Clifford Brewing Dark Streets of London ESB (5.2%)

I’ve just read a well-written screed by Jason Wilson about those people who complain about having to scroll through a bunch of text, even “a whole novel” or “someone’s life story” or “an entire autobiography,” to get to a recipe that is being provided to them for free! So to celebrate, I’m going to cut right to the chase: Dark Streets of London is a very good beer.

Now, the backstory.

Some time ago, Fuller’s Brewery owner Asahi decided to remove the British brewing company’s famed ESB from the Ontario market, leaving a rather large beer style hole in the province. Being a fan of bitters, best bitters, and extra special bitters (aka ESBs), I went hunting for a sound replacement, settling first on Henderson’s Best by Toronto’s Henderson Brewing, billed an amber ale but most assuredly in the bitter family, and eventually discovering Clifford Brewing of Hamilton’s Dark Streets of London on the shelves of the LCBO at Queen’s Quay near the Toronto waterfront.

Although it has the higher alcohol content at 5.5% compared to Dark Streets of London’s 5.2%, Henderson’s Best has a flavour profile which, to my mind, places it more in the best bitter class than the ESB style. Dark Streets, on the other hand, has the distinctively full malt character of an ESB, even if it does seem to be lacking just a touch on the bitterness side, especially when tasted alongside the notably hoppier Best.

Amber-hued and nice and bright in the glass when allowed to warm a bit – there is some chill haze when it’s very cold – the nose of Dark Streets offers a mix of milk chocolate and orange marmalade aromas in delightful harmony, buoyed by back notes of earthiness, dried leaf, and just a whisper of citrus.

On the palate, the start is mildly sweet and chocolate-caramelly, with just a hint of floral hop, but grows fuller, richer, and eventually, a tad more bitter as the flavour progresses. In the mid-palate, there is a lovely mix of fruitiness layered over a cocoa and toasted cereal base, vaguely reminiscent of Ovaltine but so much better, with sweet orange and plum mixing nicely with hints of key lime and raisin. So round and rich is the flavour at this stage that it threatens to pass over to brown ale territory, but it’s pulled from the brink by a drying and lightly bittering, leafy and ever-so-slightly spicy hoppiness, which takes hold through the lingering, gently bitter finish.

Yes, I’d like a touch more bitterness on the mid-palate, but not at the expense of this rich maltiness, so ultimately I’m quite happy where this lands. It’s almost – almost! – enough to make me forget that I can no longer easily get my hands on Fuller’s ESB.

88 ($3.65)