel they can change the way you spell light. There is just enough hop profile to balance with the maltyness of the beer. Just because I say malt doesn't mean this beer will coat your mouth. In fact this beer is crisp and a good one to have relaxing pool side. (Man I wish I could be relaxing by body of water in the sun!)

The phrase extra special bitter comes from England and the style was synonymous with pale ale. However a bitter ale was usually served from a cask under no pressure that actually gave the beer a less hoppy or bitter profile. I would actually like to try a cask beer sometime. Moral of the story for you is to not worry about the name and enjoy the well balanced beer.

Red Hook Brewery was founded in the Seattle, WA area in 1981. They currently have operations in Portsmouth, NH and Woodinville, WA. The next beer I review from them will hopefully be the KCCO Black Lager. I am a big time Chiver and I am patiently... okay not patiently... waiting for this beer to come into the Kansas City market.

I give the Red Hook ESB a 7 out 10.