Gardner Xtra Special Bitter (XSB)

Brewed by Gardner Ale House
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Gardner, Massachusetts USA

In short: An earthy yeasty ale with leafy hops. Nice non-ESB session beer.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Cloudy orange-amber body topped by a medium beige head
In long: Earthy woody hops on the nose. Taste of tree bark, earthy caramel, leafy hops, old dirty wet piece of wood, a tiny bit of toffee, forest floor. Body texture is both creamy and fluffy. Unusually yeasty for a so-called ESB. Far from clean and crisp, obviously far from what I’ve come to expect from a ESB. I actually liked that dirty beer, I like dirty beer. Yet I realize that it totally misses the mark as far as an ESB is concerned. A tough one to call. Like most beer it doesn’t have a phone.