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6065
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Serve in English pint

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RATINGS: 43   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.12   SEASONAL: Winter   EST. CALORIES: 195   ABV: 6.5%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Winter is big beer season, when breweries bring out their heartiest and heaviest offerings, and Legend is no exception. Along with our regular lineup, we currently and proudly serve up our Imperial Stout and Belgian Tripel, with the massive Barleywine on deck for an early January release. Our seasonal beers are very popular and so with the rapid disappearance of this year’s Chocolate Porter, were faced with the need to fill a slot for a “not so big”, but still exciting beer to keep things interesting. Why not an E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter)? This is a British style that understandably is a bit confusing by name… ”Oh, Legend makes an extra special beer…oh they call it bitter…hmmm, I’ll try something else”. Actually, an English Bitter is not what it sounds like. It is a medium bodied, somewhat malty brew with the hop character coming primarily from bittering hops. The result is low hop aroma with a little bite of bitterness on the finish. Not present are the intense hoppy flavors and aromas of a Pale Ale, for example. An E.S.B. refers to a brewery’s finest version of a Bitter, usually a little higher in alcohol and malt flavor. History lesson aside, Legend E.S.B. serves as a medium octane winter warmer that brings flavor without chaos. Legend E.S.B. pours a deep reddish orange and possesses a nose ripe with fruity aromas. The body is medium, as is the carbonation. The flavor is at first of fruit (apples, pears, berries), then turns in a warm caramel toasty direction provided by the specialty malts. The finish is dry and earthy. Malts: Two row malted barley, light roast malt, caramel malt, aromatic malt, wheat malt. Hops: British East Kent Golding Yeast: British premium bitter yeast strain Legend E.S.B. is available on draft and in 22 oz. bottles


2.5
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 11/20
Trooper11 (468) - Suffolk, Virginia, USA - MAR 13, 2007
Deep caramel pour with foamy off white head. bready bitter malt aroma, like prunes. Great bitterness, kind of fizzy yet a bit watery feel. Bitterness is sharp with a small warmth.

3.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
jasonp (1556) - Leesburg, Virginia, USA - FEB 17, 2007
22oz bottle. Pours dark amber (almost red) with a huge billowy off-white head. Rich caramel and candy coated apples in the nose. Strong notes up front of caramel, toffee, wood and ends with earthy hoppiness and pleasant apple character. Has a satisfying bitterness but the light still shines on the malty aspect. Medium, creamy body with moderate carbonation. Has more oomph than your average ESB but is still very drinkable. Good head retention too.

3.1
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 12/20
mephisto (1252) - TAIWAN - FEB 16, 2007
copper hue with beige head, it has a nutty aroma with coffee nose. a hoppy body balanced by a decent malt profile.

3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
luv2brew (193) - Chesterfield, Virginia, USA - FEB 14, 2007
I actually liked this. This wasn’t what I had expected because of the enormous fruit malt flavor. Was expecting a little more bitterness, but it never developed. It came across as a bit unbalanced because of the huge maltiness. Not a bad attempt at an ESB.

2.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
golubj (1373) - San Mateo, California, USA - FEB 6, 2007
Bottle. Soapy aroma. Some malt and some bitterness, but somewhat bland for an ESB.

3.4
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
Kinz (2694) - Glen Allen, Virginia, USA - FEB 4, 2007
22 from the brewery. A perfectly clear, slightly reddish amber with a creamy head that lasted throughout. Utterly beautiful in the glass to me for some reason. Flavor and aroma matched. Mild caramel malts. Faint bitterness on the finish that was quite drying. Not any real, defined hop character. This wasn’t bad, but somehow it reminded me of their Oktoberfest. Just a not so good version of it. The last few ESB’s I’ve tried were much hoppier, and thus more to my personal taste.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Immy (1942) - Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA - FEB 3, 2007
From bomber. Pours a clear orange amber with a big light tan head. Nutty nose, lightly fruity. Nice sheet of lace. Bitter flavor, but sweeter than expected. Like honey dipped walnuts, toasty malt. Rather pleasant, cool spin on an ESB.

2.8
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 10/20
alexanderj (2829) - Gilbert, Arizona, USA - FEB 1, 2007
Poured a clear copper, with a medium to large off white head. Aroma is earthy, a little soapy, fruit. Flavor is somewhat watery; Dry; a little malty sweetness; some bitter finish. Some slight fruit as well. I think I’m not partial to this style very much.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Legend ESB Rating Avg: 3.12 No. of Ratings: 43
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