Barrel House Specialty ESB

Formerly brewed at Barrel House Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Serve in English pint

4 oz. sample at a Barrel House dinner at Teller’s. Nice job to Mike from Barrel House and everyone at Teller’s- another great beer dinner. He was calling this one Specialty ESB at the event, and I emailed him later to verify that this was the same beer. He said he plans to have it on cask again at Dilly Deli in the near future and hopefully other places, as well, but has no plans to bottle it. This one pours a nice clear copper color with a small eggshell white head that leaves a small rim of bubbles inside the glass but otherwise doesn’t coat the beer surface. Aroma of floral hops, caramel, and orange peel. Flavor follows suit pretty well- bitter hops, caramel malts, and a nice orange citrus throughout. Shigadeyo is right to point out the buttery quality early on in this one, but that didn’t last past the first drink for me, even with a smaller sample size. Light-medium bodied, with a mouthfeel that is smooth from the caramel malt but also has a nice bite from the hops and citrus. Nice bitter.

UPDATED: MAY 5, 2009
5/01/2009: Barrel House Bitter has a clear, deep golden/copper color. Its aroma fights between toffee and buttery caramel. The flavor has a nice leafy bitterness paired with a soft maltiness. There is just a hint of buttery toffee malt as well and a pleasing dry bitterness. The buttery quality fades a bit once the beer has had an opportunity to breathe. This beer is a soft and smooth mouthfeel. This is a true pub bitter right here in Cincinnati! This is a great new offering from the brewery, but it does need to be cleaned up just a bit.

Cask sample at Dilly Deli in Mariemont, Ohio. Thanks Peanut! Rating #1 for this beer.