Spinnakers Mitchells ESB

Brewed by Spinnakers Brewpub
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Victoria, Canada

Opaque copper with bubbly, soapy dishwater-like head.
Hops are quite fruity, in fact it smells exactly like a can of Del Monte peaches in syrup! Now there’s something you don’t find every day in a Beer!
Very quaffable, British-like flavor profile, fruity hops with only a slight astringency in the tail end make this a very refreshing brew. Some cookies in the body but was a little weak. This stuff must be awesome on cask, but this bottled product tastes pretty close to the real deal.

Any first impressions?
-A veil of foam covers the clear orange-red.
-Peachy sweetness envelops the timid wet, earthy hoppiness and sparse mushrooms.
-Fruitiness is prevalent, and rather juicy, as disparate hoppiness fails to make a decent showing.
-The low carbonation ably emulates a cask serving, as decent maltiness offers just enough to get your teeth into.

What if you dig deeper?
-The hoppy bitterness efficiently dries up the back end with its moist soil-like earthiness.
-Balance isn’t achieved as hops are too subdued for 3/4s of the sip, mostly showing up towards the end.
-An okay bitter if you like the fruity display and quiet mouthfeel, but a probable disappointment if you have a hankering for a chewy, reasonably hoppy ESB.

Bottle; Nov. 14, 2006 (bottled on, or best before?).

Cask handpull at Spinnaker’s, Victoria. Crystal clear pale chestnut colour with lasting beige head. Lovely malt on this, some hop/yeast. Choccy, bit creamy in mouth, lacks deep malts in mouth, more creamy toffee choc. Finish lacks much hop.

Reddish amber ale with a thick collapsing off white head. Strong caramel and brown suga in aroma, light hops, and butterscotch. In mouth, a sweet malt with strong nuttyness, a bit sour, medium bodied, but overall pretty nice. June 17, 2006.

650 ml bottle. Golden amber colour with a fully diminishing tan head. Toffee, bread, and fruity hop aroma. Caramel, fruity flavours with a lightly sweet finish. Light bodied.

Bottle @ Brewnosers Tasting. Dark amber body. Muted caramel aroma with light earthy and vegetal notes. Flavour is quite bland. Light caramel malt and not much else. Bitterness was insufficient to make it into my notes. Palate is adequate but on the thin side. Not unpleasant, but disappointing. Probably deserves slightly higher rating but I don’t want to bump it too much from what I wrote down.

Draft. Amber with a big whitish head. Low malt aroma with some low english hops. Lighter bodied and easy drinking. Nice balanced flavors with some sweet caramel backing.

Cask at the brewery
Rusty brown and dark orange color with a lush tan head on top. Creamy, toasty white bread and biscuit flavors, semi-scratchy palate, but very decent overall, with a pleasent dryness in the finish. Very fresh tasting.