“A stalwart of the British brewing scene – a beer style that showcases a brewery’s talent with both malt and hops.  ESB is balanced with delicious malt flavours then finishing with pleasant bitterness.”

Glassware: English pint.

Appearance: Pours an attractive deep amber with strong ruby red hues. A thumb of tan head reduces quite quickly and settles to a collar. Unfortunately not much in the way of lacing.

Aroma: Definitely sweet, definitely nutty and laden with caramel but it seems to lack that all-important English hop profile. Those floral, spicy and earthy characters are key to the perfect balance with this style. Sometimes these malty beers need a bit of time to properly open up but this one seems to be doubling down on the cloying malt-driven sweetness. Bit of a shame coz Boatrocker have nailed ESB’s before.

Flavour: We were quietly hoping the hops were hiding here in the flavour but nope, it’s more of the same. There’s nothing wrong with sweet caramels, nutty malt and brioche in an ESB but it has to have that crucial hop balance in our opinion. It simply isn’t here so we’re left with this overly sweet, artificial malt bomb from start to finish. Disappointing.

Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky but cloying and also lacking any vibrancy in the Co2 department. Medium body with a well positioned 5.5% ABV.

Overall: We’ve probably said all that needs to be said already. Badly unbalanced and not enjoyable to drink. A rare strike out for Boatrocker.