Winning collaboration with nearby Long Island brewer, Southampton, boasts ample tea-like dry rye theme and residual lemony sugaring. Sharp Cascade-hopped herbal peppering and astringent earthen fungi pungency hoist rye grained spunk.
Tag Archives: esb
NASHOBA VALLEY HERON ALE
Wavering amber-bronzed Extra Special Bitter fights off bitter alcohol burn with singed mineral-grained alacrity, woody Fuggle hop dryness and herbal tea respite. Slight dimethyl sulfide acridity drowns out toasted caramel malting, lemony orange-peeled bittering and apple-skinned brown pear nuance.
THREE HEADS BLIMEY ENGLISH-STYLE PALE ALE
Well-defined, well-balanced ESB firmly captures authentic English pale ale styling. Sugar-spiced fig regales rye wheat breading and capacious nuttiness to earthen peat bottom. Honeyed tea, raisin bread, and herbal leafy foliage provide ancillary niceties. But musty metallic tinning and sharp carbolic prickle agitate up-front profile.
CAVALRY HATCH PLUG ALE
Rustic blue-collar moderation styled after Classic English bitter stays dryer and earthier than brewers’ Dog Soldier Golden. In bottled version, lemon-dried honeyed tea herbage grips vegetal gourd, squash, beet, carrot, and mushroom acridity. On tap, crude barley, alfalfa, buckwheat and wheatgrass grist imparts flaked cereal grain toasting.
(CHARLES WELLS) WELLS BOMBARDIER ENGLISH PREMIUM BITTER
Widely acclaimed traditional English-styled bitter plies delicate mineral water to lightly creamed caramel malting and gentle Fuggle hop bittering. Smoothly robust considering moderate 4.3% alcohol flow, allowing phenol-spiced marzipan, raisin bread, black cherry, dried fig, and pecan illusions to sway resinous peat backdrop. The nebulous Copper Ale style owes a debt of gratitude to this proudly British Extra Special Bitter. Holds up to scrutiny.
SLY FOX CHESTER COUNTY BITTER
Soft eggshell-headed golden-hazed bitter, done in cask-only British firkin style, layers balmy citric herbs above bark-dried rye breading and fungi-like yeast residue. Meringue-creamed crystal malting contrasts lemon-peeled orange rind, grapefruit, and juniper bittering as well as leathery black tea and chamomile undertones. A bit thin.
GRAND TETON XX BITCH CREEK DOUBLE ESB
Nearly as fabulous as original 20th anniversary ’08 Bitch Creek, this cellar-reserved bottle-conditioned double-malted double-hopped strong ale retains ripe fruiting and deep spicing of inceptive version. Sharper woody hopped bittering brings iodine-like alcohol burn to everlasting aftertaste, contrasting crisp mineral-grained fresh water soothe while overriding grapefruit-peeled pineapple, apple, pear, and orange tang. Centralized chocolate-cocoa malting opposes cellar-like fungi yeast musk.
ROGUE XS IMPERIAL YOUNGER’S SPECIAL BITTER ALE
Though twice as strong and thrice as sinewy as Rogue Younger’s Special Bitter, this soft-watered butterscotch-hued flesh-headed Imperial version may be a tad less preferable due to eccentric peculiarities. Weird sandalwood incensing seeps into curious herbal spicing, unusual cellar-like fungi molding, and astringent iodine backdrop. Mild black-peppered orange-oiled grapefruit bittering seriously contrasts heavily viscous nature.
LAUGHING DOG CSB EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER
RED HOOK ESB
Offbeat copper-toned ’09 Extra Special Bitter allows tannic grape acidity, moldy orange tartness, and mild nuttiness to affect honey-soured caramel-toasted malting. Citric-hopped cider sharpness gets diacetyl at tea-like tobacco-dried backend.
GRAND TETON BITCH CREEK 20TH ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE E.S.B.
Tremendous full-bodied double-hopped version of bottle-conditioned bomber-bottled ‘20th anniversary reserve’ Extra Special Bitter brings dark-spiced India Pale Ale-like fruiting to rich cocoa-chocolate malting. Orange-grapefruit peel bittering anchors brownish crimson commemoration as prune-raisin souring rises above tongue-tingling nutmeg-cinnamon spicing. Mushroom-like fungi yeast adds funky Belgian farmhouse ale underside.
GOOSE ISLAND HARVEST ALE
On tap, traditional autumnal Extra Special Bitter brings sweet and sour dry-fruited nature to piney floral-spiced Cascade hop bittering. Grapefruit, pineapple, and apricot surge ahead of buttery caramel-roasted malts lining mild-bodied gold-hazed seasonal.