Elysian The Wise ESB

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

Ok pours a very attractive dark and slightly hazy amber with a small tan head..that leaves loads of lacing down the glass. Very spicy hop aroma to this one almost on a scale with most American IPAs. taste is a delicious long semi-sweet maltiness, slightly caramel in flavour followed by a very large bitter, citric hop bite and a long lasting hoppy aftertaste. Very nice on the palate the two halves of the mouthfeel balance each other well. Very drinkable stuff, wish I could get it in 6 packs.

Original rating (one of my first) 8/4/05: From the bottle.

Pours a clear copper with a small head. The nose offers orange peel, hops, and a hint of yeast. The flavor is mellow and refreshing, though not the least sweet - the caramel roasted malts quickly yield in fine balance to a well-poised hop bitter. The mouthfeel is soft, almost a bit watery, but not unpleasant in any way.

This is a fine beer that goes down easy with a lovely, though in no way brash, hop bitterness --- a great session ale for those who love hops. Well worth visiting and revisiting. 8/4/8/3/17 = 4.0

Re-rating 6/4/06: This is a seriously c-hopped interpretation of an ESB, so much so that ventures well into IPA territory by British standards if not by West Coast standards. Plenty of rich malt, quite buttery, standard c-hop profile, nice bitter finish, not much sweetness. Well done, and a pleasure to drink, but not quite the 4.0 that I gave it the first time around. On the other hand, at $2.50 for a 22oz bomber at Whole Foods, the quality to price ratio here is hard to beat.

Nice clear, deep copper body with mild carbonation and a frothy, off-white head. Balanced nose of earthy, woodsy hops and spiced caramel malt with brown sugar highlights. Spicy, hoppy flavor with abundant malt balance. Medium chewy texture. This is a good, strong bottled ESB.

Clear copper hue, good head formation. Floral hoppy aroma, mild lemon sweetness, caramel malts. Smooth palate at first, biscuity, lightly nutty, caramel. Fairly heavily hopped towards the end, plenty of citric bitterness. Delicious stuff.

Golden brown color with a creamy white head. Lemon zest, orange, honey and toasty malts in the aroma. Very nice soft mouth feel. Citrusy hops with grapefruit shining through. Well balanced by some nice bready malts. Hops shine through again in the finish. Very drinkable pint.

amber colour, small head. aroma of grapefruit, orange blossom, hops and a faint showing of malt. flavour follows. lots of great hop character but there’s nice bready and sweet malt that’s getting sqaushed.

Draft at the Abbaye. Pint glass, clear carmel colored ale, no head. Very enjoyable session ale; i just prefer the Yards ESA on hand pump.

Bottle. Golden-amber in colour. The aroma was quite hoppy - mainly grapefruit, with some bready malts coming through near the end. The flavour was quite hoppy again, some cookie malts but mainly hops. Medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes quite bitter by ESB standards but quite refreshing.