Stoudts Scarlet Lady Ale ESB

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy, his bottle via trade with Thaichile. Clear bright deep amber with a decent off-white rocky head. Dry aroma of floral hops, mild toasted malt, a little grassy. Flavour of light malt, mild UK hops, some tart fruit and yeast - it has an overtone of tea which makes the quick finish lightly bitter after a sweetish start. Mouthfeel is lightly tea leaf bitter, mildly astringent and juicy, some carbonation - very quaffable and mild, not quite up to "real" English ESB standards, but drinkable and a good effort.

Like most beer I drink, I poured this one VERY cold which I found was a mistake. Drink this one at least 50°F or above. Great amber/red/brown color...little head, fair lacing. Quick bitterness, coffee flavors, crisp and dry. $8/sixer in Boca Raton

amber in color with a small off white head. funky aroma of sweat and hops. gross. lightly hoppy with some bready malts in the finish. bland.

Floral nose with a hint of fruit and spice. As the nose matures with warmth, heavy vanilla and caramel tones reveal themselves. The brew pours a clear medium ruby with amber highlights. The light frothy off white head is quickly diminishing , and leaves fair lace. The brew has great balance with decent depth that culminates into a meaningful finish. The medium body is very lively and dry. This would make a great session offering.

Bottle: Amber mahogany color, lots of head and decent lacing. The nose is rich with nutty malts and some diacetyl. The flavor is chewy with caramel. Nice and malty. Finishes malty good.

Pours with an initially two-finger thick, frothy, amber-tinged, tan colored head. The beer itself is a concentrated amber color that shows a brilliantly clear ruby hue when held up to the light. The aroma is a mix of fruit and hops; I get notes of berries, a light herbal character and a touch of orange zest. There is a dry toasted malt aroma underneath, that becomes quite rich and prominent if you become too intent on sucking in all of the aromatics. This has a really nice nose to it, makes me thirsty for a sip.

The beer is pretty light, dry up front, but it begins to pick up a bit of malt sweetness as the beer passes through the mouth. The beer is quite smooth, with just a touch of prickly carbonation; it is quite nice and makes for an easy drinking experience. There are some soft fruit notes here, mostly reminiscent of raisins, but there is a bit of berry character here as well. There is a nice herbal hop bitterness throughout, it is not too assertive, but is always there and noticeable. I even think that some of the hop flavors accentuate the soft fruit character of this beer. The malt character is quite good as well; there are some nice caramel notes as well as some biscuit type notes and some lightly toasted grain notes.

This is quite a nice beer, in fact it is really hitting the spot right now. It is light enough and quite quaffable with lots of hop and malt character to keep the flavors intriguing and interesting. As the beer warms up a bit from the initial 50*F, the hop character becomes a bit more assertive, perhaps leaving a touch less well balanced.

Copper color, not much head. Love the malt taste to this....balanced by solid hops. Sweet finish.

Tasty ESB with a nice malt character both at the nose and in the flavor. Hops present throughout but not as much as I expected.