Fuller's brewery has the admirable
accolade of winning Supreme Champion Beer of Britain at GBBF for three
different beers in their range, a feat unsurpassed by any other brewery. ESB
(5.5%) first claimed the gong back in 1978 (and again in 81” and 85” respectively), later
joined by London Pride (4.1%) the following year and Chiswick Bitter (3.5%) a
decade later in 1989. Yet while the likes of ESB and London Pride continue to
be sold regularly in cask and bottle, alas Chiswick Bitter has fallen from
grace and largely disappeared since it was discontinued from regular production
a decade ago. It was first produced in 1930, named after the area where the
brewery is based. A fresh and flowery session ale, it was brewed with Northdown
and Challenger hops, with extra Goldings hops added to the conditioning tank after
fermentation for added flavours and aromas, a practise more commonly known as
dry hopping, a technique that has been around incredibly as far back as the
17th century, where brewers would add extra hops to their casks in order to
extend their shelf life, far removed from its modern resurgence among craft
brewers where beers are often overloaded with additional hops for added hoppy
and zesty flavours. The late Martyn Cornell once described Chiswick Bitter as a
modern take on the lost art of light mild. In his book Amber, Gold and Black,
he explains “mild is Britain’s most misunderstood beer. Originally the main,
indeed, the only standard for a beer called mild was that it should be fresh,
not more than a couple of weeks old, and have the taste and aroma that come
with freshness.”[1] Mild
he adds is merely a description rather than a style, there were many
sub-varieties ranging from mild porter, light bitter, scotch mild, burton mild,
extra strong mild and mild stout (which eventually evolved into milk stout),
rather than the more commonly associated term with dark milds which
have only become prevalent since the mid-20th century. Normally milds were
generally lower hopped because of their higher turnover, yet Josh Weikert notes
that not all milds followed the same strict practises, stating “at times, milds
were also heavily hopped. Yet as bitters became more popular, “mild” also
became a way to differentiate between “bitter” bitters and “mild” bitters.” [2]
Chiswick Bitter was synonymous with this style of mild bitter (light mild), and
while the prevalence for this style dwindled after the 1950’s as the popularity
for bitter overtook it, Fuller's continued to produce this beer regardless for decades to come.
When former head brewer John Keeling joined the brewery in 1981 as a junior brewer. He noted “in those days we racked three main brands: ESB, London Pride and Chiswick Bitter. ESB and Pride were available in barrels (288 pints), kilderkins (144 pints) and firkins (72 pints), Chiswick was in kilderkins and firkins only.”[3] The latter we could assume was due its shorter shelf-life, but its lack of popularity among publicans was likely a reason for its lower output. All three beers were sold at most of their 120 tied pubs in their estate at the time, though some only sold two, it’s easy to guess which one was omitted. At GBBF 1989, Chiswick Bitter won the standard bitters category and would subsequently outmanoeuvre the likes of Old Peculier (5.6%) and Landlord (4.3%) for the coveted prize of Supreme Champion Beer of Britian; at the time it’s win was considered a surprise given the lack of pubs that sold the beer at the time. In 1999, the brewery refined the production of this beer, so it settled more compactly in order to produce a more consistent and better tasting product. By 2008, due to concerns from publicans over its slowness in turning bright, the beer was adjusted further with the 'hop regime' changed to Challenger, Goldings, Northdown and Target varieties, with additional dry hopping to the casks, as a result Fuller's reported a double digit growth in sales of the product. Along with cask, the beer was also sold in bottle form, writing in 2011 blogger Sam Cohen notes “this is a hoppy, low strength bitter. The overwhelming character of this beer comes from the hop, which is very strong in aroma, with only moderate bittering.”[4] The beer continued to scoop up awards including Silver Medal (Standard Bitter) at the Battersea Beer Festival and the runner up prize at the Castle Rock beer awards in 2015. Following a successful first run in the US, in 2014 the beer was distributed and sold in draught across the country (alongside other Fuller's favourites ESB and London Pride), the brewery’s US brand manager Charles Stanley stated this initiative was due to the increasing popularity of full flavoured session beers in the country. Regarding the likes of Chiswick Bitter, he noted “Fuller’s has been brewing and refining Chiswick Bitter for decades, so this release is a great opportunity for American bars and restaurants to provide their patrons with session beer at its finest.”[5] Alas, on the homefront cask sales for Chiswick Bitter were steadily declining due to changes in public tastes and increased competition from other session ales, more beer was being wasted as a result. In the end, Fuller's had to take decisive action and in October 2015 the brewery posted the grim announcement that the beer would be pulled from their regular core range and would subsequently be produced on a seasonal basis. The brewery claimed that this was due to the increasing popularity of Seafarers Ale (3.6%), a holdover from Gale’s brewery which they poached a decade before. Chiswick Bitter was reduced to the lowly status of a limited seasonal release, eventually it quietly dissappeared from circulation entirely. With the increasing popularity of lower ABV beers in recent times, in the summer of 2024 the brewery released Griffin Gold (3.5%), it was promoted as having a crisp bitterness, complemented by a burst of citrus and pine, making it the ideal libation for Summer days. Roger Protz described it at the time as being a modern revision of Chiswick Bitter; however it was brewed with American Cascade, Citra and Hallertau Tradition hops, so in reality it is closer to the hop-forward beers pumped full of tropical citrussy new world flavours that have dominated the market. Meanwhile the demand for the revival of Chiswick Bitter quickly gathered pace as fans of the beer instigated a social media campaign to instigate its return. Eventually, Fuller's relented and in May 2024 the brewery made an announcement that the beer would be returning in bottle form for a limited period. After a succesful relaunch, in December that year the brewery decided to add Chiswick Bitter back to its core range, albeit available in bottle only. In recent years the demand for lower strength beer has been gaining momentum, as health concious punters increasingly shunned stronger beers for sessionable alternatives, markedly low and non alcohol beers have become the fastest growing beer-category. On the back of this, breweries have gradually flooded the market with lower strength beers, and by the beginning of 2024, 87% of pubs were reportedly selling a low/non alcohol beer, of which 8% was sold in draught. Moreover it has been recently reported that drinkers are flocking back to traditional styles like Bitter and Mild as cask ale is experiencing a revival. And since Fuller's already has an established brand in the face of Chiswick Bitter, perhaps the time is rife for them to rerelease it in cask form and take advantage of this increasingly lucrative market.
No comments:
Post a Comment