ESB (Early Spring Beer)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

ESB (Early Spring Beer)ESB (Early Spring Beer)
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
5.9%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 9.16%
Reviews:
573
Ratings:
643
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 08, 2016
Added:
Jan 09, 2008
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by eaglefreak:
Photo of eaglefreak
Reviewed by eaglefreak from Mississippi

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
ESB 2009: Purchased at the Fresh Market in Ridgeland,MS. This was a great beer for the wonderful spring weather today. Hit the spot. Nice two-finger head, bronze-orange color. A great session beer. Nice English malts with a West Coast hop kick. Could easily drink several of these. This will be a nice beer for the Super Bowl.
Feb 01, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.65/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Heady golden color, professional grade clarity. These guys make pro beer. 3/4" white head. Mild citrus aroma, but it is heavy for style.

Taste, pretty enjoyable, similar to a helles lager/bock but with an ale yeast. I think this is a pretty cool beer. There's bitterness, biscuit malt, dry finish/mouthfeel. The citrus kick is unexpected. Heavy carbonation.

Still have one left. . . might as well wait for the 10 year mark on that one. Would be more than happy if they kicked this into production again next spring.
Nov 08, 2016
Photo of Pegasus
Reviewed by Pegasus from Texas

3.84/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Copper-colored body, crowned by a coarse, robust and long-lasting tan head, which retains superbly. Fine pinpoints of lacing are scarred across the glass wall. The carbonation is profuse, fine-beaded, and slow-rising.

Aroma: Opens with a wave of Fuggles hops, which I normally dislike, however, the earthy hops present very well against the abundant toasted and biscuit malt; the yeast yields up a delicate touch of fruit.

Taste: Opens with earthy hops, which are balanced against a solid malt backbone of toasted and biscuit malts. As the taste progresses, the yeast offers up a little fruit, an earthy dark berry flavor. Late in the taste, the hops are ascendant, bringing the taste to a dry, earthy close.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, very full, and quite pleasant.

Drinkability/notes: This was a bottle that had been refrigerated since 2008, and seems not to have suffered its age at all. ESB is not a favorite style of mine, but this one was unwaveringly excellent. Its a shame that Sierra Nevada no longer makes it,

Presentation: Packaged in a short twelve-ounce brown glass bottle with a pry-off crown, served in a New Belgium Brewing chalice.
Sep 19, 2016
Photo of Jeremiah_Nelson
Reviewed by Jeremiah_Nelson from California

5/5  rDev +30.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
So sad this is a discontinued beer. I rank it as high as possible only for the fact I can remember the taste so vividly. It was the beer my father in law bought and we drank the night we came home from the hospital with my first child. Great memories.
Aug 21, 2016
Photo of cyguyjg
Rated by cyguyjg from Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
I miss this ale. It was a great example of an American ESB. Slightly malty, the alcohol gave it just the right punch.
Mar 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.94 by Spaceman_Jer from Colorado

Jan 29, 2015
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.43/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
"Our ESB combines the best of English tradition with West Coast style. A blend of malts featuring British-grown Maris Otter is balanced with the earthy spiciness of hand-selected English and US hops. The ale is left unfiltered, which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish-copper hue." Brewed in the style of an English Extra Special / Strong Bitter. Previously available in 12 oz. bottled 6 packs and on draft, this was retired after 2009.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a pint glass. Served above 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a frothy foam head of an off-white color over a very cloudy deep amber body. There is a dense cloud of sediment floating in this beer. Retention is good and lacing is medium and solid curtained. 4

(Smell) Doughy English bread malts with a light sweetness are joined by a very faded earthy hop notes and some light fruitiness. Altogether, it's a light aroma but very clean. 3.5

(Taste) English pale malts, slightly less sweet, less bready with a light earthy hop profile to pair. Finishes earthy bitter and hoppy with a touch of stale graininess on the back end. 3.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, lightly chewy, mildly dry. Carbonation is soft for a smooth, fluffy mouthfeel. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is grainy and bitter over sweet. Alcohol presence is medium, and there are no discernible off-characters. 3.5

(Overall) ESB is another beer that I stumbled upon recently and despite its age, it's still a decent drinking beer, likely handled very well over the past few years. While I don't recommend going out of your way to dig through the cellars for this beer, I can testify that what remains of the ESB is still a mighty fine beverage, and I hope to get the chance to try it again, especially if we have an American ESB interest reemerge in the future. 3.5

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s
Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (ESB)
3.41/5.00
Dec 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by smi69 from New York

Nov 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by FaradayUncaged from Michigan

Nov 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by jsh420 from Illinois

Oct 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by probert from New York

Sep 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Robyn from South Carolina

Jul 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by jbriggs7 from North Carolina

Jul 14, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Durandal_777 from Pennsylvania

Apr 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by harpus from Alabama

Apr 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Feb 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Feb 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jaydoc from Kansas

Jan 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by krome from Illinois

Jan 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by zbkai189 from Washington

Jan 02, 2014
ESB (Early Spring Beer) from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 643 ratings