Stoddards ESB

Formerly brewed at Stoddards Brewhouse
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Sunnyvale, California USA

Serve in English pint

Pours a deep brown color with thin head. Lots of sweet carmel malt in this one, not that bitter. Tastes a bit more like a brown ale to me. Not bad.

Medium orange color. Small head. Aroma is fruity and sweet. A medium bodied ESB. Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are slightly bitter and citrusy. Nicely balanced, medium bitter ESB. Touches of orange and citrus. Nice session beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean, crisp and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter

Draft. It's a beautiful reddish-brown color with a nice head. Lightly bitter and easy to drink. Sweet malt backbone with some fruitiness to it.

Poured a nice dark amber with a creamy tan head that lasted quite some time. Subtle hoppy aroma with hints of sweetness to it. SMOOTH subtle flavor that just creeps up on you. Hoppy taste with overtones of wood and honey. Excellent beer.

Arrived in Sunnyvale on the 17th, and headed straight to Stoddards based on a recommendation from the kind peeps in the Ratebeer forum. My first selection was this brew. Pours from the tap a medium copper. The fizzy white head is mostly diminishing with fair lacing. The meek nose is spicy and floral. The taste is balanced and fairly complex. The finish is long enough with a nice toasted bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium, dry and lively and feels very astringent at the finish. Not bad, but I knocked the overall down a point because it didn't meet my expectations for the style.

Tap. A dark amber to almost brown. Malty and a little raisin or tea flavor. A hint of fruit in the aroma. Light body.