Foothills Rainbow Trout ESB

Brewed by Foothills Brewing
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA

Another solid effort from Foothills. Smells malty as all get out, pretty well-balanced and all that. Had this at the Raleigh Mudcats game on Wednesday night.

Part of a draft sampler from the brewpub. Maroon with a small white head. Malt, yeast, and mild bitterness on the nose. Nicely blended sweet malts and citrus hops pushes this ESB closer to an IPA, which in my opinion is a good thing. Not a fan of this style, but this one’s pertty tasty.

Spicy, nutty, and floral. Prevalent carbonic bite. My least favorite of the sampler.

On tap at the brewery. A deep burnt amber color with a light tan head. Dissolves into a thickish rimming. The nose has a little yeasty apple scent and a light bitterness. The flavor is relatively mild. Some musty caramel and a touch of flowery hops peek through, though the actual bitterness is mild. A nice oily body. A decent, but not great ESB.

Had a big sample of this at the WBF thanks to Rich. I’m thinking this guy is a little underrated. Pours a nice copper amber. As is with all Foothills it puts forth a great hop profile in both the nose and flavor. Citrusy, nice balance, solid body. Another great beer by Foothills.

Tried on site in Winston-Salem. Rainbow Trout ESB came out with coppery brown color. A clear color with a bronze glow that was especially noticeable when held to the light. A great head retention and decent lacing, although both did not last throughout the tasting. The smell was noticeable with a good representation of more earthy and toned down hops. Some limited malt aromas with more base scents then anything. The taste was good. A bit of a surprise with more complex malt tastes then the smell would indicate. I could taste some limited crystal and lighter roasted malt flavors. Gave it more of a bready quality to it. The malt was present at front but mixed at the end with some toned down hops. Although the hops were not very strong and were overshadowed by the malt. What taste at the end was slightly fruity. The beer had a medium body. I think I would have liked to see more balance between the malt and hops but overall it is a still an enjoyable beer. It suppose to be an ESB but it still could be a good English Pale.

I love ESBs and think they’re generally underrated... but such is the case with most session beers. This has nice hop and malt balance. Definitely bitter, maybe a bit too much so. Lovely off-white creamy head atop a reddish amber body. Solid.

Draught. Pours reddish brown with a small head. The nose is sharp with nuttiness, distinct caramel, and a fair amount of woody hops. A biscuit note is highlighted in the flavor with a bit of honey. The level of sweetness is appropriate and the hops work nicely on this one. I usually don’t enjoy ESB’s at all, but this one was drinkable enough.