Elysian The Wise ESB

Copper color. Good lasting head. Easy drinker especially with the 5.9%. Wish more bombers were this strength. Not to sweet and not to much of a hoppy finish. I could drink this regularily if it were available here.

Bottle courtesy of SS: Poured a deep copper color ale with large fluffy head with average retention. Aroma of NW bitter hops is dominating with some nice caramel. Taste is probably bitterer then the style would suggest but who cares. Caramel malt is present and provides a nice balance. Good carbonation with a full body.

On tap at Capital Hill Brewery. Great amber color. Aroma is of malt and hops. I was surprised how hoppy this was. The malt is maybe not enough for me, but still it is a good beer.

Nice copper color, with an off white and fluffy head. Nice a slightly astringent hop notes. Goood medium malts, with a touch of carmel, and nice hops, slighty bitter hop notes. Mostly grapefruit, not bad at all.

Date: 05/16/2001
Mode: Bottle
Source: Belmont Station, Portland

amber, thin off white head, slightly sweet malt aroma with a touch of floral hops, soft bitter flavor with a low bitter finish

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Score: **4
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The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Sampled Elysian The Wise ESB at the Great Canadian Beer Festival. No detailed notes unfortunately but wrote down that it was an excellent beer. Look forward to trying it again. (re-rate from bottle: not much of a nose on this except for a hint of hops. solid bitter aftertaste tho and a nice hint of licorice-sweetness. decent, even if not outstanding).

Draft at Elysian Fields in Seattle. Pours an orange amber with an off-white head. Caramel and grapefruit aroma, with some slight skunk. Flavor of caramel, toffee, and citrus with a dry and slightly astringent finish. Very little if at all residual sweetness. Not really my type of ESB, and my least favorite of the sampler.

Pours a clear orange/amber with a medium-sized off-white head that laces the glass. The aroma is an excellent mix of sweet honey and crystal malts combined with earthy, perfumy, pungent hops. The flavor is less appealing than the aroma: bitter from earthy and spicy hops, but also very grainy, There are some notes of sweet malts in the middle, but the end is again grainy. The finish is dry and bitter with spicy hops. The mouthfeel is mostly medium in body with an unusually big bite from the carbonation. Overall, it could have been better - perhaps the keg from which my sampler was poured was old and no longer fresh...