Blue Collar Bitter
Blackfoot River Brewing Company

classically styled and real well executed esb here, a style i love. sturdy looking amber color to it, airy off white head on top, an inch high from the tap, off from full clarity, lots of carbonation for the style. the nose on this is really nice, true to style but also interesting, like the snuck in some cool malts to this, subtle in all the right ways, autumnal and nutty, just a touch sweet, baked and hearty, properly english with the grain and yeast together, raisin, toffee, dark toasted crouton, decently well hopped too, also very english, some herbal pep ramping up towards the end, balanced but robust, this kind of beer just seems so right on for the cold dark days of late fall and winter. the flavor here is killer too, the depth in the malt is smart, definite english grain character but there is a lot to it, some wheat, some earthiness, even terroir, lots of toffee, bread pudding, minerality too, leather and fig, black tea, sets the hops up really well, mostly late, grassy and then bitter, nice kick to balance the hearty malt, and the english ale yeast comes through, a unifier in here, off dry overall, love the way the flavors come together. this seems maybe ever so slightly less well refined than the best beers ive had from these guys, but its kind of rustic in an appealing way. medium bodied, long on the palate, sweeter in the center, quite hoppy at the end and as it warms, nice flow, somewhat more complex i think than many of these, and overall very enjoyable. a style i wish we saw more of from american breweries...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Longtime standard at Blackfoot River.

A: Appearance is a dull shade of copper/brown with a big fluffy white head. Great retention.

S: Toasted, nutty brown malts with a touch of grassy/earthy hops.

T: Malt is both nutty and toasted, accompanied by sharp earthy hops. Slight bitterness shows up in an otherwise fairly clean finish.

M: Smooth with soft carbonation that seems to damper the hop effect to some degree.

In terms of flavor and ABV, this is a bigger ESB and not particularly sessionable for me. But like all Blackfoot River beers, tasty and very well done. Always nice to come back to this.

Edit: looks like changes have upped the abv. to 6.4% since the last review.

Classic English ESB -- comparable to pints sampled in London.

Smooth mouth feel, subtle hop flavor, full bodied malty brew.

Dark amber color, earthy aroma. Alcohol taste hidden, good session beer. Not as outstanding as Blackfoot's signature beer Missouri River Steamboat, but very drinkable.