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Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (ESB)

Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (ESB) - Premium Bitter/ESB

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 Percentile 
81
overall
Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB

Chico, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
7223.39/5.03.38/5.0Spring5.9%90.8English pint
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Commercial Description:
Our ESB blends the best of English tradition with the boldness of West Coast style. A blend of malts featuring British-grown Maris Otter is balanced with the earthy spiciness of hand-selected English and US hops. The ale is left unfiltered which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish copper hue.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
Unibonger (28), Mount Shasta, California, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/105/57/104/517/20
Oct 31, 2009  
Lovely hazy amber color when poured, light head retention. Nice balance of the malt and hops on the nose. Very mild ale, the hops and malt don’t over power each other, with hop being the last on the tongue. Good level of carbonation and mouthfeel.


 travita (1851), Frisco, Texas, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/513/20
Oct 26, 2009  
Dark golden to orange in color with an off white head. The smell is malts, floral, fruits, hops, and earthy. The taste is about the same as the smell.


 NJBeerman013 (761), Trenton, New Jersey, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/513/20
Oct 18, 2009  
Bottle. Rich copper in color, very floral, malty aroma, spicy, hoppy, some malt flavor. Medium body and a crisp, clean finish.


 Fratto (662), Arlington, Texas, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/512/20
Sep 19, 2009  
On tap at the Gingerman Fort Worth. Faint yet pleasant smell, great taste, nice aftertaste. Surprising.


 DarkSong (101), Dacula, Georgia, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/515/20
Sep 4, 2009  
12 oz bottle. Pours a cloudy yellowish orange with a medium sized white head. Smells of hops, caramel and candied orange. It has a strong earthy hop taste, a pine taste, flower taste and a caramel taste. I thought this was a very good beer.


 Cletus (4999), Connecticut, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/514/20
Aug 31, 2009  
Pours gold with a thin white head. Smells of roses, toasted malt, caramel, some earthy hops. Tastes earthy and sweet with some floral notes on the finish.


 williamherbert (420), Syracuse, New York, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/518/20
Aug 30, 2009  
This is the 2009 version... Hazy and still golden orange. Thin, but leaves an icy lace. Tiny specks sit motionless within. The thickness and white top look great. The smell is nice, bready malt backbone with some crisp, flowery hops. Almost pilsner-like. Sharp hops, though a little weak. The hops are more woody than expected, but still mild. Well-balanced. Very sweet and buttery caramel and honey flavor at the tail-end. Nice sweet-bitter balance. The feel is thick and creamy feel. Very smooth and honey-like. A very mild, sweet (but hoppy beer). Smooth and easy sipping. Diggin’ it a lot; better than the sum of its parts.


 shigadeyo (2210), Harrison, Ohio, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/512/20
Aug 22, 2009  

2009 Vintage

8/22/2009: Sierra Nevada ESB (Early Spring Beer)... Aroma: Toffee maltiness and caramelized sugar combined with mostly earthy and slightly floral hops. Appearance: ESB-like appearance of orange-amber color with a minimal off-white head; cloudy; moderate carbonation. Flavor: Tofee malt extract, undertones of additional roasted/darker malts; a heavy-handed amount for bitterness and very earhty, almost herbally hops. Palate: Medium-bodied, average mouthfeel, carbonation comes through a bit more than I would have liked, but it isn’t over-done. Overall: Very much like a traditional ESB; quite solid and flavorful, but easy to forget; kind of reminds me of beginner homebrew though...

12 fl. oz. bottle (Alc. 5.9% by Vol.; 9021C13 47) from The Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky. Rating #716 for this beer.



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