Why Breweries Call Bitter “Amber Ale” Nowadays (And Why I’m Not Convinced)

I’ll be honest from the start… this one’s a bit of a gripe. When I was growing up in Yorkshire, ordering a pint of Bitter was simple. There weren’t a hundred craft styles crowding the taps; you had your Bitter and your lager, that was it. I remember the one I drank most, Whitbreads Trophy, being a proper, honest Bitter, and yes, it was more bitter than the lager, just as the name promised. There was no need for fancy marketing, tasting notes, or whimsical names. It was a pint, straightforward and reliable.

Fast forward a few decades, and walk into most pubs today and you’ll see something similar on the menu labelled as Amber Ale. It’s often the same colour, similar flavour, sometimes even brewed by the same brewery, yet now it comes with a new, modern name. And honestly… it grates on me a bit.

A Case of Marketing Over Tradition

Let’s not beat around the bush; this is marketing. “Bitter” apparently doesn’t sell to younger drinkers, or perhaps it conjures up unpleasant associations for someone who doesn’t know their malts from their hops. Bitter sounds… well, bitter. Nobody wants to buy a pint that sounds uninviting.

So enter “Amber Ale”, a name designed to feel classy, approachable, and maybe even exotic. Amber evokes warmth, autumn evenings, a cosy pub fire… whereas “Bitter” sounds like that bloke in the corner complaining about the price of crisps. I get it, I do; I’m not against breweries evolving. But this, to me, isn’t progress. It’s repackaging tradition in a shiny wrapper and pretending it’s something new.

The Beer Itself Hasn’t Always Changed

Here’s the thing… most of the time, the beer itself hasn’t changed one bit. That “Amber Ale” you’re sipping is often just the old Bitter with a new label. Same malt, same hops, same friendly Yorkshire character. It’s just been given a marketing-friendly name.

And that, right there, is what really annoys me. We’re not talking about a new hop-forward IPA or a fruity sour; this is your dad’s Bitter, rebranded to appeal to someone who probably wouldn’t have touched it twenty years ago. The beer doesn’t need help selling itself—it’s been doing fine for decades.

A Little Nostalgia Goes a Long Way

I admit, I’m nostalgic. Bitter isn’t just a beer style; it’s part of our identity. It’s the pint you have after a long week, the one that defines your local pub, the one that your mates know you’ll always go for. It’s part of Yorkshire’s brewing heritage, and when breweries start calling it Amber Ale, it feels like a bit of that heritage is being smothered by trendy marketing.

That’s not to say the world shouldn’t change. I get it, craft beer is exciting, new styles are fun, and breweries need to sell to survive. But there’s a difference between progress and renaming something for the sake of appearances. And this? This feels like style over substance.

Some Breweries Still Get It Right

Thankfully, not every brewery has jumped on the “Amber Ale” bandwagon. Black Sheep, for example, have kept their Bitter properly named and, more importantly, properly brewed. There’s still a place for a traditional Bitter, and pubs that serve it are little bastions of brewing history.

Drinking a Black Sheep Bitter, or even a Trophy if you can still find it, feels like connecting with the past. It’s the taste of the pubs I grew up in, the beer my mates and I argued over as teenagers, and the flavour that shaped my palate. It’s honest, unpretentious, and exactly what a pint should be.

Why This Still Matters

You might think I’m just being a curmudgeon, clinging to old ways. Fair enough. But it’s more than nostalgia. It’s about identity, honesty, and taste. A Bitter isn’t just a beverage, it’s a cultural artefact. And when breweries start renaming it to appeal to “new audiences,” we risk losing the story that comes with it.

Even worse, it confuses people. Ask someone who didn’t grow up drinking Bitter to pick a pint, and they might be fooled into thinking Amber Ale is a completely new style, when really it’s just what we’ve been drinking for decades. That matters if you care about beer culture and heritage.

Progress? Maybe… But Not Here

Look, I’m not against breweries experimenting. I’ve tried enough new styles to know that beer is endlessly exciting. But renaming Bitter to Amber Ale? That isn’t progress in my eyes. It’s change for the sake of appearances, a polite way of telling people “this is trendy now.”

Progress should enhance the beer, not hide it behind a marketing label. We’ve already got exciting new beers, flavours, and styles, there’s no need to rewrite history just to make it sound modern.

What You Can Do

If you’re like me and fancy a proper Bitter, don’t let the trendy labels fool you. Ask the bar staff, look at the brewery’s website, trust your palate. More often than not, that Amber Ale is just a Bitter in disguise, waiting for someone who remembers what it’s really all about.

Seek out breweries that respect tradition. Black Sheep, for example, or any pub that still keeps their classic Bitter on hand pump. Enjoy it slowly, appreciate the balance, and maybe have a little chuckle at the marketing spin that calls it something else entirely.

And if you fancy having a moan while you drink it… well, that’s part of the fun. Grumbling about change with a pint in hand is practically a Yorkshire tradition.

A Final Word

Bitter, in its proper sense, deserves respect. It’s simple, honest, and entirely satisfying. Renaming it Amber Ale doesn’t improve it; it just tries to dress it up for people who don’t know better. And while I’ll happily embrace new beer styles, I’ll never stop enjoying a proper Bitter.

So here’s to tradition, to honest pints, and to the Yorkshire Biter that made us who we are. And next time someone offers you an Amber Ale, just smile, order it anyway, and remember… some things are better left as they were meant to be called.