SKA Special ESB Ale

12oz can. Pours a clear, slightly burnt orange colored body with a finger-width, white, creamy head that dissipates slowly and leaves a good amount of drippy lacing. Aroma is moderately sweet caramels and crystals with some pineapple, orange, and apricot. A light cookie malt, some dough, and a light floral hoppiness. Flavor is flowery sweet malts with a distinct crystal. Bready with an apricot fruit and some citrus pineapple and orange. An almost watery caramel with a bit of an earthy bitterness. Finishes with some sweet crystal malts, bready apricots, and a watery toast. Dry after a lighter body with a long lasting, sweet bitter aftertaste. Overall, an interesting ESB. It has a lot of crystally bitterness, but at the same time it has a slightly watery caramel. I like the bitterness and hops, but it could use a little more base malt backing without so much bread.

Sampled at a Mead, Cider and Beer Tasting sponsored by Binny’s Beverage Depot in Glen Ellyn, IL. Poured from a 12 oz. can to my wine/sampler glass a clear amber with a bubbly, white foam and decent lacing. The aroma was caramel malt and some sweetness. The flavor was similar adding a moderate hop bitterness, with good carbonation, medium to light body and a light, dry finish. A decent, sessionable ale.

Caramel-amber with good, creamy tan head / Nose of cooked citrus, caramel, and dry hops / Medium body, creamy, with good balance but weak finish / Metallic, mild, flavors of cooked grapefruit, caramel, and dry hops / A fair esb, marred by the metal flavor of the can.

Can Pours amber with an off white head. Aroms is malt, and sweet tea. Flavor is caramel malt, light btterness, and some harshness.

Special thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing this bottle with me.
12oz can. Orange color. Aroma of navel oranges. Flavor is smooth. Aroma of burlap sack. Flavor of sweet smooth malt. Crisp, clean, and mellow. Very sessionable.

Pours a copper color with a rather minimal diminishing head. The aroma contains small hints of caramel and some bread, though their really isn’t much in the aroma in general. The flavor also contains slight hints of caramel, unlike other better ESB’s. It’s rather light with not much in the way of taste. Hardly a beer I’ll ever buy again.

Can pours a hazy honey amber body with a small offwhite head. Aroma of toasted biscuit and spicy hops. Taste mirrors aroma, with toasted caramel malt, a hint of honey, spicy hops, and a hint of ripe pear. Nicely constructed, and spot on for style. Sessionable.

Amber pour with an off-white head. Malty aroma and hops. Nice flavor=soft carbonation, malt, a little hops. Leaves a nice mellow aftertaste. Easy drinking. Nice lacing on the glass.