Mug Club Draft. Brewmaster Tim says he made the 2008 edition an "American Style" ESB because he had some Fuggles hops available. I think that’s how a lot of brewpub creations are going to be decided on for some time: "What can we make with the hops on hand?"
Be that as it may, here’s a beer that pours a cloudy reddish-brown with a nice short but stiff head. I suspect Tim’s keeping the color close to the prescribed "red." Toffee malt smell punctuated by a dose of English hops and, for no reason that I can figure, a whiff of green chile pepper(?). Taste is pretty rich and hearty, with chewy but not sweet malts, settled by a punchy fresh hop taste (Tim says he also used Nugget, Centennial and Cascade). Rides the border between ESB and a "red" ale, but bitterness proves it. Very sessionable, I even enjoyed it in the chilled mug I got.