Bitter Emerges as the Draught Form of Pale Ale

During the 1840s, British drinkers increasingly used the term bitter for pale, well-hopped ales served on draught. Brewers generally continued to describe these beers as pale ale, but pub customers used bitter to distinguish their dry and pronounced hop character from the sweeter, less heavily hopped mild ales also sold at the bar. Bitter was therefore not originally a completely separate brewing style from pale ale. It developed as a popular name for draught pale ale and gradually became a recognized commercial category in its own right. Served from the cask, often through a beer engine, bitter became one of the defining beers of the British pub and later developed familiar strength distinctions such as ordinary, best, and strong bitter.