Dry Dock HMS Victory ESB

Brewed by Dry Dock Brewing Co.
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Aurora, Colorado USA

Serve in English pint

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Growler fill from the brewery. 6/13/06. Super clear. Darker than your avg. ESB. We’ll go with dark copper to light amber. I had an IPA at the brewpub and the ESB was darker. Nice 1 cm. light tan head. Ring of foam, a little lacing. Aroma - fairly strong, mostly malty aroma. Some spiciness from the hops and maybe the yeast. A little sweetness as well. Kind of a classic esb aroma. Flavor - perfectly balanced, slightly towards malty. Nice bitterness, but plenty of malt backbone and a good amt. of "classic" esb maltiness. Not sure how else to describe it. I’m sure some is from the yeast. Tiny little spiciness. Great. Palate - really nice medium mouthfeel. Good carb. Overall - No wonder this won a gold medal at the world beer cup. Outstanding ESB. I really like this style, but I prefer hoppier, which is the only reason I don’t score it higher. It’s almost perfect.

Aroma - heavy malt, faint caramel and toffee notes; Appearance - deep copper, thick fluffy head, very nice lacing; Taste - caramel malt front, mildly bitter hop back, finish is malty yet balanced; Palate - extremely smooth, great body; Overall - in a style typically filled with poorly built beers, this brew proves to be a fine model for others.

UPDATED: SEP 11, 2006 I drive by Dry Dock everyday on my way home from work, and tried some of their beers the week after they opened last fall. When I found out today that they had won a Gold at the World Beer Cup last month for this ESB I knew it was time to stop in again. I picked up a growler of HMS Victory on the way home. The beer pours a pretty, clear peachy-amber color with a small cream-colored head. I can smell the malt and some noble spicyness that I associate with the wonderful Goldings hop. The aroma is mild, pleasing, and inviting. On my tongue there is a crisp cleaness, with a slight hint of chalk. There is a definite note of special-b maltiness, not overwhelming, just right, hints of caramel, chalk, peach, and a nice bitter finish to counter the dry sweetness at the front of the mouth. Not so much astrigent, rather, but hints of tannin and prunes. Quite nice. This is a great candidate for a session beer. My thanks to the two Kevins for all their hard work on this one! Rerate Sept2006 - As ESBs go, this one is still very good. I’m re-reating to reflect an increase in my rating compared to other ESBs I’ve had.

Clear amber red in color. With a malty aroma. The flavor is well balanced and malty with hops used just to bitter the malt there is a nutty almost toasted flavor in the finish. Medium to med-heavy mouth-feel

Sweet caramel nose, some nutmeg pine cones too. Brilliant amber color, medium frothy head. Malty sweet, awesome subtle bitter balance. Medium carbonation, medium body, malty finish with some bitter notes hitting late. All around really well done beer, great malt, nicely balanced.

This beer was served in a dry dock pint glass and was dark reddish brown in color. The smell was faint and indistinct. The taste had notes of caramel, grain, and a little fruitiness hiding in there. The drinkability was really good as i finished my pint in about fifteen minutes. Solid beer especially at $3 a pint. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 04-18-2007 16:49:45

This is truly a great ESB, and one of the better that I have trie din my career as a beer drinker. A very fragrant fruity aroma, with a modest amount of hoppiness, that does not follow through in the flavor. Richly malty, with the perfect amount of maltiness, and a bit of clean bitterness in the background. Lots of fruitiness, more hop bitterness on top of dark caramel maltiness. Very well done!

UPDATED: NOV 19, 2008 10 oz draft at the Brewery / Bar. Pour is a light brown and orange with a normal off white head. Great caramel sweet roasted nose. Taste has the nice malt sweetness, dried fruit and floral hops. Beautiful palate and mouth feel. Normal flatness for a Bitter. Very nice all around.

on tap GABF 2008: LOVED IT! Pours a slightly cloudy straw/amber with a decent off-white head. Aroma is earthy hops with a bit of sour vineger. Flavor very well balanced, bitter but not really hoppy, with plenty of interesting malt notes. Palate was medium bodied and fairly creamy. By far the best Bitter/ESB I had at the event. Excellent work.

had this in most of it’s forms. cask, tap, dry hopped, whatever. pours a light tan with soome orange in it and a lasting bit of white head. malty aroma that reminds me of syrup and a light floral note. dry hopped cask version is my favorite it really is an easy drinking enjoyable beer. good balance and a great mouthfeel. sweet caramel and grain flavors are pleasant all the way through.