February ESB and Chips & Dip

What is ESB?  It is Extra Special Bitter which doesn't mean the beer is bitter.  It refers to a British style of beer and really confuses some people with the word “bitter” becayse “bitters” are not really bitter.

Beer advocate describes it as follows:

ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering. Color range will be similar, though leaning towards the darker end of the scale; dark golds to copper. Low carbonation. Malts tend to be more pronounced, often toasty and fruity, with maybe some notes diacetyl. And despite "bitter" being in its name, ESBs are not really all that bitter. They key to an ESB is balance.

We paired it with sour cream mixed with Lipton Onion Soup Mix, my favorite chip dip.  Lay's Wavy Chips are the best dipping chip so that's what we chose, of course!

Our beer was Christian Moerlein OTR (Over The Rhine) which seems fitting since we will be running in a Christian Moerlein beer race through Over the Rhine next Saturday.

As a special touch, we used our new Ginger coasters that Heather gave us in her memory.

Here was our social media post:
February #foodbeerpairing "ESB w/chips & dip" @moerleinbeers OTR and Lay's Wavy Chips by @fritolay. @WCPO @Mike_Canan