Fyne Ales 5.5

Formerly brewed at Fyne Ales
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Cairndow, Argyll, Scotland

Serve in English pint

Any first impressions?
-A ring of foam surrounds the fiery orange-red.
-Caramel maltiness and earthy, floral hops announce a surprisingly rich concoction.
-Creamy fruity caramel is marvelously linked to wooden, citrusy hops.
-The juicy mouthfeel is created by the sustaining maltiness and quite quiet carbonation.

What if you dig deeper?
-Chocolate malt complexity works well with the many flavors.
-Orangey hop fruitiness nearly suggests US West Coast hops (aaaah!).
-It is a shame that this is a one-off because it truly is a pleasant hoppy quaff.

On cask at Bon Accord, Glasgow, and at Prince of Wales, Aberdeen.

[Cask from Blackfriars] Lots of malt in the nose, toffee, malt loaf, grainy, some sweet fruity notes, and a little peppery yeast character. reasonably full bodied, sweet a slight sticky sweetness upfront leading to a dry finish. less assertively hopped than it should be and as such feels a little sweet, but still not bad.

Aroma of roasted malts some caramel, the hops seem to move from floural to cituis to spicey at times even. Taste is very rounded, well balanced, reminds me of a fullers esb but with more citruis hops than spicey and missing a bit of sweetness.