Beer of the Week - Oct 19 - Granite Best Bitter

This post is a little late.

I was on my way home from a fencing tournament in Kingston last Sunday and, instead of coming straight home, I decided to detour through the city to one of my favorite brew pubs, Granite Brewery, to pick up a well earned Growler of Granite Best Bitter.

The brewery's description of this ale is "A distinctive copper-coloured, full-bodied ale finished with Yakima fuggle hops. Alcohol Content - 4.5%"

It was tempting to have a sit and a pint of their Hopping Mad Ale. The 6% cask conditioned ale is a wonderful tasting brew which I had the opportunity of having a few weeks before after doing a focus group in the area. I had to drive, though, so I just paid for my growler and completed my journey home.

Since discovering the wonderfulness of bitters when I was in England for the first time many many years ago, I have always been disappointed by their availability over here in Canada. That has now changed as more and more bitters are coming over from England and craft brewers are developing their own tasty recipes.

Bitters are part of the pale ale style of brewing but with more hops beer which brings on extra bitterness.

Granite Best Bitter is a very nicely coloured brew with a nice aroma. It has a well-balanced taste, with a pleasant but not overpowering bitterness to it. It finished well, leaving me with a pleasant lingering taste afterward.

Having endured a fencing tournament and a 3 hour drive home afterwards, this was a pleasant reward. As for the growler, it did not see another night.