“For a quart of Ale is a meal for a king.”
- William Shakespeare

This blogging journey has now taken us to the OG, the Old skl, your dad's favorite beer that seems to always be better ‘back in his day’. The Ordinary Bitter, Anspach & Hobday has brought this beer back with a storm of vengeance. This will be the beer you tell future generations about, this is your ‘back in my day’ beer.

The Bitter is from way back in the day, all the way to the 19th century, it was used to describe a type of pale ale but as time went on mild ales were coming into the spotlight so pub goers would use the term bitter to differentiate them. I imagine that there are other types of bitters that you’ve heard of; Golden Bitter, Extra Special Bitter, Special Bitter, Best Bitter, the list goes on.

What we’ve accomplished is creating a Bitter that not only stands out from the pack, it boldly leads it. What's more, it's entirely ordinary. That’s right, The Ordinary bitter - a little less strong than a best bitter but punching well above its weight in flavour, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. We not only sell our Bitter on cask, we also sell it in kegs and cans! The triple threat.

Award-winning beer writer, Adrian Tierney-Jones (@ATJbeer), on The Ordinary Bitter.

“And it has been said (mainly by me) that bitter doesn’t work in a can - I’m happy to report that The Ordinary Bitter from Anspach & Hobday does, especially its crispness and dry, bitter finish.”

Is it Bitter?

Yes! Absolutely no surprise there, it does what it says on the tin. Filled to the brim with tasty malty goodness, for a low ABV beer it does have an incredible mouth feel and real depth of flavour and character. These attributes are due to the stacking of flavours like a beautiful lasagna, only two hops are used in this recipe just to add a bittering flavour and sweet sticky fruit aroma. From the East Kent Goldings comes beautiful honey and spice, which works in tandem with the Chinook’s subtle peppery notes to bring it all together.

I wasn’t joking when I said It’s filled to the brim with malts, this bad boy has five different types of malt to give you that harmony that’ll take you down to flavour town. In addition the mixture of dark and light malt gives The Ordinary Bitter a beautiful burnt umber colour that’s best adored over a dappled glass tankard at your local.

Where can I find one?

So you want to find our The Ordinary Bitter on cask? Well, like Diglett in generation VII from Pokémon, it pops up all over London, but it has made a nice little home for itself in the Carlton Tavern and the Halfway House. Other than that hunters have witnessed it being poured at venues such as; The Old Fountain, Sutton Arms, The Priory Arms, The Rake, The Lamb, The TATE Modern, The Arch House and of course at The Pigeon. You can also find it on our webshop!

So, keep an eye out for The Ordinary Bitter! Its soft lilac label/ badge will surely entice you to the bar to give it a go, whether it’s in can, keg or on cask. A whole pint in a tankard with a handle is my recommended experience, but I won’t judge what you do behind closed doors.