Climax Extra Special Bitter Ale

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

Just about a perfect beer. Wonderful biscuity malt aroma with a slight hint of fruity esters. Perfect body, mouthfeel, and palate cleansing bitterness for the style. Definitely deserves its place in Michael Jackson’s list of the top 500 in the world!

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.

Almost burnt orange and very clear. Thin head gone fairly soon. Aroma has caramel and light toffee and spicy hops. Flavor begins with malt caramel and toffee flavor. Then the spicy hops appear. The finish is softly bitter, spicy and dry. Good beer and very easy to drink.

Very good traditional ESB flavour, with a strong hop finish. My sample was a little under carbonated out of the growler, but I won’t penalize it for that, as it was the last bit of the growler and I tried there IPA later in the day and the carbonation level was fine.

On tap a Baracade in New York City. I nice example of a ESB, fruity hoppy and malty only 142 of Michael Jackson’s 500 Classics to go.

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

Very good beer by Climax. Great for a cool autumn night. Just wish i could find it in PA!!

Cask at GBBF ’08. Dark copper. Melony aroma, leafy and intriguing. Sweet nettly taste with a lovely bitter finish. The acceptability level of this is exteme.