Bond Street Bachelor Bitter - Deschutes Brewery

Thrasher

Oregon

4.38/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'm a few months behind on trying this new brew and while the sample may not be perfectly fresh, this bottle of Deschutes is Des-lightful.

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

But it's really good! Pun-inducingly good. A perfect ballet between malt and hop, with a lively yeast orchestra providing the score. It's a gorgeous autumnal russet, with an irregular, wispy head that rises high and breaks like a wave, leaving seafoam on the inside rim. The smell is indescribably evocative; of what, I hesitate to specify. Perhaps every homecooked meal ever devoured in seconds, perhaps every blanket worn and washed down to bare threads, perhaps every hairy household pet ever cherished. Funk and flavor combined into an endearing, nostalgic nose. The taste is similarly pleasing, if not as substantial. The beer gallops down the throat without much staying power, but the mouthfeel is smooth and the subliminal hop finish brainwashes you into drinking more. Just a damn good beer. We've finally had a (slight) break in the heat here in Portland, so perhaps autumn is on my mind, but this seems an ideal September/October beer. Sorry for my exuberance but this beer delighted me.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2005 06:51:18 | More by Thrasher

merlin48

Kentucky

4.93/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

22 oz bottle pours a chill hazed, dark amber body with a creamy offwhite head that steadies at about an inch in height. Head retention is very good and moderate patch lace sticks about the pint glass.

Aroma is perfect for an ESB. Sweetish malty caramel takes a bow to the prominent English toffee aromas. Tart red apples provide a prominent fruity ester. Fresh floral hops add a honeysuckle note. Lovely bouquet!

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with ideal moderate carbonation. Toffee is a bit chewy, and there is a mineral presence that suggests a Burton on Trent metallic feel.

Taste is divine. Chewy toffee, McIntosh red apple tartness, floral hop bittering adds honeysuckle and lilac notes. Hop presence is very floral and adds an ideal balance to the toffee maltiness. Slight mineral presence adds an exceptional English feel. Finishes clean, with a lasting floral hop aftertaste of rosewater. Damn! This is really special.

Best American ESB I've sampled, hands down. This is my favorite style, and Deschutes has beaten the Brits at their own game with this one. Maybe I've become jaded with so many Fuller's ESB's in bottles, but this PacNW Bitter is worldclass. Bond Street Bachelor Bitter would be my everyday beer in a perfect world. Remarkable effort here, one of the best beers I've ever sampled. Many thanks to waldowin for tracking this one down and shipping it my way.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2005 01:20:37 | More by merlin48

freed

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Woohoo! twenty-two. Lovely label that appeals to the map lover in me. Not because it has any maps, but the background etching/pattern is lovely.

Poured, it sits a lovely bright but deep copper. The clarity is also excellent, and there's a tight white head.

The aroma is rather simple and flat, but accurate and appropriate for a british style bitter.

The taste is delightful. Simple in a good way. Sweet, slightly bready, and a nice sustaining bitter that satisfies the palette. The drinkability is excellent, and I can imagine this would be luscious on tap

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2005 04:37:55 | More by freed

Jason

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 22oz brown bomber with a “Best Buy” freshness date on the side of the label.

Appearance: Clear orange amber with a semi-sticky off-white lace.

Smell: Mild fruitiness, toasted malt and woody herbal hop in the aroma.

Taste & Mouth Feel: Moderate carbonation within a medium body, touch of crispness on the palate. Full rounded malt flavor of sweetness and toasted grain, slight twang of fruitiness mingles well with the hop character. The hop bitterness is at a perfect balancing level with the malt, mild woody herbal (citric?) flavor lingering into the semi-dry finish.

Drinkability & Notes: An amazingly drinkable brew from a great brewery, props to the brewer for this excellent creation and props to the brewery for taking a venture and bottling it.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2005 19:36:14 | More by Jason

RoyalT

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This is a Beauty Shop, that’s for sure. The liquid is a bright brownish-orange sporting an off-white head that came up mightily. It went down slowly and left some awesome lacing on the inside of my official ESB glass.

Smell – This is a big nose for a bitter. It’s strong and nutty with caramel-laden malts and some stiff leafy hops.

Taste – Yes, this is very big for an English-style Bitter. The malts are huge and the leafy hops just as big.

Mouthfeel – This EB is medium-bodied with some strong bitterness that is matched with strong, sugary, chewy malts.

Drinkability – I wouldn’t call it a “session ale”, but it is mighty tasty and went down without a hitch.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2005 02:10:35 | More by RoyalT

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.68/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was Deschutes’ original bitter until the mid-1990’s when the brewery noticed it wasn’t selling especially well and conducted a marketing survey to determine why. It was revealed that Adolph Coors was running an ad campaign at the time urging beer drinkers to purchase their product and avoid the perils of a “bitter beer face.” Thanks to this foolhardy advertising campaign, the word bitter was effectively registered into the popular beer drinker’s lexicon as a decidedly negative term.

Deschutes returned to their proverbial drawing board, revamped the recipe and the label for Bachelor Bitter and reintroduced their product as Bachelor ESB. While the new brand doesn’t quite enjoy the same euphonic ring as Bachelor Bitter, Deschutes does know how to sell its product. The ESB is widely marketed in six packs throughout the Pacific Northwest. The original Bachelor Bitter is now only available on tap at the Deschutes Brewery Brew Pub.

Bachelor is a traditional English bitter of deep caramelized cinnamon color with almost no head, lace, or aroma. It has an ABV of 5.4% and a heavy, chewy mouthfeel. At their pub, Deschutes serves it too cold for the style. Upon warming however, a bitter aroma can be coaxed that parallels the strongly bittered flavor. In fact, the taste of this beer has a real attitude – precisely why I enjoy it.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2004 04:33:41 | More by RedDiamond

Reidrover

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer is "limited" in that it is only available in the Deschutes Pub.
Ok last beer of my Bend Oregon "session". Served on tap at the Deshutes pub in central Bend. Quite good looking beer a coppery brown with a nice sized off white head. Quite a weak carmel aroma..though I think my nasal capacity had been worn out by now! Quite sweet at the start..slightly toffee like..then a small bitter ness. Very easy on my abused palate. Very drinkable..could drink this all day.

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2004 20:08:58 | More by Reidrover