is one of England’s most important real ale breweries and the only brewery to have won the Campaign for Real Ale’s Champion Beer of Britain five times with three different beers. See campaign for real ale (camra) Situated by one of London’s busiest junctions, brewing has taken place on the site of the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, southwest London for more than 350 years. John Fuller became involved in the brewery in 1829 and was joined in 1845 by Henry Smith and John Turner, forming Fuller, Smith & Turner, as it is known today.

The brewery’s first CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain winner, Extra Special Bitter (ESB; 5.5% ABV), was launched in 1971, though it was first brewed in 1969 as a seasonal beer known as Winter Beer, replacing a beer named Old Burton Ale. A strong, highly complex beer, it is brewed from pale ale and crystal malts and a heady blend of Target, Challenger, Northdown, and Goldings hops.

ESB followed in the tradition of many British brewers of producing a stronger, richer, mouth-warming beer for consumption during the winter months. However, it quickly became established as a bottled beer available year around. Both pub goers and judges took to ESB, and it won CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain in 1978, 1981, and 1985. Fuller’s has also won that coveted title for two other beers, Chiswick Bitter (an “ordinary bitter” at 3.8% ABV) and London Pride (a “best bitter” at 4.1% ABV).

In the United States, ESB has come to denote a class of beers, which are high in alcohol and full of hop flavoring, but without the assertive hop character of an India Pale Ale. It is said that many of America’s craft brewers were inspired to start breweries by their experience of drinking Fuller’s ESB in England. See extra special bitter (esb). As an experiment, Fuller’s’ head brewer in 2010, John Keeling, has been storing ESB and other of the brewery’s beers in oak whiskey casks, which produces luxurious, smoky, peaty flavors.

Since 1997 the company has annually produced a limited edition bottle-conditioned barley wine called Vintage Ale that is brewed with different malt and hops each year. Fuller recommends laying down the Vintage Ale for several years before drinking it. Also of note are the bottle-conditioned strong ale Fuller’s 1845 and a creditable London porter.

Beer aficionados credit Fuller’s with maintaining a strong interest in cask-conditioned beers, even through years when sales of cask beer have waned. Fuller’s has displayed considerable ambition in recent years, and in 2005 bought the brewery George Gale & Co. of Horndean, closing the brewery and acquiring Gale’s’ brand, along with its tied estate of 111 pubs. See george gale & co. ltd.

See also cask-conditioning.