Bitter Druid ESB | Sun King Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Sun King Brewing Company
Indiana, United States
sunkingbrewing.com
Style: Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.80%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by howardf on 08-29-2009
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 44 | Reviews: 12
Reviews by Kyrojack:
4/5 rDev +7.8%
Kyrojack, May 05, 2014
More User Reviews:
3.65/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
***This is a old review I found I hadn't posted yet. Circa Aug/Sept '09.***
24oz mini growler filled at the brewery. Served in a pint glass.
A: Finger of solid, marshmallow fluff. Slowly dissipates, leaving a nice frothy film on top. Pours a transparent golden brown. Lacing is pretty nice.
S: Very bready, biscuit malts. Somewhat musty with earthy hop notes.
T: Battle of the malts. Just like the smell, there's some buttermilk biscuits covered in toffee going on here. Hops kick in towards the finish, and give a sweet bitter taste.
M: Medium bodied. Very smooth and creamy. Carbonation is spot on.
D: The low ABV makes this a sessionable brew if that's to your liking. I personally wouldn't drink more than a pint or two as I found the bitterness to be palate fatiguing.
ESB's are notorious for not being a favorite style of mine. But, this is a nice spin on the traditional style. Overall it feels a little unbalanced, but a very consumable brew.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
***This is a old review I found I hadn't posted yet. Circa Aug/Sept '09.***
24oz mini growler filled at the brewery. Served in a pint glass.
A: Finger of solid, marshmallow fluff. Slowly dissipates, leaving a nice frothy film on top. Pours a transparent golden brown. Lacing is pretty nice.
S: Very bready, biscuit malts. Somewhat musty with earthy hop notes.
T: Battle of the malts. Just like the smell, there's some buttermilk biscuits covered in toffee going on here. Hops kick in towards the finish, and give a sweet bitter taste.
M: Medium bodied. Very smooth and creamy. Carbonation is spot on.
D: The low ABV makes this a sessionable brew if that's to your liking. I personally wouldn't drink more than a pint or two as I found the bitterness to be palate fatiguing.
ESB's are notorious for not being a favorite style of mine. But, this is a nice spin on the traditional style. Overall it feels a little unbalanced, but a very consumable brew.
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4.03/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to Lukafer for grabbing a growler of this when I was in town!
A- Pours a nice amber with hints of brown color. One and a half finger white head shows medium retention. Streaks of lace on the sides of the glass turns to web style lacing by the end of the beer.
S- Lots of biscuity malts in the front of the aroma. There is a light yeasty aroma in the middle of the beer itself that leads to a bitter hop finish on the aroma.
T- Sweet caramel and toffee style malts come through the front of the beer. In the middle there is some light biscuity flavors that quickly get over come by a nice bitter hop bite that lends itself all the way to the end. Light alcohol in the ending to the finish.
M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Biscuity malts and bitter hops left on the palate. Aftertaste is fading alcohol, light malts, and bitter hops that linger. Flavors were very well balanced which took me by surprise for some reason. No off flavors at all in this beer. Light alcohol drying on the palate.
D- This stuff is good. Actually this stuff is great. A nice drinking lower ABV beer that is not only refreshing but smooth and crisp. This would be a staple in my beer fridge if I lived closer to Indy.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to Lukafer for grabbing a growler of this when I was in town!
A- Pours a nice amber with hints of brown color. One and a half finger white head shows medium retention. Streaks of lace on the sides of the glass turns to web style lacing by the end of the beer.
S- Lots of biscuity malts in the front of the aroma. There is a light yeasty aroma in the middle of the beer itself that leads to a bitter hop finish on the aroma.
T- Sweet caramel and toffee style malts come through the front of the beer. In the middle there is some light biscuity flavors that quickly get over come by a nice bitter hop bite that lends itself all the way to the end. Light alcohol in the ending to the finish.
M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Biscuity malts and bitter hops left on the palate. Aftertaste is fading alcohol, light malts, and bitter hops that linger. Flavors were very well balanced which took me by surprise for some reason. No off flavors at all in this beer. Light alcohol drying on the palate.
D- This stuff is good. Actually this stuff is great. A nice drinking lower ABV beer that is not only refreshing but smooth and crisp. This would be a staple in my beer fridge if I lived closer to Indy.
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3.45/5 rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This review is from my growler, which was filled about six hours ago. The beer poured a Purdue gold in color with a one finger frothy white head. As a Boiler, I must say I'm a little partial to the color. This beer smells very malty and almost has some yeast to it as well. It surprisingly kind of smells like a doppelbock but with slight bitter hops on the backend. The flavor isn't quite what I was suspecting. It's very mellow and doesn't feature the hops I envisioned. It's only slight bitter and doesn't quite live up to the style. It leaves a lagerlike aftertaste behind with slight bitterness. It drinks smoothly and isn't overly crisp. I'm a little disappointed. This beer is only average in my opinion but can't complain about the price at $3.50 a growler.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This review is from my growler, which was filled about six hours ago. The beer poured a Purdue gold in color with a one finger frothy white head. As a Boiler, I must say I'm a little partial to the color. This beer smells very malty and almost has some yeast to it as well. It surprisingly kind of smells like a doppelbock but with slight bitter hops on the backend. The flavor isn't quite what I was suspecting. It's very mellow and doesn't feature the hops I envisioned. It's only slight bitter and doesn't quite live up to the style. It leaves a lagerlike aftertaste behind with slight bitterness. It drinks smoothly and isn't overly crisp. I'm a little disappointed. This beer is only average in my opinion but can't complain about the price at $3.50 a growler.
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3.73/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I brought a growler to the Heorot in Muncie, IN hoping to grab some fresh beer. I decided to go for a local beer that I'd never had. I was happy with my choice. I didn't open my growler until about 5 days after I bought the beer, so consider my review with that knowledge. The beer was still carbonated, but not extensively. It's a fairly bright golden color and I expected it to be darker. It has a typical British beer smell; I'm thinking Boddington's. The taste is good too. A bold malt flavor with a nice tang hops bite. It does have a nice bitter aftertaste and is a smooth drinking beer. I was happy I picked this up.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I brought a growler to the Heorot in Muncie, IN hoping to grab some fresh beer. I decided to go for a local beer that I'd never had. I was happy with my choice. I didn't open my growler until about 5 days after I bought the beer, so consider my review with that knowledge. The beer was still carbonated, but not extensively. It's a fairly bright golden color and I expected it to be darker. It has a typical British beer smell; I'm thinking Boddington's. The taste is good too. A bold malt flavor with a nice tang hops bite. It does have a nice bitter aftertaste and is a smooth drinking beer. I was happy I picked this up.
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4.02/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
A- Pours a golden brown with a solid finger of white head tat dissipates slowly
S-Has some earthy notes with a hint of biscuit
T- Has a nice toffee taste going on with alille bit of sweet hoppy bitterness
M-Light to medium bodied with ok carbonation
D- ESB is one of my least favorite styles but i realy liked this beer. Has a nice earty flavor that went down smooth.. excedded my expectations for sure. Even though i wont grab many ESB's this is one i will!
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
A- Pours a golden brown with a solid finger of white head tat dissipates slowly
S-Has some earthy notes with a hint of biscuit
T- Has a nice toffee taste going on with alille bit of sweet hoppy bitterness
M-Light to medium bodied with ok carbonation
D- ESB is one of my least favorite styles but i realy liked this beer. Has a nice earty flavor that went down smooth.. excedded my expectations for sure. Even though i wont grab many ESB's this is one i will!
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Bitter Druid ESB from Sun King Brewing Company
3.71
out of 5
based on 44 ratings.