Broken Paddle ESB
Town Hall Brewery

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From:
Town Hall Brewery
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Ranked #60
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
86
Ranked #26,062
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 12.34%
Ratings:
35 | reviews: 22
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 13, 2023
Added:
Sep 20, 2003
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Taster flight at brewpub. Light amber, thin ring of head. Not much to the aroma, very light malt. Taste brings more of the caramel, but weak and thin.
Apr 13, 2023
Photo of zeff80
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

3.69/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
On tap. Poured a clear copper color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It smelled of biscuity malt, caramel and floral notes. Sweet and malty with a touch of citrus and bitterness.
Jan 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.07 by beinerso from Utah

Jan 01, 2019
Photo of Taybeh
Reviewed by Taybeh from Minnesota

3.66/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
At the tap house, into a shaker, pours a nice reddish Amber with a thick off white 1 finger head. Nose is ok, at best: a little orange marmalade and some biscuit...those flavors, though more toast than biscuit, as well as a little more caramel and earthy English hops come through better when I start to drink. Creamy and smooth, with a little gentle earthy and hoppy bite. Not bad but a little uneven and not quite what I remembered from last time I tried this one.
Jun 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.88 by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

Apr 30, 2016
 
Rated: 3.93 by tylerstravis from Colorado

Apr 28, 2016
 
Rated: 2.81 by Rifugium from North Dakota

Sep 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by primaldiscord from Oregon

Oct 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by zestar from California

Aug 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by CCutch from Minnesota

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by seangibbs60 from Minnesota

Jul 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Jan 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by XmnwildX12 from Minnesota

Dec 11, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by mmulebarn from Minnesota

Nov 21, 2013
Photo of MattyG85
Reviewed by MattyG85 from Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
64 oz. growler bought from the brewpub with a date of 5/1/13. Poured into a Town Hall Chalice glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep copper amber orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid three fingers of off white head that slowly fade into a thin patchy layer. Leaves a decent amount of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A malt forward English style aroma with lots of toasty caramel and some earthy hops. Toasted malts upfront with lots of hints of biscuit, grains, yeast, caramel, toast, and some nuts. Background of earthy hops with some floral and herbal hints. Also a little hint of citrus orange. Fairly grassy. The biscuity malt scent stands out the most. A pretty decent aroma.

Taste: Follows the aroma pretty closely with a very malt driven biscuity taste. Lots of bready toasted malt flavor with notes of biscuit, toast, grains, caramel, toffee, yeast, and nuts. Hops come through midway with some earthy floral, grassy, and herbal notes. Also a little taste of citrus orange and lemon. Bitterness comes through towards the finish. A very English tasting biscuit driven brew. Pretty good for the style.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, slightly chewy, and very smooth.

Overall: A pretty solid English style brew. Very malt forward with lots of biscuit and nutty flavors. Decent earthy background.
May 03, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by NoahPrice

Jun 01, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by herman77 from Minnesota

Apr 30, 2012
Photo of Chriscrundwell12
Reviewed by Chriscrundwell12 from Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured on tap into a pint glass.

A- One finger off white head, clear red amber color nice lacing and retention.
S- The aroma is nothing special, malt upfront, some spice, toffee, some hops, earthy grass notes, slight fruitiness.
T- Taste very similar to the aroma, the malt is a lot more present than the aroma, bready, slight caramel taste but very mellow, slight hops.
M- Medium mouth feel, well carbonated, smooth drinking, easy drinkability.
O- Overall this is a descent brew, big malt profile in this beer, not my favorite beer or style but enjoyable.
Aug 07, 2011
Photo of tewaris
Reviewed by tewaris from Minnesota

3.37/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.6% ABV
Served in a shaker pint glass at the brewpub.

Appearance 4/5
Deep copper, with a white head that is small but consistent. Decent lacing.

Aroma 2/5
Smell is simply put, odd and un-beerly. No caramel, toffee, or fruit that I'd expect from an ESB. WTF?! Thankfully, it's not repulsive!

Taste 3.5/5
Not half bad when compared to the smell. Decently bitter with an alright backbone but bland in general without any malty and fruity flavors that I would expect from the style.

Mouthfeel 4.5/5
Spot on, with mute carboantion.

Drinkability 4/5
I didn't enjoy the taste all that much but mouthfeel and ABV keep it decently drinkable. A sessionable beer, if nothing exceptional.
Dec 22, 2010
Photo of younger35
Reviewed by younger35 from Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Picked up a growler of this from Town Hall over lunch. Had a sample and thought it was pretty tasty. Drank from my Surly stein.

Appearance- Pours a crystal clear dark orange yellowish with a decently creamy one finger off-white head. A nice cap and collar is maintained the entire beer along with a big of ring like lacing.
Smell- Smells like an ESB! A fairly big hop presence on first whiff with a European hop profile. Very earthy and grassy. Slightly sweet smelling as well with a slightly toasted, almost nutty, malt profile. Not the most exciting smell on earth but pretty much on par for an ESB.
Taste- Starts with a lightly sweet kiss of malt that has a slight caramel toast. The hops are quick to follow with a lightly bitter kick that is grassy with a touch of pine. Very earthy as you'd expect with a lightly bitter and somewhat nutty finish.
Mouthfeel- Medium body with a rich creamy feel. The carbonation is fairly low as well.
Drinkability- This is exactly what you'd expect from a well brewed ESB. Nothing exciting but it's pretty solid and very drinkable. Can't really go wrong with this beer if you like the style.
Dec 12, 2010