Anderson Valley Boont ESB

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Boonville, California USA

Sampled at Charlotte Oktoberfest ’04. Golden body with a diminishing white head. Highly carbonated mouthfeel - flavor is standard bitter/pale with nice hop touch. Good brew, but give me Boont Amber or Barney Flats anyday.

Fresh hoppy aroma. Sourish mild malty flavor with fruity notes. Hoppy finish.

Not what I am used to in an ESB. Of course I am used to English bitters and this is American. The pour is golden with a huge frothy head. The aroma is of mild hops. The flavor begins with smooth malt and ends with sharp hops. As the beer warms up, the hops shine through even more in a way uncharacteristic of English bitters. I prefer the english style but this is refreshing and tasty none-the-less.

bottled. plain but okay. quite a citric aroma, tasted of orange cordial with a little saltiness in the finish

Frothy, dense head with lacing; light, off-golden color (is there such a color as "off-golden"?); obvious carbonation in body. Dusty, vegetal aromas, some fruitiness. Long bitterness and waves of flavor. Moderate body, much smoother than the carbonation predicts, long finish. (on tap, Clark Street Ale House, Chicago, IL)

12 oz. brown, longneck bottle. No freshness date seen anywhere. Poured out a bright copper color, with a huge off-white colored head at first. It slid back to a thick lacing down the sides of the glass, along with a decent island of foam on top of the beer itself. Aromas are of malts, some slight caramel, hops, and yeasty bread. Tastes are of yeasty bread, malts, and hops. The hops don’t hit you until you almost swallow it, so it’s a kind of delayed effect. It leaves a slight hops burn in the back of your throat as well. Decent bitterness, nothing clubbing you over the head here, which is a nice change of pace. Smooth mouthfeel, but it has prickly carbonation. Bordering on too much for my liking, but not quite there yet. Alcohol is well hidden in both the aromas and flavors. It does sneak up on you though. I didn’t realize this beer is nearly 7% ABV until I re-read the label. Decent enough to be an everyday beer. Finishes bitter, but crisp and clean. Not muddled in any manner. I liked it, you might too.

My new favorite beer.About as well balanced as I could expect. Hops are very present but not overpowering,and the malts are as tasty as can be. I was very pleasantly surprised by this brew,and while it has a nice rating I believe this brew should be rated higher.

Pours a nice hazy orange color. Smells quie hoppy. Has a nice hop kick to it, with a little bit of sweetness. Also has a little bit of a mandarin orange type flavor to it. Really good stuff. This is the kind of brew that makes all the bad brews worth drinking, when you find a little gem like this.