AleSmith Anvil ESB

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
San Diego, California USA

In the bomber bottle at The Local in SD. Pours a cloudy light brown with a thin white head. Surprisingly, there’s just not much here. Low carbonation, nearly flat. Fruity sweet aroma and flavor. Very smooth palate, but overall, a boring disappointment.

the flavor is terrific, but it’s just a little watered down. quite malty though really balanced all around. not as good as Fuller’s, but only for lack of power.

Cask-conditioned 6/9 @ the San Diego Real Ale Festival (Pizza Port Carlsbad). Pours a deep copper color with an off-white small creamy head that diminishes slowly leaving nice lacing. Hoppy aroma is fruity and spicy as well as the flavor leaving a mild bitter finish. Very drinkable!

"Different. Poured an amber color with good head and laced well. Aroma was fruity and caramel. Flavor was the same with some yeast and vegtables? Good beer not amazing. "

Poured an amber color with a generous initial head that laced fairly well. The aroma was light fruits, caramel, and something herbal or musty. Flavor was much the same with a bit of toffee and yeast. The mouthfeel was moderate to light moderate and this one was pretty drinkable. Good stuff, but not outstanding.

I would buy this in kegs if I could, it’s just that good. I’ve really begun to love the ESB style and this may be the tastiest example so far. Almost copper in colour. This is nice and creamy with lots of fantastic sweet malt flavours. I think maybe some caramel or chocolate in there with a bit of a toasty note. There are some fruits in there, maybe a bit of apple - something I haven’t sen much of. This is really just a fantastic beer filled with great flavours, a bit of bitterness that balanced it out well.

Thanks to Foolish Mortal for this one. Pours hazy deep copper/ruby with minimal head. The aroma is caramel malty, with some brown sugar and subdued hops and fruit. The palate is complex and well balanced, but the whole thing left me somewhat uninspired. This beer caused me to conclude that my upper limit for this style is probably around 3.8 or so. If Alesmith can’t get this style above 3.6, then no one can.

Not much head, but nice, prolonged soapy lacing. Bottle pour. Conditioned in the bomber. But if you pour a settled bottle, the pour is crystal clear, albeit not copper or amber colored, but a dark red. Cocoa and raisins in the nose, maybe some coffee behind that, all malt. I am tempted to make a bold statement that AleSmith is the best brewery ever. Even though I don’t care for their Speedway, I can appreciate that every brew they produce is done with a lot of thought and precision. Each aroma nuance is a revelation, and then you get some surprising aftertaste, or a sneak of banana or date or peach...these guys know not only what they are doing, but how to twiddle and tweek already established styles. This ESB is not like British ESBs, although on the label they would want you to think it is a tribute to said style. Tthe malt characteristics are so rich, the chocolate and even mocha tones...thats not in a Fuller’s or any Brit ESB. There is a distinct lack of over-hopping, which some might argue is an irritatingly obvious trait in other styles of SD beer (I won’t argue that point even with a gun to my head, but I’ve heard it), but at the same time, one has to wonder why a brewery in the heart of over-hopped IPA-land is putting out an ESB that is all malt with only the most subtle of hop bits mixed in.. All I know is that this is one fine brew...maltier and roastier than you should expect from an ESB, but all the same enjoyable and entirely drinkable. Sweet, sweet, and sweet again.