Crisp ruddish bitter with flowery hops, pleasant caramel malts, and dry citrus punctuality. But fragile barleymalt sweetness inefficient by faded nutty finish.

Sharply carbonated traditional English ale juxtaposes bitter hops with creamy caramel and sweet whiskey. Mild barley-wheat finish loses spunk to tinny aftertaste.

Packaged to grip as a hand grenade, Ruddles’ flat-topped wide-mouth bottle is truly unique. Rich sienna-hued ale given proper English-styled hop bitterness, hitching emphatic smoked wood chips to heavy malt extract and dank grain must. Canned version picks up metallic twang.

Legendary steamboat captain’s garnet-hued London-styled bitter retains dry-bodied appeal nasty iodine aftertaste ruins. Paucity of grain thickness curtailed by unexpected floral hop serendipity and sour yeast prod, but earthy finish seems closer to a tinny copper ale with its blunt hop must, pallid malt restraint, and lightly toasted biscuit undertow.

Sweet malt-wafted English-styled Extra Special Bitter lacks appropriate enriched bitterness then finishes weak and predictable. Blunt hops disturb initial toasted grain development, blemishing delicate chocolate malt insistence and maple sap suggestion. Nowhere near as thick and heavy as false “Anvil” signifier.

Dank grain-malted prune-hued ESB leads sweet barley inlet and bitter hop undercurrent down into blandly soft-watered Scotch basin. Distant nuttiness caresses unassuming mineral grain finish.

Citric-perfumed ESB counters initial barleymalt sweetness and earthy mineral grain ascendancy with hop-tingled orange peel bitterness, but desolate finish rather toned down for English bitter styling.

Sedately mild English Bitter needs firmer bruised lemon souring and more vigorous floral hop bittering. Dry earthen vegetal hint and sweet tobacco stint bring scant compensation.

Up-front rye determination of copper-bronzed bitter lingers way past wheat-cracked barley biscuit confluence and mild chicory sway, finishing with a honeyed Scotch-like warmth.

Clear golden copper English-styled Bitter retains courteous bread-like lightness and sugary bottom. Buttery almond-caramel nuance masks cardboard-y finish admirably.

On tap, dry-bodied chocolate malting persists as vegetal backdrop builds above honeyed cocoa restraint. Fig-date recess hides oxidized acidity, but grassy hop bitterness recedes to styptic bark-like parch. In bottled version circa 2011, overpowering foam burst forth, forming ridiculously rocky tan head, so please pour slowly. Dry-honeyed rye-breaded caramel malting and sweet tobacco roast contrast mild orange-dried nut-soured hop-toasted bittering, creating sleek ESB flavor profile. Contract brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing, Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Refreshingly spry bitter with mellowing barley recession to crisp mineral water finish. Off-dry hop bitterness underscores grain intimacy for mild pilsner elan that lager fans may find tempting.