Paper City ESB
Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.

A cloudy orange/amber body holds up a thick faomy beige head that produces a nice lace. There is a marvelous big citrusy hop aroma that beconds you from the top of the glass. A grapfruit citrus starts at the begining and quickly moves to a serious hop bitterness that finisihes smoothly. The hoppiness makes me think of west coast beers. It seems that Paper City has adopted the west coasts love of the hop. I like it.

This was absolutely delicious at the source on the BA bus trip, so when we spied the six pack at the local store it said: buy us now...

Beautiful reddish dark copper color, really awesome looking. Decent head, which dies down to leave that little bit of cover, which has lasted to my last couple of sips. Some lace in my paper city pint glass, also bought during the tour.

Smell is fresh, bready and malty, also slightly sweet. Taste is smooth and well rounded, slight edge to the hops. I wouldn't call the taste sweet, but the hops, while present, are mellowed a bit.

Nice mouthfeel, slight astringency in the finish.

Very lovely beer, highly recommended, I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this beer. Or several of them in a row.

A fluffy lumpy head of big beige bubbles tops this cloudy light amber beer. The head sticks around for a while too. Aroma is a very aggressively bright, slightly citrusy, hoppiness over a light touch of caramel. The body is light medium with and with surprisingly little bitterness and only a slight malt flavor initially. The bitterness missing from the beginning is made up for in the arrival of the aftertaste, which has a suddenly very dry bitterness that fades slowly leaving a slight touch of caramel and maybe even a hint of toasted malt.

The bright aroma is nice, but definitely much more similar to that of an American pale ale than an English ESB. That could be the huge carbonation letting everything out, but that big carbonation in itself is un-ESB-like too. And the lack of bitterness is disappointing after the bright hop aroma. But the aftertaste has some enjoyably interesting character. This is a decently refreshing session beer that I'd drink again, but likely not seek out.

A nice cludy gold that held its lace well down the glass. A nice hoppy aroma, strong enough to suggest what was to come. A medium mouthfeel with a nice bitter aftertaste that lingered on the palate for just the right amount of time. As with ESBs this was a very nice sipping beer, that I recommend to those who like this style. Nice to see a local brewer making a very nice product.

The next in their limited release line. The smoked porter was wicked, so i had high expectations for this. Pours a medium amber, with a slight reddish cast to it. Head is off white and somewhat oily looking. Aroma is mostly pale malt, with a touch of apple fruitiness, mild hops and a bit of grassiness. Flavor is strange. More of less right for the style, but feels sort of ham fisted. All the right flavors are there, but in perhaps not the right proportions. A strange grassy hoppiness, with a citric finish that doesn't go well with the nutty maltiness. An herbal hopping would be more appropriate, i think. It starts out fine, but ends too rough, and I think the carbonation is a little too agressive, and drowns out some of the more subtle flavors. Finish is mildly dry, but strange. Starts out good and finishes confused.

Sampled this at the brewery during the BA W. Mass. Tour. A copper/amber color with a nice beige head. Nice fragrant hops and malt aroma mingle with a light fuminess. The malt is lightly sweet and just a tad pasty. Grapefruit bitterness and a faintly astringent aftertaste. Nice beer!