3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
2006 release. From a bomber.
Pours an orange amber with a modest head and considerable lacing. On the nose I’m picking up mostly fruity hops with soft hints of caramel. The flavor is a straight ahead PacNW take on an ESB - hops and fruit and semisweet malt mix early before yielding to a nice c-hop finish. Mouthfeel is slightly buttery and refreshing but not thin. The whole comes out above the sum of the parts for me; this is a nice beer and if it were a regular feature at a local pub it could easily become a session favorite.
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Meh. Dull, uninspired, not much more than a pale ale IMHO. Certainly did not seem to warrant a "special reserve" label.
2.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 10/20
Bottle: Amber color, thin head, lots of lacing. Nose of tangy malt, underhopped, lightly tart. Not that good. The flavor is thin, no good malt or hop notes, just boring. Light toast or something. Ho-hum.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
22 oz bottle, label implied that it is a "special reserve", I am having a hard time understanding the motivation for putting out a mediocre beer and calling it "special". There is really nothing here to be interested in, I don’t find enough flavor and the bitter lingering finish does not balance well.
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
22oz. bottle. Orange amber with a thin film of white head. Sweet malt with an astringent edge, faint citric hops in the aroma. Muted caramel and toasted malt flavors attempt to peer through a heavy veneer citric/metallic hop character. Residual hop bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is medium light, rather dry.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle: Toasty and piney aroma, smells a little sour-ish; flowery and piney front end, bready and inadequate malt finish that’s a little toasty; chewy body and herbal, protracted bitter finish; acidic and pretty hoppy. Another solid, but uninteresting beer from these guys.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Nose is a fresh scent of hops and light touch of caramel. Color is burnt orange and a small layer of froth develops. The drink is subtle and of course the flavor is bitter with background of hops and wild flower. Any caramel or malt detected in the aroma is drowned by the hops in this ESB. I don’t think I’ve had a more hoppier ESB than this.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours a medium amber color. Aromas of caramel malt, hops, and a touch of citrus. Caramel sweetness in the taste with a good bitterness of hops.
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