Elysian The Wise ESB

Brewed by Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Seattle, Washington USA

22 oz bottle, from Sams in Chicago, I think Dec 2003. This could certainly be old, something I forgot about for a while, but there’s a nice crisp pop when I open it, and a lusty, thick off-white merinague head topping the clear copper body promises good things...pine and grapefruit in the nose, as expected, with some nice dry oakiness as well, and a touch of oxidation to mellow the hoppines (a good thing if you as me)....the body is smooth and lightly bitter throughout, with cherry and grapefruit upfront drying out in the woody, slightly dusty finish. This does seem a bit past its perfect prime, but is still a fairly reasonable American ESB and something I’ll try again fresher, someday.

Pour was ok, big loose head that smelled a bit stinky. Bloody red amber colour, very bright. Aroma was very prevalent, perhaps a bit astringent...grapefruity. First sip was very pleasing. Great malt profile with plenty of caramel/crystal character. Hops were very present, but didn’t interfere with the maltiness. Whoo hoo. Bitterness was more like an IPA than an ESB, but a nice complement to the malts. Big bitter finish, but maybe a bit citrusy. We love our New World hoppy beers, but I wish someone would brew a true pint bitter! This is a great example of PNW brewing.

ESB. With Chinook and Cascades. no. No. NO. For the love of all that’s holy, NOOOOO. Unpleasant, overbearing, clunky bitterness and damn near downright disgusting. Who the hell thought of this?

Poured golden’amber with a nice tan head. Descent lace. Smell has graitfruit, caramel, apple cider and courant. Pretty nice taste with all of those things intertwined. Quite a malty example in my opinion. Quite good.

(22 oz bottle: $3.80 at Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) This wise ESB pours a tall and very rocky light-tan head which sits atop a deep ruddy-amber body. Boy, this is some flavorful stuff, nothing shy here. Very malty and earthy, with a moderately roasty flavor and a solid, grapefruity hoppiness in the finish. The roasty, earthy malts are actually too strong here for the style, but it’s tasty nonetheless. But the aroma, wow, talk about a strong, earthy maltiness. Not really getting much else in the nose. Medium body is fine for the style, but seems thin compared to the amount of flavor. Head retention is solid, slowly receding to and maintaining a thin but full layer. Cheesecloth lacing covers much of the glass. So, though it is overpowering for the style, it’s hard to fault a very tasty and flavorful beer.

Deep red with an off-white head with impressive lasting power. Nose some caramel, woody, tartness. Flavor has some of the usual woody/caramel/toffee notes, but has a very strange citric bite to it, kind of jumps from ESB to IPA with no transition. Bit sour. Wondering if this was getting infected, as with the other things from this I-apparently-can’t-be-bothered-to-actually-clean-m brewery. Not that that’s annoying or anything.

Cask at GCBF. Very yeasty beer with a strong resiny dry-hopped aroma. Moderatly woody aroma with a big shot of yeastiness. Flavour is a bit light, woody and earthy with some notible piny hops. Like a walk in the woods. Faint coppery note on a lingeringly bitter finish. Nice PNW interpretation of an ESB. Would be better if the cask had had more time to settle.

On cask @ Elysian- Pours a red amber color, almost no head. Aroma is spicy and sweet. Flavor is more spiciness to it, caramell and nutty toffee.