Full Sail ESB
Full Sail Brewing Company

Full Sail ESBFull Sail ESB
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From:
Full Sail Brewing Company
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.66 | pDev: 13.11%
Reviews:
86
Ratings:
245
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 25, 2017
Added:
Dec 28, 2011
Wants:
  7
Gots:
  33
'A nicely balanced small batch bitter concocted by our own Barney Brennan, featuring five different specialty malts and aromatic Challenger hops'

35 IBU

Originally a pub-only beer, Re-released in January 2012 as part of the Brewer's Share series.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.5/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance has a hazy yet mostly transparent bronzed amber color. The head was about a finger and a half’s worth of white foaminess. There’s a light somewhat speckled lacing trying to show its face, but the head must last for at least a good minute before the lacing can actually be seen. The smell has a fairly decent light apple with a light vanilla and light English maltiness running about my nose in a powerful sort of way. The taste takes those previously mentioned flavors to balance with a slight bitterness very underneath (Fuggles hops, I think, I could be wrong, but I think that’s what they are). The aftertaste is very bitter and dry and has a decent crisp feel into the finish. On the palate, this one really wanted to sit at a light, but somehow showed a quality that wanted to sit at medium. Sessionable, kinda yeah, I could see it. The carbonation is really smooth if that helps. Overall, in my opinion, well, this was a fairly good ESB worthy of having again.
Jun 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by afsdan from Colorado

Mar 22, 2017
 
Rated: 3 by Nichols33 from Massachusetts

Jan 22, 2017
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.35/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Amber ale with thin beige head. faint malty aroma with some piney hops. taste has hops take a more prominent role, and lingers on the palate. Pretty good approximation of the style
Nov 03, 2016
Photo of Brom732
Reviewed by Brom732 from North Carolina

4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look - 4 – ( color, haziness, lacing, head and color of head, density of head etc)
Pours amber/copper in color, very little off white head. Leaves little vertical lacing.

Smell – 4 - ( Hop smells- citrus, pine, grapefruit, earthy - Malt smell – toffee, caramel, bread, nutty, cinnamon, chocolate, Yeasty spicy, )
Smells of a different kind of bitter, like a malty goodness kind of bitter that I'm not very familiar with.
Taste – 4 – ( Hop flavor, bitterness, sweetness, malt flavor )
Giving very malty flavors up front with some biscuit and toffee. Has a nice bitter kick to it in the end.

Feel- 4 – ( light-heavy body, light-heavy carbonation, smooth, rough )
medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall- 4 – For my first Bitter, it was pretty good.That being said, I am unsure on how to properly evaluate a bitter, please excuse the large deviation. This makes me want to look into trying more bitters in the future.
Jun 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.68 by Squire from Mississippi

May 24, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.58/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Comes out darker than I remember, brown. Aroma was muted hops, northwest c hop variety.

Taste was a hearty bitterness, grapefruit, a little bit of caramel. Finishes pretty dry. I bet your grandpa would be cool with drinking one of these. I am, its good, especially in the springtime.
Dec 23, 2015
Photo of Libeertarian
Reviewed by Libeertarian from Montana

3.68/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Darker copper, pinkish hues, clear. Very fluffy, pillowy, tan head. Great retention, ringlets of lace. Smells like resin, pine, and raisins. Taste is like this as well, but a bit more leather, dried leaves, with floral to soapy notes. Medium-bodied, slick, sloshy, spritzy and crisp.
Dec 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by crob3888 from California

Dec 03, 2015
Photo of puck1225
Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas

3.76/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle into a pint jar. Beautiful deep red-gold color with a nice thick head and great lacing. A sort of grassy sweet smell. Taste is crisp and malty but not overly bitter. An enjoyable beer!
Nov 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.52 by Satsuma from Florida

Oct 31, 2015
Photo of Foyle
Reviewed by Foyle from North Carolina

3.7/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 12 oz bottle into pint glass. Appearance: pours a 1" off white head that falls quickly with just a hint of lacing. Color is mostly clear copper with mild streaming carbonation. Aroma: malt dominate -- bread dough and a bit of toffee. Hops are floral with a little citrus rind as well. Mouthfeel: light to medium bodied with a fluffy ale mouthfeel. Finish is dry and somewhat boozy. Flavor: toasted bread, toffee, raisin and other ripe fruit. WIth a lingering floral, citrus rind, and even a bit of pine hops. Overall: a very good and enjoyable ESB -- although the 6.5% is a little high as the BJCP guidelines top out at 6.2% -- thus the beer is a little too boozy and would be limited for sessionability.
Oct 27, 2015
Photo of SitkaSteve
Reviewed by SitkaSteve from Idaho

3.99/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a golden amber color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about less than a minute. Light lacing wove around the glass adequately.
The smell had some breadiness with a mild earthy to grassy hoppiness sliding into some citrus.
The taste was bready sweet with the earthy and grassy hops becoming a bit mild. The citrus part shows the bitter side and that is pretty good. There's a light grassy to earthy aftertaste and mild finish.
The mouthfeel was about light to medium bodied with a decent sessionability about it. Carbonation runs good with a creamy smooth sweet feel clinging to my tongue.
Overall, for the most part, I'd say Full Sail did a good job with this one. I'd have this again.
Oct 27, 2015
Photo of DrMullet
Reviewed by DrMullet from Florida

3.73/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours a medium copper color. Begins with a modest caramel and bready malt taste. Followed by an earthy/citrus flavor. A bit of pine at the end. Finishes with a mildly bitter aftertaste. I found it enjoyable.
Oct 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.72 by monk2021 from Texas

Oct 07, 2015
Photo of BenwayPHD
Reviewed by BenwayPHD from California

4.13/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours a nice, dark, orange brown with a very thin, foamy head. The nose is full of caramel and butterscotch. Is bready and nutty and sweet. The flavor is nice. It's similar to the nose but with an added roastiness and more emphasis on the caramel notes. The mouthfeel is buttery and delicious. This is my favorite beer from the folks at full sail.
Sep 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

Sep 30, 2015
Photo of barczar
Reviewed by barczar from Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This one got lost in the cellar. 2012.

Aroma is caramelly sweet, with light fruity specialty malt character and floral hops accompanying.

Flavor is very caramelly and slightly oxidized, with notes of cardboard and sherry throughout.

Rating set to average due to age.
Sep 05, 2015
Photo of TX-Badger
Reviewed by TX-Badger from Texas

3.6/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear coppery color with off-white head. Caramel malts, toffee, and some spice on the nose; follows onto the palate. Medium bodied. Finishes with more caramel and toffee flavors, with the sweetness balanced out with just a bit of bitterness.
Aug 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.7 by Spaceman_Jer from Colorado

Aug 30, 2015
Full Sail ESB from Full Sail Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 245 ratings