Bottle sample at a tasting at the Beer & Beyond shop. Thanks zvikar. Slightly hazy copper. Aroma of malt, earth, some oxidation, honey-ish notes, a bit of caramel and light fruitiness. Sweetish flavor, malty, a bit oxidized (cardboard), with mild fruitiness and caramel and a finish with very mild bitterness. Medium-bodied.

Pours deep mahogany into a Sam glass. Tan head with good retention recedes leaving scant lacing. Earthy caramel aromas. Soft with sweet caramel and earthy toasted nuts front to back. Lasting, dry caramel finish.

12oz bottle pours with a clear copper body that supports an off white head of foam. The aroma offers up some roasted malts, graham cracker, malt sweetness and then some pine hops. The taste is similar with sweet malts, some roasted malts, a bit of biscuit maltiness and then malt sweetened graham cracker. Behind those notes is a complimentary yet modest degree of pine hoppiness. This comes together pretty well. Nice stuff.

Bottle from sethdude. Pours bright, clear copper with a slight beige head. Aroma is fruit/floral. Or floral/fruit. Med body. Flavor is floral/fruit. I’m thinking plum skin. It’s on the dry side, hoppy, but not bitter. Violets come to mind.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear amber with an off-white head. Biscuity caramel aroma with florals and honey. Flavors are floral, grassy hops with caramel and biscuit, green grape with a slightly juicy feel. A bit basic, but it has a very nice hoppiness and bitterness to it.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 5/10/2013. Pours slightly hazy orange copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, orange, grapefruit, toast, bread, floral, grass, light pine, light nuttiness, and light yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of malt and hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, orange, grapefruit, apple, brown sugar, floral, grass, light nuttiness, and light yeast earthiness. Minimal earthy floral bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, biscuit, citrus, apple, brown sugar, floral, and light nuttiness on the finish for a bit. Very nice clean and balanced taste of malt, hop, and fruity flavors; with good robustness and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a slightly creamy, smooth, and lightly crisp mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very nice ESB style! All around nice balance of malt and hop flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Bottle: Pours a shimmering amber-bronze, with better than a finger of thick, creamy beige head. Nice lacing too. The nose is what I love about and ESB; citrus, florals, and caramel all intertwined in a sweet, inviting blend. As it warms, the herbal notes come forth a little to inform me I am taking way too long to enjoy my beer. The taste builds on the herbal element, along with something I associate with iced tea. Good floral and citrus hop parts too. Really enjoyable. The ESB was probably the style that got me into craft beer, some 12+ years ago... I wish I would have explored more in the PNW beer scene while I was there. Nevertheless, I am pleased to have a decent amount of fresh craft beer available here in the western midwest and this GI/InBev brew is really speaking to me. Enter Comic Book Guy on doomsday, "Uh oh, I’ve wasted my life."

Pours clear copper color with off white head. Toasted malt and caramel aromas. Toasted malt and caramel flavors with some citrus. Medium body with average carbonation.

12 oz. bottle purchased at Oliver’s Beverage Center, Albany, NY. Color is amber/ orange with thin layer of white head in my English pint glass. Aroma has pine and citrus with some doughy bread. Taste is toffee and caramel malt with an herbal bitterness that is similar to a flower. Pretty well balanced overall, yet with a nice hop bite. Medium body with a tingle on the mouthfeel. This is much better then I expected.