Brewery: Outstanding
Location: Bury, England
ABV: 4.4%
Version: Bottled
Source: The Met, Bury

Jo and I were looking forward to yesterday’s evening out at The Met in Bury for more that one reason: mainly because it meant we’d get to see the incredible Eliza Carthy playing live at one of our favourite venues, but also because we’d get the chance to renew our acquaintance with their range of locally-brewed Outstanding beers.

I was hoping for another go at the Outstanding Stout, or maybe their 7.3% hop-monster Pushing-Out, but alas it turned out that most of the range was out of stock, with only Outstanding’s OSB Bitter available. OSB it was then, so I ordered one for starters and another for the interval.

Very nice indeed it turned out to be, too. A light reddish-brown colour, hoppy and sharp with a very clean, refreshing, back-of-the-throat bite and plenty of flavour, even served straight out of the fridge. My interval bottle had been left out a while so I was hoping to sample it a little warmer for contrast, but unfortunately that one had gone off (which happens sometimes). I got the barman to swap it for another and that turned out to be just as good as the first.

My new mission is to find Outstanding OSB on draught. Jo and I are hoping to nip down the Trackside for a couple of afternoon pints tomorrow with a few friends, so fingers crossed. Although failing that, the Trackside’s house-beer – Outstanding Piston Broke – is always a very good, hoppy option. We’ll see what we shall see…