Bitters are too malty for me. Most of the beers I like are light on the malt, heavy on the bitterness and huge on the hop flavor. What I really like about the Goose Island is it's got all that plus a nice dollop of dark roasted barley that throws a nice lightly smoky, chocolatey, coffee kinda thing into the aftertaste.
The bitters just dont have enough of that flowery hop flavor to me. Although, my homey rook (from London originally) tells me that fresh English bitters out of the tap are an entirely different story from what we're exposed to here in the states.
I do know that most of the imported beers are pasteurized before bottling which effects taste and the long ride over the ocean in a hot cargo container finishes the job of killing most of the characteristics that make a beer good.
That's why I stick with really good, fresh, locally brewed Goose Island. Quality ingredients and a killer recipe makes me real happy. And if I really want something special, I can take a ride down to the restaurant/pub there on premises and sample some of the cask conditioned ale they serve through an old fashioned hand pump at cellar temperatures. Good stuff. Probably the closest I'll come to the smoothness Fezz and Flabby speak of. mmmm, now I'm thirsty.
Hefeweisens ..! are one of my Favorite. Clear when warm, cloudy when cold. They get all suspended full of yeasty-beasties when cooled, ... and I include a chunck of lemon twisted in...
