This one, I actually saw someone drink when I was out people-watching in a bar, and so when I had a chance to get it in the mix and match I decided: hey, they looked like they weren’t the stupidest people in the bar. So today I’m going to briefly discuss Redhook’s ESB. Had I known what ESB stood for (Extra Special Bitter), I would not have even considered it.
Which would have been a bit of a shame. The beer poured a nice golden orange, similar to last week’s Abita Andygator. Very light, creamy looking head, but not too tall. There wasn’t a whole lot to the smell of it — a bit hoppy, but nothing crazy. A bit earthy but more forest earthy. The smell was very muted and light.
Taste wise, it didn’t pack any sort of extra-bitter at all. It wasn’t really bitter at all — certainly not anything toward an IPA, and no bitter than any I’ve reviewed so far. It had some fruity notes to it. The taste was kind of like the smell — muted.
Overall, I’d say it was an all right beer — more so if you like that sort of beer. Which will always be the case.
You thought I’d do the whole review without saying this, but this is Not My Usual Dark Brew.