Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle, this year’s batch - pours a hazy ruby with a soapy lace - sweet nose of port, cherry, toffee, bread pudding, plum, some whiskey-ish notes - low carbonation - very easy drinking for the strength, with extremely well-masked alcohol - starts of somewhat treacly sweet, with plum and toffee being fairly apparent - a bit of date - however, a lovely earthy bitterness develops that balances that beautifully - some earthy, peaty, scotch-like notes and some cherry quality - lingering hop bitterness through the finish - I like it fresh with the hop bitterness to balance, but would be interest to try aged samples - very tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
12oz bottle. Hazy orange-tan, with a foamy, patchy head. Toasty, bitter aroma. Medium bodied, quite easy to drink, approaching watery. Solid crisp bitter hoppiness, really evens out the creamy Vienna-malt tones. A touch of fruity ale yeast flavors in there too. OK, sort of a light West Coast Pale with some fruity Oktoberfest/Amber tones going on as well.
notalush (7339) reviewed Local 5 ESB from Bristol Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Pours a hazy copper with a creamy, sudsy lace - moderately earthy aroma with a surprisingly American, spicy hop profile - a bit of mineral and biscuit in the aroma as well - mouthfeel is surprisingly soft, but they may have been going for a cask ale feel - medium dry, with just a touch of caramel sweetness - much more british in the flavor - some dry mineral, a hint of diacetyl, some biscuity malt character - the flavor of the goldings is apparent, but the bitterness is all American - spicy in the finish - a decent balance between American and British styles - pretty good.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
12oz bottle. Murky red-brown color. Thin, oily non-head. Malty, medium-bodied, quite true to style. Sort of a watery, low carbonated, amber-brown ale. Sweet, nutty, light brown sugar. I respect a good, sessionable Scottish Ale. Well done.
bhensonb (22605) reviewed Local 5 ESB from Bristol Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bomber from Ace Wine & Spirits in Boulder, CO. Pours amber with a foamy beige head. Light floral and caramel aromas. Med body/average carbonation. Flavor is light caramel and some bitter, largely floral, hop.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle from Supermarket Liquors in Fort Collins, CO. Pours dark amber with a foamy 1 finger beige/tan head. Sort of a date aroma. Near full bodied with carbonation I am at a loss to describe. Flavor is dark brown fruit and dark brown malt. Finishes a bit more sweet than not. Goes down all too well.
notalush (7339) reviewed Yellow Kite from Bristol Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Super-fresh six pack - pours a lively clear bright gold, with a soapy lace - aroma of light, honeyed maltiness, moderate, snappy toasted grains, spicy and grassy noble hops - soft but full carbonation - just enough malt heft and sweetness to make for a satisfying mouthfeel - perhaps not as clean through the middle as one might want, but it cleans up nicely for the finish, which is moderately spicy, with lingering floral hops and cracked grains - a surprisingly good pils from a hit or miss brewery.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Trade with jybe. Pours with a brown body and a tan head. Aroma is watery, fruity esters, smoke and chocolate. TAste is watery, coffee, chocolate, smoke. Light bubbles.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Another inoffensive, drinkable, yet uninspiring bottled offering from this brewery - a fairly sturdy malt base sets up and earthy cascade flavor - high hop flavor, but low hop bitterness - some herbal, tea-like character - medium sweet - a little yeasty in the finish - peppery on the tail end - okay.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Pours a cloudy dark copper - thick lace - a very clean and straightforward ale - quite a bit of crystal and vienna noticeable in the aroma and flavor - some moderate, estery fruitiness and a semi-sticky sweetness reminiscent more of an alt than an amber - toasted graininess in the finish, with just a touch of hop bitterness - nothing standout, but not a bad beer for early spring.