Mike Duggan #06 ESB
Duggan's Brewery

On-tap at Duggan's Brewery, in Toronto.

With beer, as with cooking, a toasty caramelized golden brown colour is almost always an indication of flavour - from the look of things, this one should be tasty. Its darkish, sandy tone is brightly accented at the glass's bottom end and most clarity is upheld despite the beer's chilly haze. Its head is foamy and remains in great form.

The aroma is carried neither by malts nor by hops alone, but a balanced combination of the two. This dual, compromising bouquet allows for a fair amount of give and take: North American drinkers will pine for its fruity and floral accents whilst more conservative drinkers are more likely to appreciate its classic accentuation of sticky toffee pudding.

Initially served a touch too cold, I was finding the beer inadequately flavoured. But that was before it warmed a little. And as it warmed to room temperature, so too did I, to it. All of a sudden fruity flavours of grapefruit, floral notes of rose petal and earthy, molasses-like malts could be found not in whisper but in wealth.

Duggan's ESB isn't so malty that it weighs the tongue down, but it's fairly hefty and certainly carries enough substance to warrant its weight class. Although I appreciate that it concludes on a dry and pleasantly pithy note, making it a notch sweeter or more bitter would have suited the beer just fine (and agreed well with me too).

A style like this really showcases the more technically skilled, fundamentally sound brewers; Mike Duggan's ability to produce such a sound, immensely quaffable example of it proves that he is undoubtedly one of them. There will be lots of good things to look forward to from this brewpub; here's hoping the ESB continues to be one of them.

Another long day of work, hard to pass up walking out the front door of my hotel, and right into Duggan's Brewery...

This beer appears a hazy orange-brown colour, with one finger of creamy off-white head, which leaves a ring of lace behind in its stead. It smells of bready malt, and earthy hops. The taste is cracker grain, bready malt, and floral, green hops. The carbonation is moderate, but seemingly high for a session bitter, the body light, but still a bit creamy, and it finishes in kind, with some weedy hops and bittersweet breadiness.

A refreshing, very drinkable session bitter, quite true to the style benchmark.

Glass at the brewpub. I've had this beer before at Volo's English ales event, but I had the dregs of the cask, and it would have been unfair to review it based on that pint. Arrived too cold, but opened up as it warmed.

Pours a light amber with a creamy off-white head that dies down to a film, but leaves some lace spots on the way. Nothing exceptional about the appearance, which is standard for the style. The aroma is on the light side, with some floral and biscuit notes. The initial coldness of the beer is killing everything else off, and its only as it warms up that some mild lemon and accentuated malt becomes apparent. Still a little subdued, though.

There's a decent malty, biscuit backbone to this that reminds me of the best bitters I've had in England, and the level of hopping is about right. Leafy bitterness with occasional hints of lemon and flowers is that peculiar English style that I've drank for years but can never accurately describe. Its a decent flavour profile, but there's nothing here that will pull me back for another when I know that there are more preferred options on tap. Body is par, and has a nice refreshing quality to it.

While ESB is never going to be my favourite style, I think Mike's put together a decent rendition of one right here.