Callys Bad Dog ESB

Brewed by Cally’s Restaurant & Brewing Co. (formerly Calhoun’s)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Harrisonburg, Virginia USA

Growler. Deep amber with offwhite head. Really fresh aromas of toasty grain and earhty, piney hops. Flavor is well balanced between lightly sweet grainy malt and bitter, grassy hops. Medium bodied, fairly creamy, with a bit of a lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. A real delight, one of the better offerings I’ve had from Cally’s, and probably the best batch of the ESB I’ve had. Can’t believe I hadn’t rated this one!

Surprised to find I hadn’t rated this yet, even more surprised it wasn’t even in the database. Thanks to Rob for the growler of this at the race! Coppery amber with a decent, small tan head that slowly faded. Aroma was slight pine hops and a bit of caramel malts. Flavor was biscuit and caramel, with a good, balanced hop bitterness, mostly pine with a hint of grapefruit. Enjoyable, drinkable stuff.

On Draft @ Cally’s. Pours an off reddish color with a lemon/pine hop nose. Much milder bitterness than expected. Grassy dry flavor but very good and a beautiful example of hop balance. Best beer I have had @ Cally’s yet.

Draft. Pours reddish/brown with a beige head. Fairly aromatic for Cally’s, I got some potpourri, sweet malt, and the slightest notion of hops. Body is a bit sweet (as are most of Cally’s brews) with some decent hops on the finish to balance. Another solid brew from Cally’s.

On tap at the brewpub on 05/08/2009. Very clear copper body with a medium frothy off-white head. Sweet caramel aroma with some floral and earthy hop notes. Sweet bready flavor, some earthy notes with a bit of a floral hop background. Medium body with moderate carbonation. 6/3/7/3/14 - 3.3 11/05/2007: On tap at Cally’s. Clear ruby amber body with a medium creamy off-white head. Sweet citrus hops aroma with some light caramel. Dry citrus hops flavor, slightly grassy. Smooth bitter finish, medium carbonation. 8/3/7/3/15 - 3.6

Clear copper body with an ok. Slightly malty aroma, not a lot of hops. Caramel in the flavor is reminiscent of the Amber, but not quite as big. Hops show up in the finish in a moderate bitterness. Fairly tasty.

On tap at the brewpub. Light copper colour. Rather restrained aroma, but that could have been down to the serving temperature, which was a touch on the cold side. Lots of hop presence, but its more bitter than aromatic. A bit low on malt character, which perhaps means the balance is not quite spot on. Still an enjoyable and interesting drop.

Served on draft at the brewpub. Pours a clear medium brown color with a large head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel and leafy hops. Taste is bitter earthy hops, caramel and the faintest off note in the finish. Medium bodied.