Sand Creek English Style Special Ale

Brewed by Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Amber Ale
Black River Falls, Wisconsin USA

12oz bottle. Murky amber-brown color with a patchy fading head. Sweet butterscotch and syrupy hop aroma. A little underwhelming in it’s watery mouthfeel, light carbonation. Displays some respectable hop content, but it’s mostly covered underneath the sticky specialty malts. There are some odd tastes that border on off flavors, particularly the butterscotch. Not really bad, but a touch under par for an ESB certainly.

Pretty standard English ale here, nothing too distinctive. Reddish-brown in color. Median flavor, malt, no spice. Not that great, but not my favorite style, either.

auburn brown pour with a sandy off white head. a foamy film remains for quite some time. the nose is faint... toffee, malt, toasted nuts and spice. the palate is a touch sweet and horribly one dimensional... toasted nuts, caramel, spicy english hops and some faint chocolate. it never changes or develops as it warms. the medium body feels a bit watery... 5/3/5/3/13/2.9

Pretty nice. A dark pour with dense white head. Full-bodied. Has the character of a nut brown, sweet with a lot of caramel to it, just a bit of floral hop in the finish. A little on the sweet side for me, but OK.

Sweet caramel malt character with toffee hints. Lots of english hops with some buttery diace’y notes and some nutty bits and a slight dark fruit essence.

Hazy brown color...slightly opaque. Thin head. Aroma is floral, with just a touch of sweetness...very well balanced. Malty sweet flavor up front. Mouthfeel is a tad crisp. Watered down hop bitterness blends into the back...finish has somewhat of a citrus tang. Quite a well intentioned brew, though definitely a little weak for the style.

12 oz. bottle. Small tan head that fades with very little lacing. Hazy reddish brown color. Sweet on the nose with hints of malt, figs, and bread. Medium carbonation with a medium to light mouthfeel. Tastes of malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, and bread. A little bitterness helps even things out. Contrary to the name, I don’t think there is anything special about this one, but it is worth finishing.

Bottle. Pours with a copper color and a medium head. Aroma is mainly malty and some toffee. Flavor is more malts, some butterscotch and perhaps some spices, almost a faint pine thing going on there. Body is too thin and in total the beer is a tad too watery. Also need some more robust hooping. Average at best.