Benelux ESB

Brewed by Benelux Brasserie Artisanale
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Montreal, Canada

Serve in English pint

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Plenty of caramel malt in the aroma with notes of light floral hops. Deep, orange-copper coloured body is topped by a low white head that recedes fairly rapidly to ring. Caramel malts are a bit over the top in the flavour leaving it overly sweet with some floral, earthy hops and medium bitterness that can’t quite take the edge off the sweetness. Mild buttery diacetyl is notable as it warms. Strong carbonation is out of place and detracts from enjoyment of this medium-light bodied beer. Fairly typical for the style if perhaps overly sweet. Sampled on tap at the brewpub.

The pour reveals a clear reddish amber color with a thin offwhite head. Good aroma of toffee, earthy malt and hops. The flavor has the same balanced, brittsh feel to it, the earthy malt and toffee are well enjoyable and provide a good counterpart to the floral hops, the finish is dry and bitter. The body is light with an oily texture and lively carbonation. Nicely done.

Draught. Copper-orange body with a small white head. The aroma is faintly fruity and hoppy. Flavour has similar characteristics - sour fruit and abrasive vague bitterness. Not quenching or session-like but reasonably drinkable.

Caramel and malt aroma, deep amber, small white head. Malt taste is prominent, some caramel too. Light bodied, smooth, buttery and pleasantly bitter. Fair.

Pours dark amber with neat fine thick top. Aromatic , clean refreshing hop charcter , citric -grapefruit. Soft body , chewy malts but not as full bodied as it should be. Hop charcter sadly subdued by noticeable creamy charcter of this ale.

Verre de 12 oz, provenant d’un fût, dégusté à la brasserie. Arôme: Odeur de caramel et d’houblons. Apparence: La couleur ets ambrée avec une très faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux pétillant et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel, d’houblons avec une légère pointe d’épices. Courte durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps et la texture sont mince. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence d’houblons en arrière goût. (Rating #614)

A noce coopper color.The bitterness is light. The aroma and taste is of caramel malt with some spiceness. It is your typical English bitter.

Any first impressions?
-A ring of foam circles the deep orange gown.
-In the nose, wooden hops slowly bloom through the fruity, nutty caramel.
-Once tasted, this fruity caramel gently coats the orangey, herbal hoppiness.
-The fizzy carbonation could be alleviated to increase the mouthfeel’s softness, and thus provide more palate comfort.

What if you dig deeper?
-A kind herbal, wooden hop bitterness rises after the swallow.
-Balance is aptly reached.
-A very drinkable keg version of an ESB, but that mouthfeel would definitely be improved by a softer carbonation.

On tap at the brewpub.

Red copper ale with a thin off white head. A sweet malt caramel aroma, with very faint hops. In mouth, a good caramel malt, biscuitty but with too little hops to my taste. Oily mouthfeel. Still a nice and light ESB. On tap at BP Aug. 12, 2006.

Fading off-white head covers the clear auburn hue. Rather unfocused nose that heads here and there, partly bready and eventually rests mostly on almond skin reminiscent flavors. Faint earthiness hides under the rather light malts. Hops remain shy as well, keeping to themselves those whispers of floral/orangey spiciness. Not my favorite of their efforts, that agressive carbonation can’t but attenuate the hop effectiveness and reminds us it’s no hazard that cask conditioning behaves so well with english hops-happy products.