7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

16 ounce crowler into pint glass, filled on 3/17/2019. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/amber/light copper color with a 1 finger dense and rocky cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, wood, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. A touch of diacetyl in the aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, wood, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, dark fruit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Light-medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, and moderately creamy/silky/bready/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.6%. Overall this is a delicious ESB. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish, great soft/silky feel. Great rich English malt complexity, balancing earthy English hops, and restrained fruity English yeast. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made spot on style example.