Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

ESB - in this case meaning "extra strong beer" and not "extra strong bitter" - brewed by the only brewery in the relatively new country of South Sudan, officially recognised as an independent state only in 2011; the brewery was opened in its capital Juba four years later, with the help of SABMiller, and apparently helps to symbolise the country's independence. The malts, hops and sugar are brought in from abroad by trucks, but I love the brewery's reasoning that the major ingredient is always water, and this water is sourced from the White Nile running through the country... Sample at tderoeck's place, thanks Tim! Off-white, loose and open 'head' - originally a medium thick, closed one apparently, over clear 'old' golden beer with some tiny protein dots and a browning tinge of oxidation. Aroma of dry cookies, rusty oxidation, hints of biscuit, dried apricot and honey. Sweetish onset, again a vague hint of dried apricot and perhaps pear, soft carb, smooth mouthfeel; cereally and lightly biscuity malts (complemented with the sugars the brewery apparently sources from South Africa), sweetish and straightforward, with a whiff of softly bittering floral hops in the finish. Strong lager and sadly not an ESB in the English sense of the word, but actually not the worst I had - my interest in what this brewery does, is certainly sparked, but I doubt I will ever come across its product range again...

Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 3.5 | Flavor - 5.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Sampled at Tim's place, huge thanks! [Supposed to be South Sudan, or has been brewed in South Sudan at some point, I believe]. Clear golden color, no head. Aroma is malts, dusty grainy, oddly medicinal. Flavor is malts, straw, dusty grainy and grainy bitter a bit. Not too bad actually.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Stark malziger, süßlich malziger Beginn. Weiche Herbe, trocken, moderat bitter, alkoholische Noten. 9/7/8/7/6/7

placeholder until I copy my hand written notes.