Broad Ripple ESB Extra Special Bitter

Brewed by Broad Ripple Brewing Co.
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Serve in English pint

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Date: 07/21/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

clear dark amber, lasting fine dirty white head, lots of lace, light malt aroma with light earthy hops, rich malt flavor, nice lasting bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

on tap-pours a rich tan head that laces and amber/copper color. Aroma is mild medium malt-caramel. Taste is medium malt-caramel, secondary English/copper/earthy hops. OK/soft carbonation. OK done English style.

Draft sampler at Broad Ripple. Dark amber hue with medium head that diminshed slowly. Medium aroma of hops and malt. Medium body. Well balanced flavor of malt, hops and citrus with a small bitter finish.

Red copper ale with light malt and hops aroma. Matly and nutty beer wit a nice smooth hops in finish. Medium bodied. July 30 04.

Served on cask at the brewpub. Pours a hazy amber color with a medium white fizzy head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of sweet sugary malts with a grainy finish. The taste is sweet earthy malts, raisins and a bitter hop finish. Medium bodied.

From a sampler: Pours a rich amber color witha medium light beige head. Decent lacing. The aroma is fairly malty, with caramel and hops also detectable. The flavor is not overly bitter, and it has a strong malt backbone. The finish is alternating malt and hops. Not too bad.

Objectively speaking: An unexpected absolutely authentic, kick-ass even cask-conditioned ESB. Spot-on and by far THE one beer I recommend trying at this pub. It begs for a pint.
I like: Tasty all around. Fully nuanced. Earthy, fruity (think apricot, peaches and the likes), but not overly juicy palate since a great toasty background keeps everything in check. It never tastes like 5.6% and drinks easily despite its medium or even full body. Very toasty and bready.
I dislike: I should have known ahead that this was the house specialty.

In short: A “cask-style” ESB. Authentic British feeling. Wonderfully refreshing.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Cloudy dark orange body with a medium off-white head
In long: Very soft body and even softer carbonation. Lightly caramelized malts, some tree bark and dry leaves, It felt so much like a cask beer that I even asked if it was from a cask (they have two cask pumps there) but no this was from the tap. Ok then, that extra-soft carbonation was extremely appropriate for the style. Quite fruity too with citrus fruits, red apples, berries, and more but no individual fruit flavour standing out. This is about as good as an ESB can get. All they need to do to make it truly authentic English ESB is to serve it on cask and accompany it with very bad food.

At Indiana BG Fest: Dark amber hue with little head or lace. Roasted malt, fresh hops, grape and cherry aroma with a hint of pine. Crisp bite mellows nicely into a smooth tasting ale. Not bitter as expected. Dry acidic finish. Thin-bodied with a lively and slightly buttery mouthfeel. Good ESB but could have used a little more malt and custer hops and then I would have loved it.

The pint glass was filled with a hazy light chestnut ale capped by a short-lived head. The aroma is a rich malt with apples and a mild earthiness. The fruity malt sweetness is a good support for the herbal earthy bitterness of the hops that take over the flavor and last long into the finish. Pretty nice.

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