London's calling...
Written: Dec 12 '00 (Updated Dec 12 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Smooth, nutty, fruity, clean, easy to drink..
Cons: Expensive and hard to get
|
|
|
| PALWalrus's Full Review: Fuller's 1845, Bottle Conditioned Ale |
This review is not of the brew noted but rather of the Fuller's Extra Special Bitter which I was surprised to see wasn't linked here. Hopefully when the correct link is added this review will be moved.
When living in London in my long distant youth I found that I had to move frequently. This may have had something to do with the inordinate number of parties that my traveling companions used to have, which were normally followed soon after by eviction and subsequent search for different accommodation. While the accommodations, locations and expense changed there was always one constant about where we lived…the closest pub was always a Fullers pub. This was no fluke, it was one of the key criteria when choosing where to lay your heads at night. Simply put, of the choices in the inner-city London area we always preferred Fullers pubs. And yes, it was about the beer…
The selection of beers available on tap always included my favorite draught beer, ESB. This is regarded as a strong ale, and while at 5.5% by volume on tap it is not extremely strong it had a reputation for knocking the drinker about. This is probably because it was so easy to drink that you didn’t realize how much you had drunk. Fullers only started brewing ESB in 1971, and in its short life it has captured many awards from CAMRA, a society that I belonged to while in the United Kingdom. CAMRA is a society that promotes the brewing (and drinking) of real ale (Campaign for Real Ale). Fullers ESB won the best Strong Ale award in 1978,79,81,83,85,87 and 91 and was chosen as the Champion beer in 1978, 81 and 85. I have only rarely tried this in bottle as it seems strange not to have this hand-pulled for me into cool pint glass, but lets try it out…
The bottle…
The bottle is very distinctive. It is very dark in appearance with a almost black bottle and label, with the ESB lettering in red. I assume that the bottle is this dark to try and protect the beer. Real ales are noted for being rather fragile. The bottle itself has a larger than normal barrel with a long neck. Again I can only assume that this reduces the contact with the outside world.
The pour…
Actually just before the pour, make sure that you are serving this beer at the right temperature, this is NOT a beer that should be served cold. Serve it very slightly chilled if you must, but no more than that. I opened mine at just slightly under room temperature and poured it into a straight pint glass that I still have from one of my ‘locals’ in London (along with steins from every beer tent at the Munich beerfest, but that is another story). No fancy tricks with this bottle, it pours out to a browny hue, with a typical light lacy head, the trademark of a real ale.
Sniff and sup…
The nose is slightly nutty, not a strong coffee/ chocolate malt at all. Definitely nutty, somewhere between brazil and hazelnut. There is a fruitiness to the nose as well, a little citrus. Lets take a sup…hmmm, nice light body feel here, little to no carbonation, what a pleasant feel and taste. The maltiness is good, nuts and the citrus is definitely there too, like lemon and orange peel, without the tartness. The finish is oh so smooth, with a slight floral pepper to it, also like the finish of a Gwertztraminer wine without the sweetness. It’s amazing how much the flavors open out when your mouth isn’t being distracted with all that carbonation. Overall a very pleasant drinking experience, that hasn’t changed too much over the years, with distance and bottle added. Oh I’d love a pint on draught please.
Conclusion…
I just visited the Fullers website, it is well worth the visit and I do recommend it. The beer uses Pale Ale and Crystal malts, with Target, Challenger, Northdown and Golding hops, though the site won’t tell me in what quantities. It also says that the bottles are 5.9% by volume. This is a very nice ale, if you don’t like ales then I suggest that you steer clear. In the mean time London’s calling…see you later...
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
PALWalrus
|
|
Location: Alachua, FL
Reviews written: 87
Trusted by: 43 members
About Me:
Good food, fine wine and close friends...who could ask for anything more?
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.