Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (ESB)

Bottled. Hazy amber with a small off-white head. Pretty sweet and malty aroma with citric, flowery hoppiness. A bit thin body with grass and citrus.

Bottle. Deep orange color with an off-white head. Aroma of sweet fruit, american hops, citrus and toasted malt. The taste is bitter and hoppy with a malty and lightly fruity background, notes of grape, apricot and toasted malt. Dry finish.

Pours a hazy apricot body with a respectable almond hued head. Generous lacing on the glass. Aroma of toffee, toasted barley, and subdued grapefruit and pine hops. Taste has a toffee and caramel maltiness balanced by a hop bitterness that is mostly grapefruit but has a hint of pine. Lacks the fruity esters and feel of a topnotch English ESB but is marked by SN’s consistency, quality, and high drinkability.

This one has a tad less hops than other brews by Sierra Nevada allowing some of the malty flavors to show through. The hops will still take over in the end and in the aftertaste but that is a good thing. Excellent brew that is worthy of it’s name.

Clear amber with a fairly large rocky head. Big inviting hoppy citric aroma. Slightly sweet initially with some malty caramel present, but balanced with a decent amount of grapefruit bitterness. An unexpected long dry finish lends this beer a level of nuance that I hadn’t anticipated. Think a decent no nonsense bitter, but with a dash of sophistication and complexity.