500mL bottle from Bruisin’ Ales on a recent haul. $5.50. 23 SEP 09 dot-matrixed on the neck along with 8206 207A.

Light, orange amber pour with a thin, wispy, ivory head. Little lace, but this is probably due to the temperature of the beer. Nice, simple, appropriate and light carbonation.

Surprisingly sweet nose but there is more of the standard biscuit malts and crisp bitterness in the body of the beer than the aroma would suggest. Light, unsweetened grapefruit along with some citrus orange character.

Aftertaste seems particularly strong with a metallic bitterness and some surprising hop presence.

Interesting beer that steps slightly outside of the ESB category for me in terms of the bitterness. Slightly drier than usual and malts seemed less prominent and less rounded. A little harsh for the style perhaps?

Despite all of that it drinks easily and if the price were better I’d be drinking a lot more of this.