Editing Pale ale (section)

===English bitter===
{{Main|Bitter (beer)}}
[[Image:Page 24 Pale Ale beer.jpg|thumb|150px|A French craft version of an English-style pale ale]]

The expression ''English bitter'' first appeared in the early 19th century as part of the development and spread of pale ale.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://allaboutbeer.com/article/bitter-ordinary-and-special/|title=Bitter, Ordinary and Special|newspaper=All About Beer - Beer News, Reviews, Events, and Education|date=November 2004 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> Breweries tended to designate beers as "pale ales", though customers would commonly refer to the same beers as "bitters". It is thought that customers used the term ''bitter'' to differentiate these pale ales from other less noticeably hopped beers. Drinkers tend to loosely group modern bitters into "session" or "ordinary" bitters (up to 4.1% abv), "best" or "special" bitters (between 4.2% and 4.7% abv) and "strong" bitters (4.8% abv and over).{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}