Bitter is an English style of
pale ale
Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...
that varies in colour from
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
to dark amber, and in strength typically from 3% to 5.5%
alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
.
History
The term "bitter" has been used in England to describe
pale ale
Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...
since the early 19th century. Although brewers used the term "pale ale", before the introduction of
pump clips, customers in
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s would ask for "bitter" to differentiate it from
mild ale
Mild ale is a type of ale. Modern milds are mostly dark-coloured, with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 3% to 3.6%, although there are lighter-hued as well as stronger milds, reaching 6% abv and higher. Mild originated in Britain in the 17th century ...
; by the end of the 19th century, brewers had begun to use the term as well.
During the 20th century, bitter became the most popular type of
draught beer
Draught beer, also spelt draft, is beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as
Name
Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served dire ...
sold in British pubs and has been described as "the national drink of England". In Scotland, bitter is known as either "light" or "heavy" depending on the strength, colour and body.
Bitter is traditionally
cask conditioned
Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...
and either dispensed by gravity through a tap in the cask or by a
beer engine
A beer engine is a device for pumping beer from a cask, usually located in a pub's cellar.
The beer engine was invented by John Lofting, a Dutch inventor, merchant and manufacturer who moved from Amsterdam to London in about 1688 and patented a ...
at "cellar temperature" of 11° to 14° Celsius (50° to 55° Fahrenheit). The popularity of
craft brewing
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
in North America has led to British-style bitter being brewed there since the 1980s.
Style
Bitter belongs to the pale ale
beer style
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...
and can have a great variety of strength, flavour and appearance, from dark amber to a golden summer ale. It can be under 3%
abv
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
and as high as 7% with premium or strong bitters. The colour may be controlled by the addition of
caramel colouring
Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized tha ...
. It is similar to the
India pale ale style of beer, though bitters are less
hoppy.
Sub-types of bitter
;: A low alcohol bitter, often bottled.
;: Strength up to 4.1% abv. This is the most common strength of bitter sold in British pubs. It accounted for 16.9% of pub sales in 2003.
;: Strength between 4.2% and 4.7% abv. In the United Kingdom bitter above 4.2% abv accounted for just 2.9% of pub sales in 2003.
[ The disappearance of weaker bitters from some brewers' rosters means "best" bitter is actually the weakest in the range.
;: Strength of 4.8% abv and over.
;: Golden or summer ale has an appearance and profile similar to that of a ]pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale-to-golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness.
The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing ...
.
See also
*Beer in England
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer (also called real ale) which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with o ...
* Copper ale
Copper ale is a style of ale known in part for its copper color.
Some varieties of copper ale may be produced to have a bitter flavor, such as that of a bitter. Beer brewed with dark malt may contribute to a copper-colored beer.
Producers
C ...
* The Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is th ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitter (Beer)
Beer styles
Beer in the United Kingdom