 Ernest (4179), Boulder, Colorado, USA
May 6, 2008
Bottle (batch 001).
Head is initially large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting.
Body is clear light amber.
Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie, caramel), moderately hoppy (flowers, apricot, orange), with a hint of dried mango.
Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter.
Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation.
A damned fine Bitter. As this warmed, I kept waiting for dough, metal, or diacetyl aromas to spring out, but they never did. Refreshingly assertive bitterness of the low-alpha type and thus very clean...virtually perfect balance that makes it extremely hard to stop drinking. Not "exciting" per se (the aroma is attractive, but fairly straightforward), but then again the style rarely is. Remarkably enjoyable to just sit back and quaff...would be a perfect pub offering. Pretty much flawless. Attention to detail was clearly devoted during brewing...not a single rough edge to be found by my senses. Major kudos to the brewer on this one.
TheGrandMaster (1401), Auckland, New Zealand
Jul 19, 2008 Bottle (in NZ), poured a very clear amber with a thick pillowy off white head. Caramal malt on the nose, with some sweet bubblegum notes. Full of hop bitterness on the palate, some toffee malt gets through before the very burnished and drying finish, which has some hints of stone fruits. An interesting ale that doesn’t try to hide anything, got better as it warmed. Hopheads would like this.
kmacphail (18), Isle of Lewis, Scotland
Jul 14, 2008 A beautiful amber brown beer that was only let down by the lack of retention with the cream head that produced. The nose of malts, caramel and toffee with a slight hint of burnt berries. The taste was initially of malts which is followed by notes of toffee, roasted caramel and blackcurrants. Excellent beer, highly recommended for any fan of Scottish beers.
MrBunn (796), Western, Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 13, 2008 Bottle. Pour is an orangish amber with a rather large and fluffy head (off-white). Aromas are floral and fruity hops with a bit of a bready malt presence. Flavor is an interesting mix of the above with just a touch of pine/resin that makes itself known in the finish. At times it seems a bit watery, but at other times it comes off as full enough for me. I think this is due to the somewhat thin mouthfeel and the underwhelming malt presence, but all in all, it’s pretty good. No where near good enough to justify the price here in the states, though. (I paid $7 for a bomber, but that was on sale... down from $11 or something like that).
bhensonb (2720), Woodland, California, USA
Jul 13, 2008 Bottle from Ledgers. Light amber color with a decent off-white head, which does a bit of spectacular lacing. Aromas of bread and fruits. Tart citrus as the glass approaches the lips. Medium body with creamy carbonation. Flavors are amazing. Biscuit, stone and berry fruits, and lots of floral hop. Almost burns my tongue. Not a DIPA, rather a really brilliant* ESB. Amber a.. my a.. /*bloody brilliant beer states the label
kwoeltje (1177), Manchester, Missouri, USA
Jul 10, 2008 (bottle) light amber/dark gold with generous white head and nice lace. Floral/herbal aroma. Bready malt, hints of fruit, and a nice floral/citrus hops finish. A really solid amber ale.
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