smcolw (314), Wayland, Massachusetts, USA Aug 22, 2009 Good head that leaves chunky lace. Slightly hazy; light amber color.
Fresh hoppiness; light, dry malt.
Creamy malt start that gives way to a solid amount of hop. Classic ESB. Smooth body but it’s still spritzy. Great malty finish, although it is short lived. The aftertaste leaves some mildly bitter hop. An above average ESB.
DonBirnam (46), Wellington, New Zealand Aug 22, 2009 Orangy amber colour. Biscuty/bready aroma with a slight fruitiness. Caramel/biscut malt up front with a sight bitterness to finish. Very smooth on the palate. Very sessionable, could drink 3 or 4 of these with out noticing. gary07734 (391), Tyne & Wear, England Jul 13, 2009 Pours a murky amber, aroma is malty, hoppy and sweet. Taste is quite caramel-sweet and malty, with a dry herbal hopped finish. Nice enough. CanIHave4Beers (833), Des Moines, Iowa, USA Jul 13, 2009 Pours a deep golden with a small tight head. The aroma is good with some borwn sugar and a bit of floral character. Flavor is malty and almost spicy, some tea like chracter, and some brown sugar. I enjoyed it enough. ketchepillar (475), Viña del Mar, Chile Jul 12, 2009 Does have some cheesecake I guess. Brown sugar sweetness. Not good caramel malt. FlacoAlto (2473), Tucson, Arizona, USA Jul 3, 2009 Best By August 2009; Sampled July 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer is a dirty amber color that shows a lightly hazed, orange-amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells heavily of caramelized crystal malt and toasted grain up front, but there is a backdrop of grapefruit zest and a hint of herbal hop character. This is definitely a malt forward beer with notes of toffee, brown sugar coated bread crust as well as some berry / raisin malt notes.
Lightly sweet up front, while the finish has harsh, almost phenolic, herbal hop character that just grates across the palate and finishes with an astringent, harsh bitterness. The second sip is just a little bit better as the harshness seems to get tempered just a bit by the ample malt character. The malt does provide a rich biscuit-like character, some touches of caramelized malt sugars, nicely browned bread crust flavors and a hint of iced sweet tea notes. Still the rich malt never does shake the harsh, astringency that mars the finish of this beer. The body is light enough, but has enough body to keep it from being anywhere near watery; it would be quite quaffable if not for the faults.
This could be an interesting, complex malty beer if not for the harshness, even without it though I don’t get the sense that this would be great.
Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ beerbill (1918), Laurel, New York, USA Jun 28, 2009 22.4 oz. bottle. Pours a very murky, muddy rust with a few bubbles coagulating on top forming an incomplete mass despite pouring this straight down the middle. This bottle appears to be undercarbonated. The aroma is pleasant enough with caramel, citrus, apples and pears. The flavor departs significantly from the aroma with weak, fairly earthy malt and not much else. Very dry right from the beginning. Medium bitterness at the finish. Not a drain pour, but not worth finishing the pint either. fidelis83 (707), Clinton, Iowa, USA Jun 26, 2009 Pours an ever so slightly hazed caramel tinted amber with a 2-3 finger creamy eggshell head that has good retention. Aroma is lots of caramel, biscuit, citrus, pineapple, butterscotch and floral notes. Flavor is grain, caramel, floral, citrus, biscuit, green tea, herbal hops, fresh pita bread and buttery toffee. Finish is citrus and bitter hops with lasting caramel and toffee. Palate is medium body with a slick, creamy entry, crisp, dry finish and light yet fairly sharp carbonation. Definitely a good and pretty interesting amber but nothing too amazing.
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