Talk:Bitter (beer)

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[edit] Use of hops

"Historically, the difference between ale and beer is that beer has hops added for flavour and bitterness." - does anyone have a source for this? The words 'ale' and 'beer' were both used in Anglo-Saxon, which to my understanding is several centuries before British brewers started using hops. I had heard the difference was that 'ale' is top-fermented. Harry R

Ale is top-fermented as opposed to lager which is bottom-fermented; both are beer. The quoted statement, however, conflicts with the information presented on the beer page (that beer's historical usage was for cider, or perhaps any mildly-alcoholic fermented beverage), so I've removed it. VermillionBird 18:43, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Session bitter

Where does the term "session bitter" come from? Is it because they were/are drunk at music "jam" sessions? Badagnani 20:22, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

No - it means you can have a drinking session on it and not fall over - the stronger beers are too much to drink all night - I can vouch for that! Brookie :) - a will o' the wisp ! (Whisper...) 15:01, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regional differences in taste

I think the statement that people in the North of England prefer sweeter, less well hopped, beers is too much of a generalisation. Holt's in Manchester is one of the most bitter beers in Britain, and Boddington's (when it was brewed there) was also very hoppy before Whitbread got hold of it. Last time I looked, Manchester was in the North. Rodparkes 09:18, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Top or bottom fermented?

I suppose bottom-fermentation, but this information is really missing from the article. Maikel 23:30, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Bitters

Is this section a joke? The 3 listed may be popular, but I don't believe they're notable! A bit like the "Restaurants" article listing McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Burger King as the only 3 "Notable Restaurants"! (Boddies was notable, until its takeover and transformation.) This section would be better called "Popular Bitters".