Beast Bitter
Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.

Comes in a hazy golden color with a creamy white head. Good retention. Wispy lacing is left.
Smells of grapefruit and orange zest, honey, white bread, cracked cereal grains, and some grass and pine.
The taste of honey and white bread malt, with some grapefruit and orange peel, and a hint of pine. Lightly sweet with some lingering bitterness.
Feels medium-bodied, well carbonated, smooth and creamy.
Overall, a really nice beer. Too hoppy for the ESB style, but it's very tasty regardless.

 

Nose is vivacious with malt. Biscuity and caramel. Firm dry caramel , none of that soft sweet stuff. The hops twinkle like fuggles do and show you soft earthy, woody spice. There is good citric backnote to them that makes them smell fresh and tangy and even a bit like zest. They also use cascade I think. Toasty malt is so crisp it's almost crunchy in there. I love it! As you drink the beer it simply takes over your mouth and your will to fight. It's abundant with malt. The hops are forward and keep forward until the very last moment in the swallow when you smile because it's the malt that finishes this beer medium dry.

Taste is like toast! Lightly buttered and bitter. So delicious. The finish and the balance is what kept this beer in my glass until literally there was no more beer. Hops give an expert bitterness that never gains speed or strength. Steadfast, although it's not really too gentle either. As all the flavor from malt fades, even the hop fruitiness fades off to tangerine pith but the bitter remains.

Outrageously good. I'll take a few big mugs of that! I also hear that this brewer is using the ever elusive strain of yeast in this beer called ringwood. I would love to know if that yeast is in any way responsible for the flavor that this beer has. You just can't stop drinking it.

 

 

 

 

 

A classic bitter. An underrepresented style, in my opinion, and this is a beast of an example.

Pours a somewhere between a dark orange to a very light mahogany. Dark enough to let you know there's some big malts in there. Nice head that fades slow. Feels very medieval in some way!

Aromas are malty, buttery, and some light fruit. Picking up on the yeast, it gets the appetite going.

The flavors are bitter, but not biting. Pleasant bitterness with a long finish, that dances back and forth between that and a mellow sweetness from the malts. A light roast character. The cumulative effect is like bitter buttered toast. MMmm.

Mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth and a bit creamy. Every pub in the world should have this on tap as the quintessential answer to a generic "give me a pint".

Why do more people not make this kind of brew? Is it difficult to do well? Is it perhaps too simple? Does it just not carry the hero-worship that a flagship IPA brings with it? This is a great beer and an argument for more brewers to take on this style as one worth brewing.

 

Nice bitter with clean finish!

 

 

 

 

an excellent bitter, surpassed only by their "Old MArcus". If you like beer with flavor, you'll like this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

solid bitter, though the new citra recipe is not nearly as good as the original. would love to see the original recipe brought back, when it was a fantastic bitter.

I got this beer as an exchange from a family member in New york so I have no idea how long it was cellaring.

This was my first ESB so it would be wrong for me to judge it but... I swear to what gods I find holy this beer is the best ESB I have ever imbibed! And i have have tried many a bitter since.

I would love to try another to get a more objective review, until then: If you get a chance to try this beer GIVE IT A TRY.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Village Tavern in Geneseo, NY.

Pours a golden honey color. Mildly hazy, looks unfiltered. Strong visible carbonation, 2 inch head. Some small spots of lacing throughout the session.

Sharp English hop aroma- grass, apples, pears.

Great taste. Pretty hoppy for what it is- a lingering hop bitterness stays throughout the session. Some apples and pears in the taste too, along with grass, biscuity malt, slight wood.

Medium to light body, crisply carbonated.

I'm really getting into English bitters these days, and I love this one a lot.