Left Hand Sawtooth Ale

Poured an amber color, thin head, ok retention, even some lacing. The aroma was woody and musty, Flavor was nice caramel and toffee blend with wood underneath, light floral and fruity esters, as well as a touch of minty notes. Mouthfeel was medium bodied, a little sticky for the style. Enjoyable. Re-rate, 3/07, draft at Tapwerks in OKC: diacetyl bomb, along with some other similar flavors as described above. Won’t drop the ratings this time, but if it happens again....

Typical ESB thats bittering and bland. Nothign special or worth picking up again

Poured a copper amber with a lacing white head from the bottle. Interesting aroma, malty but also peppery and oily. Very light and watery on the palate. Slight malty flavor, not overly bitter or hoppy. I was disappointed, not a good ESB. Not enough flavor.

sampled at brewery. copper clarity with thin head and rising bubbles. hops, mild malt aroma. good dry hpped bitterness and dominant caramel malts.

Draught at Brewery: Aroma of hops, malt, resin, and dough. Poured amber in color. Sma;;, off-white head. Small lacing. Clear. Sparkling. Well balanced malt and hop flavors. Medium sweet & bitter. A little dry. Short finish. Light body. Lively carbonation. Overall, and ok ESB.

Sometimes I wonder whether a beer should be praised for having positive qualities, or for lacking negative ones, or maybe a mix of both. I recently tried Left Hand’s Sawtooth Ale, a beer that practically begs the same question. It’s a brew totally lacking in anything meritable, but it keeps abreast of any reprehensible qualities. That said, I think the former is the superior approach – an adventurous search for the exceptional. Though a beer can be leagues ahead of its competitors by removing anything that would be considered detrimental, it also yields an unengaging, sleepy and droll drink; a fate worse than the sink. At least terrible beer attracts conversation, sparks debates and makes some attempt to liven up life. That said, the Sawtooth Ale is horrible. It’s awful. It’s downright boring. The head slinks away shortly after pouring, leaving behind the vestiges of what was already a monotone gray. The color bears the uniform of the common beer grunt: nothing more than a semi-clear amber. The aroma carries malts and a tinge of yeast and, with acute effort, may yield something of a sweet spice. But these flavors are all. The taste follows suite in its unimpressive flavor. It has a fairly toothsome malts element, but it’s alone save for a chemical laden alcohol flavor. That bit of the beer burns on the tongue for awhile and leaves an ugly aftertaste. The composite analysis: sooooooo boring, and I mean every one of those extra o’s. It is a hum-drum beer, and anything like this is bound to keep me apathetic about the whole business of beer until I take a swig of something scintillating again. For that (and only that) I condemn this Sawtooth Ale to the deepest form of my scathing dislike.

Bottled. Amber with a thick white head. Descent retention and creaminess. Aroma has citrus, graitfruit and caramel. Taste was well balanced with a good maltiness. Pleasant bitterness. Good session beer.

Bottle - from sampler pack. So-so. Not much flavor. A little bitter, but poor hop flavor.