 FlacoAlto (2085), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Aug 23, 2008 A very vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass barely summons forth a bit more than a finger-thick head. The beer is a dark red color that shows a brilliantly clear, pale cranberry hue with just a touch of copper when held up to the light. The aroma is at first quit malt focused with an almost molasses like note. A touch of earthiness is here as well contributed by both the hops and a somewhat overly caramelized malt character (is it starting to show signs of oxidation?). Some slight fruity hop notes are here in the aroma too contributing a mix of light, but sweet citrus and a soft berry note.
Sweet tasting and only slightly carbonated, the beer finishes with an oxidized sherry like note that definitely shouldn’t beer here this soon. A touch of herbal hops, some light bitterness and a touch of berry character struggles to be noticeable through the oxidation and the malt character, that should be so vibrant, is just muted and dead.
Definitely disappointing, this is a fresh to AZ beer as far as I know and should be in much better condition than this. It seems that something likely happened at bottling time with this as it doesn’t even reach an English level of carbonation. Perhaps this is a single off bottle, but at $6 it is hard to justify buying another one to test that theory out.
Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ
notalush (2026), Rawn-kawn-kohma, New York, USA
Jul 31, 2008 Cloudy amber beer, with a very small, fizzy lace - quite a yeasty and bready aroma, with a lot of caramel, toffee, and nutty character, and a soft underlying earthiness - the flavor starts off with moderate fuggles bitterness and strong herbal, tea-like qualities - this quickly makes way for brown sugar, toffee, and hazelnut - some subtle notes of citrus and fruit pulp - yeasty near the finish - there is a nice earthiness to this one throughout, which lends a nice dimension, and makes the beer stand out - very bready at the end - different and interesting.
urbnhautebourg (932), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Jul 7, 2008 Nothing very special here. Caramel predominates, but it has a certain crispness to it which was somewhat interesting. No head. Sometimes I find a real winner in these English ales, with their maltiness and their earthiness, they will present some underlying flavors, subtleties which make them memorable. This beer is not one of those.
jimhilt (1402), Bow, New Hampshire, USA
Jun 19, 2008 Pours a two finger cream head that fades slowly to a thin layer, leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Caramel nose. Flavor is sweet caramel that changes to a slight bitter finish. $4.35 for a 500ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.
heemer77 (3647), Savannah, Missouri, USA
Jun 9, 2008 Hazy deep copper brown body with a light tan head. Marischino cherries and light caramel notes come out at first in the nose. Then you also get some peanuts. Milk chocolate and iced tea are in the flavors. There is also some light hints of orange peel citrus in the finish. A nicely balanced and interesting ESB. More well hopped than many similar beers I have tried.
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