Extra Special Bitter
The Tap Brewing Company

Poured cleanly and clearly, with a color somewhere between copper and mahogany. Nothing terribly impressive about the aroma; in fact, there wasn't much of a smell to it at all (or, at least, none that I could detect). The mellow mouthfeel lets its sweet, malty flavor (with a nice hoppy afterbite) seep across the tongue. Certainly worth another visit to the Tap.

I squeezed a pint of Archies in between 2 pints of The Taps pale ale. Archies has a clear, deepc copper hue, with a fine, thin creamy white head. The foam sticks a bit, but the color is what really grabs me! It's very attractive! Nose is semi-sweet, with caramel hints, but it leans to the mild side. Body is nicely medium, and it is fairly smooth tongue-wise, though not quite as easy on the tongue as the pale ale. Flavor has a healthy caramel foundation, which asserts itself more as the bier warms somewhat. A minimal touch of floral hoppiness makes a late-stage cameo, but the semi-sweet malt and caramel are what stick well here. Tasty bier....nicely done work by Dann Paquette! Prosit!!!

overall: 3.9
appearance: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4

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