ESB
Redhook Brewery in Seattle, Washington, United States 🇺🇸
Bitter - ESB / Strong Bitter Regular|
Score
6.08
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Redhook’s flagship beer got its start as a winter seasonal recipe in the mid 80’s. In the early years, Extra Special Bitter earned a reputation as ‘banana beer’ and has been brewed continuously since 1987. ESB’s caramel malt sweetness and subtle spice and fruit hop flavors, quickly defined the style, becoming Seattle’s definitive craft beer and inspiring a new wave of craft beers across the country.
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4/10
Tried
on 29 May 2012
at 18:38
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
On tap at the Oakland airport
Appearance: Clear golden with a medium sized white head and good lacing
Aroma: Toasted malts, bisquity and sweet
Taste: Toasted malts, bready with bitter citrus in the finish
Nice, much better than years ago
Appearance: Clear golden with a medium sized white head and good lacing
Aroma: Toasted malts, bisquity and sweet
Taste: Toasted malts, bready with bitter citrus in the finish
Nice, much better than years ago
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jan 2012
at 11:39
4.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
12oz bottle from Pick’s poured into a shaker. Pours a very light orange with a small bit of white head. Lots of little carbonation bubbles. Aroma is mostly citrus hops with a small bit of caramel malt. Taste is lightly bitter and lightly sweet. Light bodied with a thin, oily texture. Fizzy carbonation and not much to speak of in way of finish. Overall, its not the worst beer I’ve had. Probably nothing I would buy again though.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Aug 2011
at 00:33
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12oz bottle. Filtered orange-tan, thin creamy white head. Pleasant orange-citrus hop aroma. On the fuller side of medium bodied. Pretty straightforward and unremarkable, probably a little bit more impressive in 1987. Drinkable, toasty, mild hopping. Somewhat dirty, grainy. A forgettable West Coast beer if there ever was one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Jul 2011
at 22:08
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
a good session ale i guess, very easy to drink, nothing overwhelming, balanced flavor neither favoring malt nor hop, macro carbonation, wish it could break out of the mold a little more.
Tried
on 23 Apr 2011
at 07:04
5.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
12 oz. bottle. Pours a dark copper color with almost no head. The aroma is light fruits, citrus hops and wheat. The taste is prominently bitter, with a nice malt backbone. The finish is bitter and lingering. The mouthfeel is sharp and clingy. Overall, nice aroma and flavors, but poorly balanced.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jan 2011
at 16:29
4.2/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4
On tap at The Taphouse, pours clear copper. Bland caramel malts, slight hoppy bitterness - not much character here. Drinkable.
Tried
from Draft
on 13 Nov 2010
at 10:51
5.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
About time I got around to rating this one. This is one of the earliest US craft beers I can remember trying back around ’90. I remember wondering if it would be too bitter since it is an extra special bitter. Pours copper with weak white head. The meek aroma seems to put out a whimper of spicy hops a sense of malt sweetness and little else. The taste holds up moderate notes of spicy hops, some floral hops and then a thin layer of straight up grapefruit hop bitterness. The grapefruit note grows to a tepid level by midway. It fades into the finish but allows for a bit of grapefruit hop bitterness to hang in there for a while into the after taste.
Tried
from Can
on 27 Aug 2010
at 19:30
4.6/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 3.5
Red Hook ESB is a decent beer. If you like bud light at twice the cost, then this is your beer. I was not impressed with the ESB as I am with many of the other brews Red Hook has to offer.
Tried
on 20 Aug 2010
at 02:23
6.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Purchased this one in Nashville on my trip there. This version comes from the Portsmouth, NH brewery for the east coast folks. Pours a clean amber colour with an off-white soapy head with decent wavy lacing. Malty nose (caramel and mild grain) with some vegetable notes and light fruits (peaches, cherries). Caramel malt taste with the fruits again coming in the background. Maybe, more different fruits are present in the flavours. Not really close to the English ESB that I have had, and love. Still a decent brew.
Tried
on 13 Jun 2010
at 20:27