Bishop's Finger Review

 

          To this day I still remember the first time I had a pint of bitter. I was maybe twenty years old and having pints with a coworker at one of those fake English pubs you see everywhere. I decided I was in the mood to try something I’d never tried before and bravely ordered a pint of bitter. The beer came, I took my first sip and absolutely hated it. I mean come one, it had this unpleasant bitter finish to it. How was I supposed to like such a thing?

About a year or two later another coworker recommended I give English bitter another try. I did, and somehow came to love the beer. Somehow that crisp bitter finish became an enjoyable part of a delicious style of beer. Apparently, I wasn’t the only young man to have this experience with English bitter. As it turns out, bitter is England’s most popular style of beer and most people had the same experience with their first pint of this classic English beer.

According to an Englishman I talked to one day, this experience is somewhat like our north American love for a decent cup of coffee. How many people in Canada and the U.S. have had similar experiences with their first cup of coffee? Either way, I was happy to see Bishop’s Finger appear on the shelves of my local beer store recently. Bishop’s Finger pours into my glass crystal clear and a deep copper color, bordering on leathery. It throws a two finger head, creamy in color.

          Taking a sniff, Bishop’s Finger is robust in its maltiness, reminding me of an English brown ale. Dark malts with notes of bread and crackers mix quickly and seamlessly with aromas of caramel, leather, and damp earth. Somewhere in there, I think maybe I’m getting a whiff of berries but can’t be sure. All of this leads into a nutty finish before fading into the peppery, earthy, aroma of European hops.

          On the tongue, Bishop’s Finger is medium bodied and smooth, its flavors held up by pinpoint carbonation. Flavors are rich in their maltiness, starting off sweet up front with its flavors of caramel. Much like the nose, caramel leads into slightly dryer flavors of leather, each one complimenting the other. This is where flavors lead into the bracing bitter finish you would expect in an English bitter.

          Overall, Bishop’s Finger is a very good example of an English bitter. It’s flavorful and balanced. Its bitterness is assertive without being a detriment to the overall experience. The whole thing comes together as being characterful and easily drinkable. I’m happy to give Bishop’s Finger an 8 out of 10.