Bump's Bitter
Coalition Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from tap at Coalition brewery.

I am loving all of the ESBs and 'session' style beers popping up here in Portland. The Coalition ESB is a balanced, imminently drinkable beer with a touch of bitterness. The beer pours amber with a light head and moderate carbonation, light retention. The nose is all English hops: earthy, slightly woodsy, and a little red fruit going on too. The palate confirms the earth and woodsy notes while the bitterness backs everything up nicely. Well balanced with a decently long finish. A very good ESB I do say.

Worthy!

Updated 9/7/2011: went by brewery again and had a pint. Really is a nice beer and compares favorably with many other NW ESBs (and is superior to most). Moved smell up from 3.5

Appears light gold brown with a small white head. It is lighter than many Bitters I have seen.

It smells of earthy, herbal hops. I also get a mild bread like and a slightly nutty malty smell.

Hops are very noticeable in the taste. I get a balanced mix of citrusy, floral and grassy hops. There is a bread like malt flavor that is found in many bitters. Though in this Bitter the hops are stronger in flavor then the malts.

This beer has a medium bodied mouthfeel. Though it is lighter than many bitters.

Overall a nice northwest twist on the English bitter. This is a beer I would have again.

Pint pour on a cool and cloudy Easter afternoon, post brunch at a friend's place near Coalition. Fingertips a mottled blue-green from the egg-dying festivities...

A: Hazy auburn, a consistant chilly that barely reveals a modicum of rising carbonation. Good head, a solid finger of dense white cream, followed by sheeting ribbons that define each sip. A very pretty glass afterward.

S: Crackery malt with a balanced nose of citrus (lemon rind) and grassy and mildly flower-sweet spicing. Great big aroma, intoxicating in fact.

T: Hopheads rejoice! Less-than-subtle hop presence, a spicy and grass-green dry, even pithy citrus rind, bitterness that permeates every sip. Good baked bread (rye-spiced) flavor underneath and some chalky and mineral qualities in the long finish.

M: A fairly hearty/chewy mouthfeel, good carbonation with thickening of starchy grain beneath. In the end, pretty much 'bone dry'. Juicy, saliva-inducing. Judging this only against a more sessionable and lighter-bodied ESB, it's tougher to drink - but still has a bright and remarkable feel.

O: Definitely a 'Northwest' take on the ESB, replete with hops that do far more than merely bittering the finish. A pretty interesting version that certainly kicks flavor and aroma up a notch or two from the the stylistic standards. I don't think this is distributed beyond the pub, so it's definitely worth a try if you're in the neighborhood.