Foothills Rainbow Trout ESB

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

On tap at the brewery. I really liked this beer. Very well balanced, rich yet fairly hoppy. Probably my favorite from Foothills yet.

From notes 3/21/05: Pours an orangey/caramel color with a fluffy yet still compact head. Lace rings left with every sip. Aromas of brown sugar caramelized in a pan with butter in the makings of a graham cracker crust. Slight fruity esters rise up in slow clouds of aroma. Flavors are smooth and subtle and supple enough to make this a killer session brew. Smooth and again slightly fruity. Caramel maltiness gives way to an understated hop note. Not a razor sharp hop bitterness, but just enough to pierce through the caramelized sugars. Good body to this one. Stellar drinkability. Wished it had a bit more bite to it, but that’s just being nitpicky.

From a half gallon clear glass growler with the Foothills logo on the front and serving and growler care instructions on the back. Made a satisfactory appearance, poured a chill hazy red hued amber with a small fizzy pale tannish head that settled into a fine lacing, medium carbonation overall. Had a sweet roasted, nutty, sugary, caramel malty and earthy, with leaf tobacco qualities, hop nose. A smooth, crisp, ESB light bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Sweet, nutty roasted maltiness with touches of caramelized sugar and earthy hop taste, the sweet nutty, caramel flavors balancing the sharp earthy bitterness, and a earthy and sugary caramel finish. A tasty and very quaffable ESB, sweetly roasted malts and earthy hops are all in balanced, if I lived near Foothills this would a regular with me.

Served on tap at the brewery. Pours a clear copper color with a thin head. Malty aroma with heavy earthy hop notes and some caramel and nuts. Taste is bitter hops with nuts and caramel. Very dry and bitter. Medium bodied.

beautiful clear golden-amber color. little to no head. some thin lacing for a third of the time drinking the beer. little aroma. low-carbonation. a very few bubbles rising to the top constantly. subtle easy bitter flavor, not too strong or shocking. very nutty towards the end. aftertaste almost like a mr.goodbar. very enjoyable.

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.

At bp. Deep amber/brownish pour with gooey white head. Rich sweet malt nose. Rich malt flavor with a very good finishing bitter, mild but lasting. Just a tad thin and carbonation is just a tad fizzy but not bad. Solid ESB with good flavor a crisp clean drinker.

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.