Breckenridge Stranahan’s Well Built ESB

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Draft. Amber, off white head. Caramel sweet, chocolate, toasted malts, light sweet whiskey. Not hot at all, very well put together. Really good.

Had on Draft @ the Houston Saucer during their 12th anniversary party .. . wow, this is very impressive. a good beer by a subpar brewery .. . touch tart .. pure mild bourbon .. light mouth, great aftertaste .. . damn enjoyable, would have loved a few more glasses! .. . . Hey shut up or I’ll wham a stool down your throat...ah no no . I don’t want that on the card. well, let me hear how it sounds ...nah- take it out, take it out!

UPDATED: SEP 5, 2012 Pour out of 750 mL at Josh?s tasting, hazy reddish brown pour with thin white head, aroma has notes of green bean, vanilla, bourbon, hints of oak, earth and tannic notes, slight caramel and earthy toffee as well, interesting. Taste is a mix of sweet vanilla, bourbon, slight hints of oak, nice Stranahan?s notes in there, hints of slight vegetable notes, touch of earth, hints of caramel, earth, toffee, slight spicy yeast, finishing fairly sweet.

Draft at Pony bar HK. Pours a deep murky brown with lots of off white lacing. Aroma is sweet, tasty bourbon - reminds me of watered down angel share. Mouthfeel is medium with notes of sweet caramel candies, toffee, light cocoa, sweet oak, bourbon and a nice light hop finish.

Bottle poured at GABF 2012. Pours a hazy orange-caramel color with an off-white head. Nose is some light caramel and some big whiskey with light fruit and some mild yeast. Flavor is a strange melange of big whiskey with some mild fruit and oak. Light in body and strange overall.

Tap at rackhouse. Clear dark ruby/copper with a thin white head. Sweet malty aroma with rusty notes of oaked vanilla, burnt caramel, and a light char note. Tastes a lot like whiskey but without the sharp or heavy booziness. Charred oak and vanilla, some earthy toffee, light whiskey esters, ending in a earthy cara/toffee tone. Sweet at first, then kinda oaky and dry.
Earlier Rating: 5/14/2011 Total Score: 3
On tap @ The Rackhouse Pub. Murky, whiskey brownish. Equally murky whiskey aroma, with some brown sugar malt tones. Taste was pretty strong bitter malt, like a barleywine, but with a sweet and spicy whiskey finish. Finished somewhat sweet.

Pony Bar, NY tap ($5): Pours an amber/brown with an off-white head. Aroma is whiskey, wood, malts, and a bit of hops. Whiskey dominates this rather fully. It has some ESB coming through, but I would be hard-pressed to even call it that. It ain’t bad. It is interesting, but it is also somewhat gimmicky.

On tap at Flying Saucer Anniversary Party. Pours a cloudy amber with a small beige head leaving spotty lacing along the glass. The aroma is a strong caramel malt and oak. Medium mouthfeel with a rich malt and oak with caramel and whiskey with a strong booze finish. A very well done English strong ale from Breckenridge.

750ml corked and caged bottle (number 2849) poured into an English Pint at 41°. Color is a nutty golden brown with good carbonation and a small fizzy off white head. Aroma is fantastic, rich vanilla, whiskey and oak. It has a medium body giving a smooth mouth feel with a light fizz on the back. Flavor is almost as good as the aroma, the whiskey, oak and vanilla come out rich and sweet, this is balanced nicely with a mild bitterness. In the after taste the oak stands out with a whiskey alcohol feel. Overall I love it, only down fall is after drinking it a while it seems to lean more on the sweet side. Great well balanced flavors and it feels like more then 7.8% ABV.

Sampled in the bomber. Bottle says aged atleast 3 months, not necessarily 6 as stated above. The beer really pulls out the whiskey flavor out of the barrels and the color is deep and awesome. Really quality brew.