“Inspired by the classic “Bitters” from Great Britain, our Belk’s ESB is an innovative take on the style. With a deep, golden hue and big malty foundation, the spicy, herbal hop aromas and crisp, bitter bite give a West Coast flair to this classic recipe”.
Served in a shaker glass the appearance displayed a slightly hazy golden orange with a fizzy 1 finger head. Good retention with reasonable lacing on offer. Firstly what hits the olfactory’s is the vibrant floral hops. Just underneath the soft citrus, apple and pine lies the biscuity malt, toast and grains you come to expect from English-style ESB’s. Maybe a slight hint of caramel in there too. Well balanced aroma, a very nice start to this beer. The mouth feel is dry and full bodied. Medium carbonation with a saliva sapping bitterness on the tongue initially. Maybe a little peppery spice to boot. The mid-palate is more malt driven with hints of biscuit and toast balancing out the really hoppy fore flavour. Again the astringent bitterness paired up with a subtle but sharp addition of booze (6.8% ABV) finishes it off with decent length on the back end. The bitterness does subside as we got closer to the bottom of the glass but still seems to slightly overpower the malty or toasty flavours. Not too bad though, still enjoyable.