12/14/2025
Let's talk "Ordinary Bitter" - BJCP 11A. Who wants to make a beer that is 'ordinary'? Well, first off, I think we should point out, that there's no category for extraordinary bitter, in fact, all bitter is largely the same, whether it's ordinary (light), best (special) or strong (extra). The difference is just the ABV.
Back when beer was made in household breweries, the beverage was consumed in copious amounts. How much you wonder? Records show that during the busy months at Trentham Hall, which employed 53 servants, over 1 gallon of beer was drunk per servant, per day! That's 8 pints of beer? How did anybody get any work done? Answer, because they were drinking ordinary beer. At 3%-4% alcohol.
Historically, when you brewed beer, you made a mash from which you got first, second and third runnings, all at different gravities. Not wanting to waste any of the product, it was all turned into ale or beer, and consumed. First runnings would make the most potent 'ale' that would be served to the household. Second and third runnings would be lower gravity and make ordinary and small beer, that would be served to the staff and - yes - children.
This type of brewing is known as parti-gyle brewing, where you use the different runnings to produce different beers of different strengths. Although Morland brewery don't do this, their range of 'Hen' beers pay homage to this tradition.
So back to BJCP 11A, ordinary bitter. It simply means a beer that can be drunk in significant quantities without inducing excessive inebriation. One might be tempted to think 'session' and you'd be right in the idea that these are lower alcohol beers that won't get you drunk (as fast). In Britain, due to the history of taxing alcoholic beverages by ABV, they tend to be lower in alcohol. BJCP specifies 3.2%-3.8%, a strength that is can still be found in Britain today, but is all but absent in the US market.
