Barleys J. Scott Francis ESB

Brewed by Barleys Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Columbus, Ohio USA

Date: 10/16/1998
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewfest, Real Ale Festival

copper, wonderful sweet malty aroma with fresh hops, very light body, light bittering. quaffable
-------- /> Date: 03/19/2006
Mode: growler

clear amber, whispy head, light floral hop aroma, light lace, lightly sweet carmel malt flavor, nice long bitter finish,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

Objectively speaking: An alright ESB which I was sure I had mistaken for another when I saw this was one of the USA’s ahemm... the world’s highest rated.
I like: I must say it was possibly the finest glass I had at Barley’s number 1. Nize hazy orange looks. Fitting very lightly carbonated texture. Good balance between sweetness and dryness.
I dislike: Quite one-dimensional, soft and citrusy flavours (think orange) with gentle earthiness from the English hops. Juicy, yet with fair growing bitterness. Quite fresh, but not particularly inspiring, lacking any real fruity developments and avoiding the whole toasty range.

Sampled from a growler shared by kp: Lightly sweet grainy caramel malty aroma has some light floral English hoppiness and mild peat. Pours a clear effervescent light copper bronze with a nicely-lacing frothy white head. Body starts with a grainy earthy toasted malty sweetness nicely-balanced with a floral English hoppy bitterness. A nice, true to style ESB.

Draft at Smokehouse. Poured clear dark amber hue with an average frothy off-white head that Mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate aroma of citrus hops and malt. Medium body. Well balanced flavor of malt and hops with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. This is a standout ESB brew.

On tap: Amber hue with a small frothy head and some lace. Aroma hints of fruit (cherry and apple), aromatic hops, hint of pine, and nutty malts. The taste had a real nice fruity character with good balance of malts and traditional hops. Mild bitter finish with a buttery and creamy mouthfeel, a touch dry. This is a top-notch ESB, easy to drink yet complex enough for the beergeek.

Growler @ KP’s Cellar. Poured a clear copper color with a medium off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, and light earthy hop on the back. Notes of apple flesh when it browns. The flavor is sweet and malty at the start and gives up some fruit in the middle. Pleasant long bitter finish. Light-medium bodied. I would have to say this is a pretty good beer. Especially since I don’t care for this style much.

Cask at the brewpub, 10/23/06: Nice and smooth. Wonderfully deep amber cascade. Hoppy and citric, but fails to carry thru in any meaningful way, especially on cask. Bit of an off-putting sourmash feel.

Tasted at Barley's 4th Annual Robert Burns Dinner & Robert Burns Scottish Export Ale Tapping Jan 25th. Named after the brewmaster at Barley's Smokehouse, you have to be pretty sure of the quality of something to name it after yourself. This is a very good ESB. Dark orangish-brown with a medium off-white head and some lacing. Aroma of floral hops with a little sweet malt thrown in for balance. Flavor is nicely bitter with a great sweet touch at the end. I'm sorry I went so long without trying this.