Brownings Louis XVI Guillotine ESB

Brewed by Brownings Brewery
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Pours light amber with a big off white head. Aroma is sweet and malty, with caramel notes coming through. Taste is nice and malty, with a slight bitter finish as well as a slightly sour flavor at the end. Not a bad brew.

I picked up a bomber of this at Wise Guys in Merrillville, IN. It pours a very slightly hazed copper body with an off-white head and good lacing. It has an aroma of old toffee topped by some herbs and dried flowers. Medium bodied. Nice malty taste offset by an earthy bitterness but with a slightly soured touch at the finish.

Bomber. Nice, reasonably English nose, a little Spaghetti-ish funk with caramel, nuts, brown sugar, and a syrupy dark earthy malt. A little dusty. Hazy, gradient, pale amber with a lovely, creamy beige head - rocky and stylable. Taste is lightly bittersweet, dryish with earthy bittering hops and a lot of character from the yeast. Body’s a bit thin and the malt has seemingly disappeared, but for a dusty, dry, lightly toasted flavor, you can’t go wrong with this hop-foward session.

Bomber at Jerry’s. Muddy dark gold with big, floatsam off-white head / Faint hop nose / Light to medium body, lively but delicate carbonation, with long and dry finish / Complex, Belgian-like flavors of brett, dried mushrooms, and dry hops, with long and dry, lightly bitter finish / Surprisingly outstanding - blind would guess a farmhouse ale.

(Sampled 7-14-08 at brewery) Transparent light amber in color, small aroma of malt and hops, some lacing noted. Hits the mouth with high-medium body, malt is light on the tongue, very light sweetness in the middle, hard hop on the finish. Not brewed to style- mild letdown.

Name: ESB
Date: 07/26/2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Nashville

light amber, fhothy white head, light sweet malt aroma, light carmel malt flavor with the perfect level of esb hops, light bitter finish

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Score: **4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Draft. I have always enjoyed ESBs that exhibit a balanced presentation of malts and hops. Brownings ESB rendition leans heavily toward the bittering hop side, or at least this batch did. It was more similar to an American pale ale than an ESB. Small, creamy, off-white head. Clear, amber body. The nose presented grapefruit and orange peel with other notes of flowers and grass. The flavor was midly sweet and heavily bitter and lightly acidic. Medium body, moderate carbonation. This was just too overpowering on the hop side.

Draft @ the Jazz Factory: Murky amber pour with a sparse white head. The aroma is harsh with heavy hop resins - grass and perfume overpower the suble caramel notes. The insane bitterness continues in the body, with an onslaught of fresh cut grass, sour grapefruit and citrus rind. There is a nice layer of flowery hops and honey malts beneath, but the bittering hops simply take over. A bit out of whack for me.