I hosted my monthly beer tasting at the Sugar Bowl last week, doing a selection from Edmonton’s local breweries, Yellowhead, Amber’s and Alley Kat. My Alley Kat choice was their latest in the Big Bottle series, Bitter Truth ESB. As it happens, the Sugar Bowl also had Russell Blood Alley Bitter on tap as a rotational. After a couple of conversations where customers compared the two, I decided I should conduct a side-by-side taste test of each.

Keep in mind the Russell was on tap, and the Alley Kat in the bottle, so there will be some differences from serving method. However, it remained an enlightening exercise.

The Bitter Truth has the aroma of soft toffee and demerara sugar,  hints of honey, pear and nut. Then an inticing floral hop flits in. It is rounded and earthy. In the taste, there are gentle malts upfront –  offering toffee, biscuit and nut, followed by some dark sweetness and a light fruit. Hops are mellow and earthy, accenting a bit of English meadow wildlower. Very British in its feel.

It is a quiet beer. The hop could be more assertive and the malt bolder, but overall the blend works well.

In contrast the Blood Alley is bolder. The aroma is more hop-forward, with a caramel sweetness. The character of the hops are still very British – floral and earthy with some citrus as well. The flavour is also more of both. I find the malt to be deeper and richer with more brown sugar and less fruitiness. Blood Alley is more bitter and the hop flavour comes through more. The bitterness is a blend of citrus and grass.

Both beer offer strong interpretations of the style “Extra Special Bitter”. Both are nicely balanced and offer important British quailities in the malt and fruity esters. Alley Kat’s is on the gentler side of the style, while Russell pushes a bit farther out. Sugar Bowl customers familiar with both beer had diverging opinions about which they preferred. Some liked Russell’s more assertive character, while others found the Alley Kat version more drinkable.

Which leads to a natural question: which interpretation do you prefer? (Which, of course, is an entirely different question than “which is better?”, as that is both unfair and unanswerable.) There is no right answer here, of course. But I do think which you appreciate more speaks to your overall beer tendencies, which is always interesting to learn about.

I mean the question broadly, as the answer “depends on what I am in the mood for”, is completely valid, fair and entirely sidestepping the issue. What do you most look for in a bitter?

To answer the question myself, both give me the bulk of what I want in a bitter – balance, soft moderate hops and a gentle drinkability – and so are readily deserving of a second pint. That said, I lean toward the Alley Kat version. I find the hop profile of the Russell a little too complex and that touch of citrus seems out of place. As for the Alley Kat, a touch more body (and a tweak on the hops to maintain balance) would round it out better. However, I am not complaining either way.

Such a tough thing to do to drink two different yet equally delicious ESBs.