Herevana – Whistling Sisters – English Bitter

Whistling Sisters English Bitter – get in!

The BeerJerkNZ beer of the week, it’s a like a book club but for beer.

There’s something very comforting about a pint of English bitter, and there’s a local near me that regularly has beers on tap at a mad good price what satisfied what ails me. A genuinely rare beer in NZ for I can only think of one or two others that would make this style, Galbraiths, Zealant, and Townshend, so it’s a rare old treat.

Whistling Sisters Beer Co make the Whistling Sisters English Bitter inWellington, 🇳🇿, New Zealand, in the style that is of a Bitter – Premium / Strong / Extra Special (ESB)  with an ABV of 4.9%, This can is 1.3 standard drinks in NZ.

Beer Brown! The aroma didn’t take me back all the years, but it is pleasing and pleasant. The head failed to impress.

The taste makes up for everything, this is as earthy and dull a beer with a decent bitterness that makes for a good night around a table talking nonsense about whippets and how Palace are going to do this season, and aren’t coppers getting younger, and how remembers the lollipop lady.

Sadly for me I drank this like a thisty man, and remembered that I couldn’t wave to Dave behind the bar to get me another, which made me sad again.

If you’re going to have a pop at British beer, then don’t pick on this one, as you’re going to come up way way short (As you would anyway, right and proper).

Served at cellar temperature (you’d say ‘warm’ to be funny) this is a flight of fancy and memory and should be on taps.

The Pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 on the arbitrary number scale. I’m going to pretend that I didn’t start thinking in rhyming-slang or thinking of the snug in a small village pub, or of long evening full of verbose arguments and idle chat and gossip giving this the large elbow.

A toast my friends – To beer, to the ESB and the Empire.

 Turning 30 years old this year. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

Herevana beers are those I drink at home, I’m not at some beer festival, like, for instance, Beervana, but am just in my kitchen, usually, dining room table, sometimes, or outside, occasionally, where I can take an average picture and write in real time about the beer that I’ve invested in, both in a monetary and emotional way.

Philip himself.

Brewed with the respect a traditional style deserves, this Extra Special Bitter combines a healthy dose of toffee, caramel and roast malt character, balanced with an herbal bitterness from the English hops and berry notes from the English yeast strain. Pours a beautiful toffee amber colour with an off-white head.

Match it with traditional English pub grub – Meat pie, sausage and mash, or a hearty stew.

Malts – Ale, Munich, Toffee, Supernova, Roast barley Hops – East Kent Goldings Yeast – Lallemand London Yeast

Brewers Notes

Bitter – Premium / Strong / Extra Special (ESB)

The Strong Bitter, or Premium Bitter, is an average-strength to moderately-strong British bitter ale with a light amber to deep copper color. The balance may be fairly even between malt and hops to somewhat bitter. In America, the Extra Special Bitter (ESB), has been co-opted to describe a malty, bitter, reddish, standard-strength British-type ale. More evident malt and hop flavors than in a best bitter, as well as more alcohol. Stronger versions may overlap somewhat with British strong ales, although strong bitters will tend to be paler and more bitter. More malt flavor, particularly caramel, and esters than an American Pale Ale, with different finishing hop character.