Thames Welsh ESB

Brewed by Felinfoel
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Llanelli, Dyfed, Wales

From a shaped 16.9 oz. narrow neck brown bottle with a blurb about the ESB on the side of label, no bottled/freshness date. Made a very good appearance, poured a hazy red hued brown with a large, pillowy, clingy pale tannish head that settled into a thin foamy, bubbly lacing, good carbonation. Had a toasted caramel and toffee malt nose along with a dark, fig fruitiness. A smooth medium bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Woody, toasted malts taste at first, caramel and dark fruity with soft metallic notes, semi-buttery, a crisp, mellow bitterness and a sweet toasted, fruity finish. A very nice ESB from Felinfoel, well worth seeking out.

On tap at Mahars. Aroma is grren apple. Pours very pale with some nice lacing. Flavor is green apple skin, but with some nice hops mixed in, not bad.

Amber beer. Long lasting head. Nose is all rotten green apples. Slight toffee. A nutty caramelized sugar smell. Flavors are all nutttiness to begin with. Some cotton candy sweetness accomapnies but not overpowering. Not much bitterness. Finish is dry and tinny. Excellent beer. I like Felinfoel a lot.

Pint bottle from BevMo. Pours hazy chestnut color with a moderate beigey head and spotty lace. Toasty malts prominent in the aroma, earth and herby hops as well. Toasty malts also in the flavor, grass, herbs, hint of lemon and astringent hops. Light to medium body and gentle carbonation.

Pours red to caramel colour. Tight tan head, but it laced out rather quickly. Aroma was inoffensive and unchallenging, but nice. I don’t exactly know what defines a Welsh ESB, but the taste of this one was quite mild. All over mild. Mild malt taste that was heavy enough to make it have a pleasant mouthfeel, but no "whoa!" in the body or initial taste. Hops taste was slow to come out. Like hot food that builds to a steamy finish with layers of spice with each mouthfull, this beer built it’s bitterness over successive sips. And gulps. It gulps well. Nice at the end of the bottle, and I wish I had another. A good session beer, IMHO. Very low carb, a pleasant surprise.

I don’t think i will ever have an ESB better than fuller’s, but this aint half bad. Has a smooth palate and flavor. Has a sweet malty flavor but is really lacking in the bitterness. But, it goes down easy and aint half bad. If they added some more hops, it would probably balance out much better.

Pours a brownish color with a thick tan head. Aroma of fruits, caramel and malts. The flavor has a sweet taste, not as bitter as I would like. It’s an ok beer but a little too sweet for my liking.

Red body. off white head. Almost fruity nose. Caramel and fruits, hops mixed in for taste. Not bad.