Schmohz Treasure Chest ESB

Brewed by Schmohz Brewing Co.
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Draft sample at brewpub. Poured clear dark amber hue with medium frothy head that diminshed slowly with good lacing. Medium aroma of hops and malt. Medium body. Well balanced flavor of malt, hops and citrus with a small bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good drinkable brew.

Draught. At 2006 Michigan Brewers’ Guild Festival. Poured clear bubbly copper with a small white head. Soft, slightly grainy mild dry hop aroma, a little citrus zest to give some zing to the lightly toasty malt backbone. Tasted just like a classic bitter should - a little sweet, mildly herbal hops, a little astringent kick in the pleasant quick finish - just the thing to finish off a great afternoon of beer tasting.

On tap at Schmohz. Deep red-brown body, medium buff head. Butterscotch-dominated aroma. Ugh. A bit of toast beneath the diacetyl. The flavor profile was ruined by obscene buttered popcorn, overwhelming the earthy hops notes. It’s too bad they’re serving such a flawed keg at the pub. The other ratings suggested promise, but my rating is generous for the corrupted waste that made it to my pint glass.

12oz Bottle. Aroma is faint and gives forth a mix of paint, dark toast, moldy grains, and molasses. Confused, it is. There might be some caramels, but there might also be a heap of diacetyl. Pours a lightly hazed ruddy-amber, dark, with a soft, frothy lace in mauve. Flavor again present an overwhelming lactic tang. Was this made with sour malt too? A puckering, lightly sweet estery mess. That sourness is just not welcome. Malts run away and there’s a palpable rich dust character to the back end of the beer. Some faint nuttiness can’t even begin to compete with the weird tang and dust in this beer. Problematic.

On tap at Schmohz Brewing Company. Reddish copper with a medium tan head. Aroma of sweet toasted malt, fruit and toffee. Taste of fruit and malt with some light citrus mixed in, though most of the flavors were very muted. Finishes up a little dry with low bitterness.

Reddish pour with creamy tan head. Aroma is sweet, lightly spicey, with some fruit. Flavor of sweet malts, fruit, and spice. Watery, flabby mouthfeel. Decent to drink.

12oz bottle from Party World on Alpine, Grand Rapids, MI. Cloudy reddish-copper color with small, creamy tan head. Aroma is sweet biscuit and toasted malt, light fruit, slight alc. Flavor is sweet biscuit, slight alc, fruit, some chalk, actually fresh tasting spicey, herbal hops and graininess. Light and watery body. A little too sweet for the style but tasty.

on tap at Schmohz..reddish copper body with minimal white head..aroma of grass, grain, stone (largely earthy), and finishes slightly sweet...flavor is very similar with a lemon kick that complements the sweet, berry-like malts...nice