Do Bears Migrate?

Two bears walk into a local bar and discover a beautiful scene of woodwork, hanging lights, and a number of brewery originals.  These beers have traveled the valley, currently with plans of meeting old friends for a drink or two, and had been recommended Migration Brewing Company as a great place to catch-up and grab a pint.  One of the bears samples a few of the drafts and decides to go with one that piqued her interest.  Different from any other beer she had tried, its name was Old Silenus Ale, ESB.

ESB was once explained to Ambear as being the acronym for Extra Special Bitter.  It had also been said to stand for English Style Beer.  Consulting the internet in hopes of finding the truth to the acronym (in reference to beer), Ambear also came across answers such as Extra Strong Bitter, Extra Special Beer, English Style Bitter, Extra Strong Beer, etc.  However, after searching Wikipedia she discovered that the term Bitter is the English term for a Pale Ale, and ESB is a brand meaning Extra Special Bitter, which includes any English Pale Ale with a 4.8% abv or higher.

Now, the Old Silenus Ale is an English style Pale Ale with an alcohol content of 6.3%, thus an ESB (extra special bitter).  [side note: Indian Pale Ales originally began when the beer being sent to England's colonies (specifically India) was going bad during the trip, so they started adding more hops and creating higher alcohol content in their beers so that they would stay good.  However now, alcohol content ranges in all styles and it is the brewing style and flavor which define its denotation.  So, although the Old Silenus has an incredibly high abv, it is just an ale and not an IPA].  Now Ambear had tried ESB's before and never thought much of them.  This however, was something completely different.

Old Silenus Ale is sweet and very, very malty, with light bitter notes but heavy hop tones.  The astringency of the hops gives this beer a very dry texture.  Although Ambear enjoyed it's uniqueness for a pint, she couldn't imagine ordering another.  However, the atmosphere of Migration was lovely and indulgent.  The food smelled great and the energy kept the conversation happy and relaxed.  A definite place to visit on 28th and Glisan if your ever wandering the lovely Laurelhurst area of Portland.