Lakefront Organic ESB

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Will re-rate if I can find a good bottle. This beer was in a bottle that had been on the shelf for at least a year. The bottle was coated with a sticky dusty layer of crud and I should have followed my instincts and left it in the store. But U.S. beers outside of the Northwest are hard to find. I really like ESBs and this one poured with no life, opaque appearance, and unpleasant smell. I took about three tastes and decided it had gone bad sitting on the shelf. So until I can find a newer example it rates a total of 1.1.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear brown with a foamy tanned head. Malty with hints of caramel. Mildly flavoured. Low carbonation. Bitter finish.

For a bitter, a surprisingly soft beer, with very mild hop characteristics. To a fault, really. It lacks the punch of top bitters.

Pours deep brown, caramel malty flavor. Mild hoppiness. Nothing all crazy, but definitely a decent beer.

I rather enjoyed this brew. It was very fresh when I purchased it so that accounts for this. Well mixed with a golden color and a small frothy head. Aroma was weak and unpleasant, but not unbearable. Flavor was expected with no surprises. A short lived grassy aftertaste accompanied my last couple of sips but it didn’t offset the overall taste.

Appearance: Pours a clear, reddish-brown body with a frothy, medium-sized, white head. Smell: Mild nose of bready maltiness, faint hint of berries, and a spicy hop presence. Taste: Lightly sweet malts with a taste of toasted breadcrusts. Touch of fruitiness. Spicy hops impart a light bitterness. A bit more malty sweetness before a rather abrupt, though crisp finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Somewhat harsh carbonation, I must say. Drinkability: Fairly middle-of-the-road when it comes to the noble ESB style.

Copper color, medium off white head and lively carbonation constantly rising to the top - good looking. Initial sweet wheat aroma and orange that gives way to a cleansing tangy hop smell. Can the organic ingredients be the reason for such high marks in look and aroma? Will it carry over to taste? A tangy hop gives the tongue a fresh bitter flavor that then sweetens, giving this beer the opposite taste sensation than most ESB’s I tried. Palate is just right. This is the best Lakefront beer I tried. Clearly premium ingredients make a difference.

Bottled. Poured clear medium orange with a short cap of beige head. The aroma picked up honey, pine, and pale malts.. slight sour fruit at the back.. sweet overall, a little strange, and not very enjoyable. The flavor had a little more of the sourness along with honey and bready sweetness.. grainy back led to a sticky-sweet finish. Lighter-bodied with an odd array of sweet and sour notes..ugly sticky impression at the finish. Not very good.