Middle Ages Beast Bitter

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Syracuse, New York USA

Bottle. Pours gold, head fades fairly quickly. Aroma is very subtle hoppiness, though fairly weak for the style. Maybe some floral aroma. Flavor is surprising--starts out bland, but builds in complexity as it passes over the tongue. Spicy hoppiness and smooth malt pop right out to make this a very enjoyable beer.

Pours a fairly clear copper gold color. Rather pretty as the light refracts through the glass. Foam head that dissolves to a thinner island-like film in the glass. Nose is almost non-existent with just a slight hop presence. Flavor is dead-on English bitter. Not heavy on the malts or hops until the finish when the hops just rise out of the back of the throat and waft to the forefront of the tongue. And then a water cracker-like finish comes out to balance off the bitterness. Fairly light body and nice to drink on a warm evening.

Bottle. Yuck! Diacetyl bomb! I haven’t had a beer this bad in awhile. Poured a clear amber body with nice head. Aroma is cheap buttery popcorn. Flavor was bad popcorn that was tough to swallow. Drain Pour.

Poured a clear effervescent amber with a fizzy/frothy white head. Aroma of grassy hops, bit of fruitiness, and some buttery diacetyl. Flavor follow with a mild dryness with some grassy hops, a bit of dry toffee, though a tad stale tasting, a bit of citrus, and a touch of diacetyl. Normally I can’t stomach anything wtih diacetyl, but there’s only a little here so it remains tolerable. Overall ok I guess, but would be at least more drinkable if some of the flaws were addressed.

April 18, 2007; 12 oz. bottle sampled in a shaker. Coppery pour with creamy, long-lasting white head that clings to the glass. Aroma is sweet and hoppy, much like a IIPA, only weaker. Flavor is sweet & sticky, but the main attraction is hop bitterness, which stays on the palate and garners an extra point in that department, despite the somewhat watery mouthfeel. Not "top-shelf", but another very respectable brew from Middle Ages.

12oz - Copper colored liquid under fleetign tan head, mostly hops on nose. There is a weird strange vegatable smell in there too, like celery or lettuce. Watery mouthfeel, very little flavor at all. Forgetttable.

She’s mild mannered. Her body’s a bit on the thin side. She smells pretty good. She has some residual bitterness. But wait, we are talking beer... Nice clear peachy amber gold coler, next to no head. Slightly off white lace clings to the glass. Hops taste hits you up front with some fruitiness like apricot. A touch of honey. Residual hoppiness is nice. Refreshing and almost but not quite smooth.

12 oz bottle courtesy of Leopoldstoch. Dark orange with a finger of bubbly white head. Citrus notes, tastes very much like a toned down ipa, very drinkable and easy on the palate.