 Indra (1815), Prairie Village, Kansas, USA
Apr 6, 2008
12oz. bottle. Mild aroma of lightly toasty, sweet, grainy, husky caramel malt, combined with a dose of fruity, herbal, metallic hop. Clear light-medium amber color with a very fine, dispersing head. Flvor does indeed contain a good amount of bitterness in relation to the rest of the flavor components, however it comes through as somewhat harsh and unrefined, mixed with hints of toasty amber malts and vaguely sugary, apple-like fruitiness, finishing dry with touches of pepper and cedar. Thin and sharply effervescent mouthfeel, body is light-medium. Improves a little as it warms. Not very drinkable, though, ultimately.
BückDich (4491), Boise, Idaho, USA
Jul 18, 2008 Bottle: Copper color with light white color and a very sticky lacing. The nose is fruity with green apples and light caramel malt. The flavor is lightly toasty with a mute caramel note. Some metallic notes in the finish and an overall mute experience. Like a cookie without salt.
Guinness4Duff (408), Tallahassee (and Poconos, PA), Florida, USA
Jul 12, 2008 Bottle. Amber pour with a thick white head. Has a sweet caramel malt aroma with some hop spice. Has a roasted flavor with a bitter hop finish. Not bad.
Breworthy (7), USA
does not count  Jul 7, 2008 The aroma for this bitter was oddly sweet, assuredly infused with a fruity hop. More berry and less malt presence brings the aroma down a notch, but not devastating, just a bit unusual for the style.
The appearance is above average, but a bit light and clear for a typical English bitter. The head retention is quite good as it poured well and maintained its prominence.
The beer falls apart when it comes to taste. The berry undertones become overtones when you taste this ale. The bitterness seems to be an afterthought as it is drowned by the other less-subtle noise. Not even particularly bitter for its style, Barons ESB leaves a poor taste on your tongue long after you stop drinking it.
Your palate is rewarded, as the beer is above average for its class. Thick, but not too heavy, effervescence also on par.
Overall, this beer falls pretty far from the mark. In an attempt to try to add something different to their ESB, Barons sours what makes a quality ESB great. Not terrible, but I wouldn’t buy another.
Oakes (6784), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Jul 2, 2008 Bright amber with a thin bubbly head. Very caramelly aroma, but inflated with some spice and stewed fruits. Decent body, lots of caramelly malt and some toast. There’s some fruitiness, a little stewed but with some brighter pear and plum notes as well.
shanepardue (64), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Jun 23, 2008 I like the mix of malts and hops with this ale. This is a good blend of bitterness and sweet flavor. Pours brown with light head. I was surprised to see such a low rating on this beer.
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