Extra Special Oak (ESO)

16 oz. Can. Aroma has toffee, wood, and minerals. Flavor is a odd concoction of english toffee, odd vanilla hint, and a strange butterscotch-like flavor. Meh….

Bottle shared at Leightons gaff , 19/09/2016. Many thanks to Leighton for this one. A dark orange coloured pour with a loose off white head. Aroma is semi sweet toasted malts, cola cubes, papery, old malts. Flavour is composed of aged papery malts, faint oak and vanilla, toast, nutty, papery. Palate is dry, airy carbonation, drying finish. Lingering roast and dried fruits.

Bottle thanks to LKS. It pours clear deep brown with a medium off-white head. The aroma is earthy, wood, toasted nut, leather, caramel sweetness, rivita and a touch of dried fruits. The taste is dry, wood, leather, toasted nut, caramel, toffee, big of alcohol heat, syrupy, honeyed fruits and toasted brown sugar with a dry, slightly astringenct finish. Medium + body and high, foamy carbonation. Pretty dry and woody. OK at best.

Bottle shared in London - sourced from CPK. Pours clear, deep gold with a creamy, off-white head. Quite woody in the nose, some varnish, ripe berries. Medium sweet flavour with strong woody character, dried berries, some toffee, bread. Medium to full bodied with average carbonation. Warming finish with some woody dryness, earth, more dried berries, a little ham, orange peel. Not bad.

Combination rate of bottle pour into pint glass (2016), taster pour at Craft Brew Race, Worcester (2019). Appearance is light-to-medium brown with finger-width beige head with decent retention and lacing. Aroma is caramel roast, hint of coffee (2019), strong oak (2016). Taste is strong oak--hard to get anything else (2016), caramel roast and mild coffee with hint of oak and nuts (2019). Palate is light-to-medium bodied with thin, smooth texture and average-to-lively carbonation with oaky finish. Overall, the oak dominated the 2016 experience to the exclusion of other aroma/flavors so rated it 2.9 but the 2019 pour had more mellow oak (maybe too mellow) so other flavors shined through (rated 3.8). So, perhaps the length of time it's been aged in the barrels or the age in the bottle may have been different between the two.

A hazed dark amber ale with a thick frothy lacing light mocha head. In aroma, sweet fruity caramel malt with light nutty notes, light grassy hops, treacle, very nice. In mouth, a nice sweet fruity caramel malt with smooth herbal hops, grapefruit pulp, light pine needles, nice and smooth.

Bottle. Pours slightly cloudy dark amber with large foamy beige head, woodsy aroma mixed with caramel, medium carbonation, mellow slightly salty caramel taste, longish bitter finish. Very smooth and drinkable.

Bottle. The day after. Pours dirty orange brown with white head. Nose and taste of vanilla, toasted grain, oak, toast and light alcohol. Lighter bodied. Touch of fruit. A touch over carbonated.