Badlands Bitter
Silver Moon Brewing

Poured into a mug, the appearance was a murky orange color with a thin white foamy head that slid off at a mild pace. Just a wisp of sliding white stringy lace.
The aroma had some grassy to earthy hops up front over top of some bready malty qualities. Light citrus, but super faint.
The flavor seemed to plea with the malts to come to the forefront but honestly, the more I sipped this one, the hops really stayed at the center of attention pulling the sweet to the bitter and maintaining a well balanced blend. Nice clean malty aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about almost medium bodied as it seemed to sit just a touch under and having a pretty good sessionability about it. Carbonation was nice and low as it should be for the style. ABV felt appropriate and a nice brisk malty smooth sort of finish as I expect for the style.
Overall, now that's a pretty nice ESB that I'd have again. Pass the fish n' chips.

 

 

 

Pours a bright orange color, slightly cloudy, with a thin head.

Aromas are of light hops. Some citrus, as well as a bit of bready malts.

Taste is toasty and creamy up front. General sweetness, with hints of earth hop spiciness mixed in. Finish is crisp and dry, with some more hops sprinkled in.

Mouthfeel is good. Not heavy, and well carbonated.

Drinkability is also good. This is a pretty good example of the style. And scores extra points here for being flavorful, and still very sessionable at 4.5% ABV.

Look: copper, bright, can see through barely.
Smell: butterscotch, tofee, peanut butter
Taste: wheat bread, peanut, macadamia or even cashews. actually quite interesting and tasty.
Mouth: thick, leaves a good presence.
Drink: not my thing really, good esb but not best, would be great in winter.

Silver Moon calls Badlands Bitter their session beer and I would have to agree. Easy to drink, not too bitter, and a low ABV make this a thirst quencher. They also call it an Extra Special Bitter but I feel it falls short of this style and is more in line with a Best Bitter or Ordinary Bitter.

Aroma:
Unfortunately a little cheese in the hops and some slight acetaldehyde. Fortunately, some nice citrus and caramel come forward as well. Not quite enough hop presence for an ESB.

Appearance:
Decent sized white pillowey head caps this light amber colored brew. Only the slightest of haze is present. Decent lacing...this beer just looks sessionable.

Taste:
Well balanced with enjoyable malt sweetness in the middle that I looked forward to with every sip. There is some pleasant fruitiness too in this light to medium bodied brew. The body is too light for an ESB. Carbonation is light as the style dictates.

Finish:
Tasty smooth bitterness lingers for a bit but does not overstay its welcome.

Hazy amber with a very small white head. Fair amount of lacings. Aroma is faint malts.
Taste is dirty bitter hops with just enough dark malt to balance this beer. Carbonation is minimal and the finish is dry. Very bold flavors for such a low abv. Good session beer.

First, the correct abv is 4.5%, which makes this a great session drinker. On tap this pours a tea colored copper. Clear and has a thin head.

Bitter malt in the aroma. The bitterness is not over the top, but balances nicely with the caramel and other malty characteristics. A tad yeasty and grainy, with a short dry finish. A bit of woodiness comes into the aftertaste.

One hell of good brew. After three of them, I felt like I could keep going, which is hard to say for most of the micros around town.

Note: this review is a bit dated as the brewery has since relocated and adapted to a new brewing system.

Served on tap at what will soon be their former location on Division St., Badlands Bitter has an unusual iced-tea and lemon flavor that shifts abruptly towards a tinny bitterness. It’s also the color of iced tea, with beautiful clarity and a scant head with persistent carbonation.

This is a relaxed beer with no lace and a light yeasty aroma. The mouthfeel however is voluptuous and full.