Holgate ESB
Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel

 

Pours a clear copper with a small spotty off white head leaving a little lace. Aroma is caramel, grainy and faint grass. Flavour is sweet maltiness, caramel, grass, and light citrus.

I had a 330ml bottle.
Appearance: deep golden colour very little head retention.
Aroma: caramel malts coming through but not much in the way of hops on the nose.
Flavour: nice malty caramel flavour, moderate bitterness, soft or thin mouthfeel given low carbonation.
Overall: good example an ESB well balanced and very drinkable.

330mL bottle. Ive found the other Holgate beers (pilsener, Mt Macedon Ale, temptress) a bit overrated and overpriced, but lets see how the ESB goes.

A - pours a thin white head than fades quickly to a thin white sheen, rust coloured, clear.

S - sweet, butterscotch malts with a bit whiff of dark fruit (raisins) and citrusy hops

T - a bit flat at first, then the caramel malts and slight spicy bitterness kicks in. Overtones of dark fruits (raisins, sultanas). Hint of roasting on the malts in the aftertaste. Slightly sweeter than a typical ESB.

M - low carbonation (although typical for an ESB), feels quite full bodied for this style, with a dry texture and slightly metallic finish.

O - pretty good, but Im not sure how the sweetness would hold up over several beers - it might get a bit sickly down the line.

 

 

 

A very good ESB - made close in nature to a classic English ESB

Aroma of malt, slight chocolate and caramel with some nice citrus to finish it off

taste: malt, chocolate, citrus, orange marmalade, spice, caramel and toffee with the big, classic, bitterness to finish it off.

Overall - not the greatest but solid nonetheless

 

On tap at the brewpub.

A: Seved a copper color with a nice head that slowly fades to lacing.

S: Aroma of Roasted malt, caramel, with some citrua and grain in the background.

T: Taste of roasted malt, caramel sweetness with some citrus and grain in the background. Nice bitterness and a quite dry finish.

F: Medium body, smooth and somewhat creamy and very nicely balanced.

O: Very enjoyable ESB. Worth checking out.

 

 

 

 

330ml bottle, another offering from this brewery currently available only at selected Liquor Depot outlets in Alberta, i.e. the big ones that you have to drive way too far to get to.

This beer pours a crystal clear, bright bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of tightly foamy, somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves some nicely consistent bike chain lace around the glass as it evenly recedes.

It smells of bready, sweet caramel malt, with a touch of biscuity character, some nutty toffee, and earthy, leafy hops. The taste is more caramel and toffee malt, a shallow white bready/cracker essence, some edgy stone pit fruitiness, a twinge of bitter, juicy citrus, and floral, almost perfumed, earthy hops.

The bubbles are fairly sedate, just a wee tingle here and there, the body a decent medium weight, and mostly smooth, but for a slight clamminess. It finishes on the sweet side, the malt just to prevalent, and the hops, while fighting the good fight, just can't counter-punch well enough.

A tasty enough tipple, but lacking in certain ESB aspects - the biscuity, drying leafiness coming most hastily to mind. Nevertheless, a worthy gateway sessioner, I would imagine, if I didn't have to pay the local monopoly's import prices. Or, ya know, lived Down Under.

 

Bottle: good quality 330mL brown bottle with stylish quality label. Nice.

Appearance: dark hazy copper in colour. A decent one finger of thick head. Good retention and a fantastic semi-lace.

Aroma: caramel malts are present with some earthy hops along for the ride. There are some great fruit esters also.

Taste: a wonderful combination of bread malts, port-style dark fruits and more of those earthy hops. This is just getting better!

Aftertaste: transfers brilliantly along the palate, with those earthy malt flavours.

Mouth feel: medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Suits the style.

Overall: Another from one of my favourite breweries. Very good example of an English bitter made in Australia. Very sessional, have a fear that it may be a little expensive though. Definitely worth it :) Update: as expected, it is quite expensive, at $95 a case (2012). Still nice, no doubting it. Just might have it every so often instead of all the time.

A - No head, even with an aggressive pour, just a thin collar. Body is a beautiful ruby red and clear.

S - Malt forward, golden syrup, bread, hazelnut and toffee.

T - Quite sweet, dark fruits, blackcurrent, ribena, strawberry with a hint of booze. Slightly bitter.

M - Thin watery body, moderate to high in carbonation.

O - Not really my favourite style, but a decent example here.

Cask pot at Great Northern. From notes.

A - Poured a light brown colour with a thick creamy head. No carbonation evident with a nice thick lace and a film of retention.

S - Buttery, English earthy hop, light citrus, light malt. Mild-ish.

T - Malty with a citrus/earth hop profile.

M - Slick with no real carbonation. Buttery feel and a light body.

O/D - Not a bad one to put on cask. Tasty, just lacking. Good stuff, just more malt flavour needed. Suited to cask well, but maybe on too long.

Pot at the Royston Hotel, Richmond.

Settles into a light mahogany colour with a nice, creamy off-white head of foam. Good lacing. Relatively see through.

Smell is toffee, caramel and butterscotch.

Taste is caramel to begin with and then the toffee joins and butterscotch takes over to finish, which is a little sad.

Overcarbonated, giving it a thin feel, when all other indicators would have you believe it would be more full.

Decent, but too much butterscotch and carbonation stops this in its tracks from becoming a much better beer.