Fullers ESB (Bottle/Keg)

Brewed by Fullers
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
London, England

nice amber color with no head. couldn’t really smell anything in the bar. reminded me of water with a bitter aftertaste.

Nice colour. It has a slite burnt taste and a strong aftertaste. It has a nutty taste with maybe a carmel hint. It seems a litle to carbonated for this beer. But it’s fullers so its still a good brew.

Bottle. Poured a nutty brown with a modest off white head. Malty aroma is mainly caramel--the only fruit I pick up is dried apricot. Taste is burnt malts and mainly nutty--not much fruit. The flavor is definitely bitter in the aftertaste. Not as complex a flavor as I expected. Overall, I was disappointed.

bottled - Nice Amber colour with a sweet smell. decent body and balance of malts with a bitter finish. found appreciation increased as I worked through this pint. beer evolved nicely. much nicer than London Pride.

Amber in color. A nice pleasent caramel nose and flavor. Just the right amount of bitterness and body.

Bottle. Pours amber with head that slowly disappears. Aroma is spicy / fruit with the tastes hops / caramel giving way to a nice nuttiness. Good bitter finish and a fine beer from Fullers.

I had never drank that before going to the UK and have not even drank it in the UK. It is now, today, a few weeks after being back that I try this classic for the first time. In the imperial pint, it settles bright and clear amber, rather carbonated and feeding a lasting off-white cover. Slightly vegetal smelling like a beer brewed with adjuncts and then pasteurized. It also seems to be the victim of a light oxidation beginning as the palate feels a bit wet paper reminiscent. The active carbonation accentuates the moderate minerality and gives a kick to a dryness that needed it since the beer is generally quite malt-focused. Toasty maltiness mostly, never venturing into fruitiness, but hinting at a nut or two. Very grainy nature as well and climbing to rum suggestion in its exagerated alcoholic strength, something that many British beers have problems with concealing. Not a bad beer, but not a very good example of a british bitter, the freshness to cask-conditioning is clearly missing.

This is an outstanding beer and among my all-time favourites. It has a good clear, rich amber body and a big, lasting light tan head with some good lacing. The aroma is toasted bread crust, caramel, nuts, fruit, citrus, pineapple, and pine. The flavours are excellently balanced with a nice hoppiness and maltiness, sweetness and bitterness complementing each other well. It has a tasty richness and faint floral element, caramel, bread, fruit, nuts, pine and citrus. It’s full-bodied and very flavourful, with a lot of sublte complexity, but also exceedingly drinkable and smooth. The result is a perfectly balanced beer thast screams "beer" more than anything else.