The Cambridge House Old Mill Pond ESB

A solid ESB slightly bitter somewhat citrusy. Malty with a slight hoppy finish

on tap-pours a thin white ring of bubbles and amber/copper color. Aroma is medium malt-slight caramel/some chocolate, nutty, secondary earthy hops. Taste is malt-caramel/some chocolate/toffee, nutty, secondary earthy/citrus/metallic hops.

Cambridhe House seems to enjoy taking traditional session style and bumping them up just a bit in both hops and alcohol. From the (too few) beers I’ve had from them, this was easily my favourite attempt. A hazy light orange pour covered by a 1cm collard. Very perfumey, rosewater-like nose from, I presume, Styrian Goldings among other things. Very orvalesque in smell. Forward aromatic hoppiness. Subtle biscuity malts underneath, but well attenuated. tremendously refreshing. Soft-medium carbonation, medium-bodied. Completely hidden alcohol.

Draft, Cambridge House. Pours a hazy, orange-amber color; off-white head with patchy fine-bubbled lacing. Very pleasant, biscuity and earthy malt presence in the aroma; light English hop character; relaxed bitterness; approaches the toasty / roasted character of a brown ale. Medium mouthfeel: emphasis on biscuity / earthy notes throughout, both in the malt character and the mild English hoppiness; very drinkable, slightly fruity, well-composed ESB. Medium finish: dry, toasty malts and earthy English hops in the finish; dry, toasty, pleasant end.

In short: Wonderful ESB with an American twist. Great session beer.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Cloudy dark orange body. Small beige head leaving good lacing.
In long: Nice full and soft body with a round caramel cake flavour. The hopping of this beer really did it for me. Somewhere between an English ESB and an APA. Leafy hops with juicy orange and dry woody notes. All merging perfectly with the body leaving a caramelized orange sensation. Superb stuff, refreshing and tasty. Not what I’m used to from a typical ESB, probably a new style Extremely Satisfying Beer.

My Bottom Line:
Prominent earthy, leafy hoppiness plays with a delicate caramel maltiness in this very quaffable but treacherously strong ESB.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam skirts the orangey amber haze.
-Again, effervescence is rather high, which in this particular case increases drinkability, but makes it harder to appreciate the malts’ intricacies.
-There aren’t that many residual sugars for a beer this gravity, so the body is lean and the sips get larger and larger as you drink.
-A leafy and resinous hop bitterness carefully punctuates the finish.

On tap at the brewpub.

Just what you expect an ESB to be: sweet but nowhere near cloying, balanced with some nice hoppy bite. Some traditional sweet malty flavors and some earthy tones too.

Cloudy amber topped by an off-white head with nice lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, roast, chocolate, light earthy. Taste is medium sweet, chocolate, roast, some coffee, earthy. Light-medium body, some creaminess. Very malty for the style.