S.O.B.

Part two of my Oak Hill Beverage tasting is Atlantic's Special Old Bitter, or S.O.B. Their take on the Extra Special Bitter has a reasonable 5.5% abv, which is about average for this brewery. I'm surprised I'd never tried this before. I'm a big fan of Atlantic's Bar Harbor Real Ale and Coal Porter. The blueberry is pretty good, too, but I've never had the courage to try the Island Ginger.

Anyway, I was pleased with this. Head was thin, but had a nice hoppy aroma. Not bright and floral, but bitter. Crisp on the tongue, with moderate bitterness like an ESB calls for. A hint of pale malt under all that hop, but the hops really dominate here. Their Web site says they use Northdown hops for bittering. I'm not familiar with that variety, but it kind of reminds me of the Amarillo I've used in my last two beers.

This beer is nice and light bodied, and I've long felt bitters had just the right amount of hop character. I'll get around to reviewing Andrew's English Pale Ale soon. Might be my favorite summer beer.

Although if this one came in six packs, it might manage to steal that crown.