Climax Extra Special Bitter Ale

Brewed by Climax Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Roselle Park, New Jersey USA

Growler. Small head. Aroma is very present with lots of fruitiness and slight underlying malty biscuity aroma. Very sweet and nice indeed. Taste is a bit of a disappointment. A bit watery with the faint fruitness. Lacks the maltiness i enjoy in this style. But a clean, easy drinking ESB.

From growler. Orange/copper.amber, with a white head. Subdued aromas of malt, hops, and fruit. Flavors are malt, fruit, hops, and a bit of honey. Not too bitter or too sweet.

Draft. Decent aroma with a huge head that stayed. Decently balanced taste with a slight sweetness to it. Not as bitter as I had hoped.

Draught pint at Redbones on 8/8/06.
Copper-amber colored, somewhat on the lighter side of things, with light cherry red hints and a small, neat, off-white head that recedes eventually to ring. Medium-high to high clarity.
Very little aroma to be had, and I don’t blame Redbones, because their lines are immaculate and the bar was empty at this time. Some very slight wafts of fruits, honey malts, touches of dough and some soggy, soily, grass-like hoppiness. I suppose ESBs don’t have to have a striking, clear nose of hops and vibrant yeast, but this one just seemed dull and vaguely fruity, with some sugars behind that.
Flavor was certainly not dull, however. Large malt presence, nutty-sweet, light sugars and light caramel malts all arranged in harmony. But there dosent seem to be enough balance here. It seems the attenuation level and lack of hop balance just serves to fatigue the palate after a while. Yeast dosent seem all that fun, either. Well-malted, supportive body, but I can’t find much else to say about it. Low carbonation, no alcohol present. Somewhat of a mineral character.

This was the 3rd beer I had at the LI Beer Fest, not bad all, but I can’t recall specs. Had a nice light amber colour, and a semi hoppy - sweet aroma.

On tap at the LI Beer Festival. Pours a medium orange with a decent head. Aroma of caramel and malt. Malt also comes through in the flavor. An almost buttery mouthfeel at the start. The finish is drier and more fruity from the hops. Good stuff.

Enjoyed this one at the brewery on a very enjoyable tour with brewmaster Dave Hoffman. Dave is a traditionalist, and believes in brewing up authentic beer styles, and stays within those stylistic guidelines. His ESB is a classic example of the style, with a fantastic balance of malt, fruity esters, and hops. This beer is available on draught and in half gallon growlers in markets in NJ, NY, and PA. Climax ESB pours to a beautiful, bright, deep amber to chestnut color, with a thick, creamy, white head, and a moderate to soft amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is fantastic, with lots of good pale, nutty, and biscuity malt aroma, paired with fragrant flowery/grassy hop aromas. The palate is soft, with good pale, sweet, nutty, and biscuit malt flavor, paired with nice touches of juicy, estery, ripe fruit. This beer ends with more good pale and sweet malt, then ends, with a very pleasing, mild hop bitterness that cuts the cloying malt character, and balances this beer to perfection. Balance truly defines this beer, and makes this one of the most impressive Premium bitters I have ever tasted. The ultimate session brew, fresh on draught or in the growler, you could pound this beer with impunity. This beer has such flavor, yet such drinkability. Exceptional domestic example of an English classic. A must if you ever find yourself in a market where Climax beers are sold.

on tap-pours an offwhite head with copper/orange color. Aroma is malt, caramel, nutty, secondary hops. Taste follows, nice. Good carbonation