Full Sail Equinox

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Hood River, Oregon USA

Serve in English pint

(22 oz bottle: $3.49 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) The bitter and hoppy flavor of Equinox stands out as prominently as the bright yellow label, so Full Sail has proudly brewed a West Coast version of an ESB for sure. The hops are piney and resiny rather than citrusy, and the grainy malt shows little sweetness, but has a somewhat husky character. Dusty and chalky in flavor and mouthfeel as well, but as always, I’m enjoying this component. Body and carbonation are medium. Dusty and hoppy in the nose as well. The beer is hazy, orange-amber in color. No more than a quarter inch of creamy, off-white head forms on the pour, and that eventually settles to a ring. Patches of doily-like lacing remain on the glass. This took a lot of effort to finally get on the shelves of my BevMo, but it was worth it. Another solid effort from Full Sail.

From a 22 oz. brown bomber bottle with a the words "Brewmaster Reserve 2006" on the front label. Made a good appearance, poured a hazy golden hued orange with a rocky, foamy white head that settled into a thin creamy, bubbly lacing, minimal amount of sticking, good carbonation for a ESB. Had a floral and orange citric hop nose with a little piney earthiness and sweet maltiness at the fringes. A crisp, textured and creamy smooth medium bodied, very good drinkability. PIney with a orange zest hoppiness, followed by a earthy bitterness, the bitter is first sharp then rolling on the tongue, a light spruce flavor as well, a caramelized sugar maltiness struggling with the hops, a subtle butteriness towards the end and a dry leaf earthy finish with the earthiness lingering in the palate. A delightful and tasty ESB, one of the best I have tried, if you like ESB, I would recommend seeking out and trying.

My highest rating at the brewery. Golden amber. Light lacing. Nice hop aroma. Good balanced flavour. Nice seasonal.

2006 BOTTLE:light orange body with a small white head.as the head sat it left nice webbing on the glass.my nose picked up hints of bananas,citus hops,and sweet caramel malts.flavor was a mix of the same with a bit of a bitter (go figure) and slightly sour finish.

Brewmaster reserve 2006: Pours amber with a slight red glow. No head, mild carbonation. Not much aroma, dry and slightly grassy. Flavor is fresh and crisp. Body is light. Bitter finish. Refreshing. Nice smmer beer.

22 oz. bottle from BevMo LaJolla - thanks to DarkElf for setting this aside to make sure I got it! Pours a deep copper color with a slight haze and a large, fluffy off-white head that left nice lacing. Aroma of biscuity malts, a bit of tart apple, and lots of nicely floral hoppiness. Flavor is of toasty malts - not much sweetness, instead notes of black tea with lots of bittering hops of the floral and herbal variety with a bit of lemon in the fininsh. Light to medium body with good carbonation. Pleasant session ale.

Pours amber with average head. Notes of hops, light toast of malt. Has a little punch up front with the hops, but they mellow out and leave dried fruit on the finish. I would have to say I was expecting a little more.

Light amber in color with a mountanous head that oozes lace down the glass. Doughy aroma with some tea leaves and grass. Sharp, snappy and rich flavor. Citric bitterness is present, but soft, and balanced nicely with middle of the reoad sweetness. Some apricots and lingering bitterness A great ale!