Absolutely delighted to come across this 500 mL bottle at Bruisn’ Ales in Asheville, NC, USA. $5.00. Tall thin brown bottle in the USA, NOT as shown in the BA database.
In my opinion this is incorrectly categorized as a English Brown Ale – it simply isn’t. This is a classic English, ESB in my book.
Body is light and produces a small head with little lace. English Pale Ale color. Majestic bottle. Hell Yeah!
Nose and tastes are incredibly fruity with tremendous presence. The malt nose is bigger than the taste and in fact I’d suggest that the finish is rather dry. The aftertaste is what I love about this type of beer. It tingles and lingers to leave and truly satisfying experience. There is a touch of metal in there too, and a hint of hop bitterness. A light tingle on the tongue is its parting shot. Plenty of green apples and pears (pear drops) are in there too.
On draft (or better still cask conditioned) this is going to be a stellar brew. Tasty and although this beer does not do really well on its travels, this is still a delicious beer.