It is interesting to think about the moments in your life that have shaped who you are. There are certain moments and decisions where, sometimes you know and sometimes you don’t know that life just made a turn and the path ahead just shifted. I distinctly recall the moment I decided to become a brewer. And at that instant the path felt very real. There were times that followed where I questioned everything, but we carry on and continue down the path and see what lies ahead. 

Then there are those moments where you are doing your thing, enjoying the moment, and it is not until years or decades later that you look back and realize what an impact that moment had for you.

I was in a pub, in a village. I don’t know the name of the pub, and I don’t know the name of the village. I was drinking a pint of bitter. I do know I was in England, I don’t know the name of the bitter. I am not sure what year it was. For how little I know about the details of that evening I can still see that space, hear the laughter, smell the coal burning stove, and taste the pint of ale. No decisions were being made in that moment but it has stuck with me for nearly twenty years. And when we brew a batch of ESB I am brewing it to go back.

For many of the beers we brew we are trying out something new. Sometimes it is trying out a new ingredient or a style of beer that is either new or one we haven’t brewed before, but brewing our Extra Special Bitter is different than that. Once we dialed in the recipe, years ago, we stuck with it. Aside from the pristine spring water of Hood River, all of the ingredients in our ESB are from England. Pale malt makes up the base with layers of dark and double roast crystal malts to form a rich backbone. A different, savory note is lent by golden oats. For hops we use English-grown Challengers, Fuggles, and East Kent Goldings, their earthy, herbal character running deep in their rhizomes and in English brewing tradition. The yeast is London III offering a warm note of fruity esters, a key component to the English ale, the juice.

We all have those moments that we look back upon and realize just how much they formed the world we live in now and how they have grown into parts of who we are. Sometimes it’s nice to go back and visit, with eyes closed, and sip.