HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) - George Gale & Company Ltd

If there was an award for the most boring label on a bottle of beer, HSB would surely be on the podium.  Never one to judge a book by its cover though, I picked up a bottle of HSB at my local supermarket.
This special bitter comes in at 4.8% ABV

The appearnce is a deep, clear copper with a slightly off-white frothy head.  Head lasts a while with some good lacing

On the nose, there is a good combination of yeast, malt, some mild caramel, fruits and a some mild floral hops.  However, there is a medicinal hint along with an unpleasant stewed veggie note at the back end.

Taste is mild and subdued, but delivers enough to make it stand out from the mass-produced bitters.  The yeast is evident at first, with some mild toasted malt.  Bread, caramel, and some faint fruity esters are then counter-balanced nicely by a moderate, leafy hop bitterness.  Linger is bitter sweet with a slight hint of diacetyl

Mouthfeel is smooth with moderate astringency, slightly prickly carbonation and has a medium body.  It's well balanced and very drinkable

I could easily sink a few bottles of these.  It benefits from being bottle conditioned, as I think the flavours would fall short had it not been.  Having said that, I can't say that the description on the bottle of 'Rich and Full-Bodied' is entirely accurate. This is a decent bitter, but is let down by the sub-par nose, and slightly off putting carbonation.

75% - Average