 Ansset13 (121), Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
Mar 1, 2008
The pour is a nice dark straw color, with about 1 and a half finger white head. The nose is of floral hops, and hints of sweeet malts. The flavor is smooth and layered with hops and slight citrus tones. A decent brew.
oh6gdx (5857), Vaasa, Finland
Aug 24, 2008 Bottled (thanks omhper!). Deep golden colour, small white head. Aroma is hops, grass and some fruits. Flavour is fruity and grassy hops. Quite earthy and caramelly too as it warms up a bit.
BillWyce (16), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Bottle poured into English pint. Aroma of
citrus and a little pine. Poured cloudy
amber with a decent head. At first the
taste is a littly hoppy with a kind of
fizzy palate where the hops lingers on
the tongue a bit. As it warms, it seems
to lose a lot of the hops and it takes on
more of an earthy, malty tone. Not an
all-star, but a good beer that’s a solid
choice for hot weather.
Beer_Hawk (694), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Aug 20, 2008 Draft @ Flying Saucer - Nashville. Amber in the glass with an off-white head. Sweet floral aroma. Malt caramel flavor backed with hops and light spices. Light to medium body.
Blom (641), Odense, Denmark
Aug 19, 2008 Copper coloured with a dense head. An aroma of pine forests and tropical fruits kindle my interest at once. It doesn’t excactly smell British, but more like an American Pale Ale. The flavours are bitter like grape fruit and citrus, but with a nice malty contrast in the form of cookies and toasted white bread. It’s hard to spot any flaws in this ESB!
shalloWMeans (113), Florence, Kentucky, USA
Aug 17, 2008 This well hopped version of a classic British ESB, when poured, is a lively copper orange- the color of a spring sunset. This is topped with a creamy head and a light unfiltered haze. In the aroma, an immediate hop presence brings tangerine, ripe mango and grapefruit notes. It’s fresh, energetic, and vibrant with an undercurrent of toasty sweet malt. The taste is a perfecto balance of sweet and dry, though the hops are a lot more over-the-top than a normal ESB (not a surprise coming from Sierra Nevada). There is a very fullfilling malt presence in the mix, bringing a slight hint of breadiness, but again, the hops dominate, bringing a tropical pineapple and citrus tang to the beer, leaving an "extra bitter" mouthfeel that’s creamy yet sharp, exciting and energetic. This makes for a very appetizing ESB. As the beer warms it seems to lose a bit of it’s bitter hop edge and gain a bit more fruity malt. Great for spring or summer drinking as intended. Not entirely representative of the style, it’s more like an APA. Overall though, I give this beer an 8/10 for drinkability, which I suppose is really what a good premium bitter is all about.
|
