ESB Ale
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

ESB AleESB Ale
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From:
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
5.25%
Score:
79
Avg:
3.41 | pDev: 13.78%
Reviews:
48
Ratings:
54
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 03, 2023
Added:
Apr 13, 2002
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mikesgroove:
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

3.66/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
from note

hazy golden yellow in color it came roaring out of the bottle and easily filling the entire glass with rich bubbly foam that melded seemlessly into the bubbly, grainy base.

The aroma was light, lots of grain and light spice with a smooth, mellow and light fruity hint that popped up toward the finish. Smooth mellow flavor with a n even cosistency. My only knock is it came off as more of a mild ale to me as the hop flavor was not really too high and not much in the way of bitter flavor.
Aug 31, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.92 by Boone757 from Virginia

Aug 03, 2023
Photo of crazyspicychef
Rated by crazyspicychef from Pennsylvania

4.41/5  rDev +29.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This was one of Weyerbacher's better beers.
You could drink several of them and still remain conscious.
Sad to see it go.
Nov 15, 2020
 
Rated: 3.29 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by yourefragile from District of Columbia

Apr 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Giantspace from Pennsylvania

Jan 07, 2012
Photo of ClockworkOrange
Reviewed by ClockworkOrange from Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12oz. bottle into my shaker "pint" glass. Appears a clear dark amber color with a finger of off white foam. Smells like sweet malt, and bready yeast. Tastes of caramel, bread, and mildly bitter hops. A notch or two below medium in both body and carbonation. Relatively easy drinking and quite smooth.
Mar 03, 2007
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

3.7/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to leftmindedrighty for this trade. I had this the day after a Yards ESA and there's good contrast here. This is less traditional with a sweeter mouthfeel and only a touch of grassy bitterness. The caramel malt flavor almost reminds me of an extract brew, go figure. Still a good session beer.
Jan 18, 2007
Photo of foureyedgeek
Reviewed by foureyedgeek from Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From bottle to pint glass, this pours a light golden brown, leaving a finger and a half head. Head fades to a ringer shortly thereafter, slight lacing throughout.

Not a lot of aroma coming of, slight hoppiness, maybe a little grape?

Mellow malty beginning with a nice crisp hoppy finish.

Light in the mouthfeel, making in a little underbodied, I think but plenty drinkable. Good session beer, at least.
Oct 04, 2006
Photo of JohnnyM2002
Reviewed by JohnnyM2002 from Maryland

3.4/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
I read on Weyerbacher's web site that ESB won't be around too much longer, so I was sure to pick up a sixer...

It pours a clear dark-golden color into my Weyerbacher pint glass. Smells a little fruity with a decent amount of hops..not as hoppy as I expected though. It is very easy to drink, not very hoppy, but well-balanced.

This is a good offereing, but I'm not too sure it's an ESB...it is very drinkable, though.
Aug 02, 2006
Photo of rabsten
Reviewed by rabsten from West Virginia

3.7/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Pours clear amber with one inch tan head. Some lacing. Pretty good looking beer.

Butterscotch malt with some faint but lingering hops.

I get tired of writing this sometimes but, “tastes just like it smells.” Malt dominates, with a flavor that reminds me of a Brach’s hard candy butterscotch. There’s a slight bitterness from the hops. Very much like scotch ale, where the sweeter malts tend to dominate.

Good drinkability, easy on the gullet. No real comment on the mouthfeel, though. It’s kinda just “there.”

Overall, not a bad ale, but there are so many E.S.B.s out there that are better. Makes a pretty good Scotch Ale substitute if you’re hankering for a highland brew and none’s available. Oddly, this is more scotch ale-like than their scotch ale.
Jul 31, 2006
Photo of DrJay
Reviewed by DrJay from Texas

3.15/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Clear amber with a thin, off-white head from a vigourous pour. Fine bubbles clung to the sides of the glass. Toasted and caramel malt dominate the nose, with a bit of fruitiness as well. Mild bitterness with malt to the forefront throughout. Dry malt finish with just a hint of hop flavour. Caramel and toasted character is nice, but not enough hops here. Diacetyl was apparent as well. The weak hop character is not what I expect from an ESB.
Jul 05, 2006
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

2.63/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a moderate head that leaves splashes of lacing

Smell: A bit of biscuity malt and a rather earthy, sweaty tone

Taste: Starts out with a rather neutral biscuity flavor; after the swallow it just goes downhill, with a cardboard oxidised flavor that is just unappealing

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation but the finish suffers from both some diacetyl induced slickness as well as a puckerish quality

Drinkability: Weyerbacher is inconsistent in its brews and this is one that falls solidly on the negative side of the ledger - perhaps the worst of the lot
Jun 22, 2006
Photo of Phatz
Reviewed by Phatz from Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
There is no bottled on or freshness date on the bottle that I could find. I did want to mention that my bottle of ESB Ale is a very different design than the one displayed. (I'm assuming a new bottle design). I was fortunate enough to receive this bottle in a trade so the exact date of purchase is unclear) but I believe the picture shown is outdated.

Appearance: This beer pours a soft transparent copper color with a very creamy 2 finger off-white head with decent retention. Mediocre lacing.

Smell: It has a good aroma but it is subtle and reserved. After some contemplation I came up with sweet bread and yeast, slight fruity tones and gentle hops.

Taste: Like the smell the taste is gentle and approachable. It is not the most interesting ESB I have ever tasted but it is quite palatable. It seems to have a pretty straight forward bready malt and hop balance until the aftertaste. The aftertaste is a bit odd. There is very little of the bitter I was looking for up front it seems all the bitter is waiting for the finish. I'm not quite sure what to make of this...?

Mouthfeel: This beer has a very light mouthfeel that seems to disappear into nothing through the middle. To its credit it is very smooth.

Drinkability: Overall this is a decent beer but a bit lacking in luster. I would be too bored to have a second but it would be palatable if I was interested so the drinkability is what I'd call "Ho Hum."

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!

THANKS:
Thanks to tgbljb for the trade!
Heres to finding good beer in Lancaster PA :) Cheers!
Mar 06, 2006
Photo of psugrad98
Reviewed by psugrad98 from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in brown longneck bottle. Pours dark brown with reddish hue. Thick frothy foam and light clingly lace that circles the glass in erratic patterns. Smells of hops and flowers with sweet breadlike sweetness underneath.

Slightly bitter and chewey, less bitter than I'd like, but full bodied and nicely balanced with esters of fruit, notably a tangy berry like presence.

Finished well-balanced between hops and malt, though ends less dry than I'd like in an ESB.
Feb 21, 2006
Photo of alexwag
Reviewed by alexwag from New York

3.43/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A- New label from the one depicted. It's a bit more straightforward, for what that's worth.

Light copper, held up to the light looks like a darker Budweiser (though I probably shouldn't be dropping the B-bomb in a review -- purely for comparative purposes.) Finger of fluffy white head, medium endurance.

S- Crisp, a little bite to the hops, hint of malt. Not picking up very defined things ... as I often say, could be a bit stronger, but ok for this style.

T- Some bitterish, coarse hops, not much malt to balance.Still, quite clean and fairly incisive. Hops gain depth through the glass, mellow and fill out. A fairly standard offering.

M- It's got some body, little carbonation which I like, and pretty smooth.

D- Medium. Undoubtedly potable, but there are better options out there for ESB with more complexity.
Jan 29, 2006
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Clear copper coloring, lush, creamy head.

Tidily hopped aroma, bready malts...neat, sweet, petite.

Taste: mild, well-balanced, lighter-bodied, vanishing finish. Mostly malty, coppery feel, a well-done rendition of the style. Not much to say about it, but that's the style, too. You can drink it, but if you're looking for "wow", look elsewhere.

A nice ale. Drink it up.
Jan 25, 2006
Photo of tgbljb
Reviewed by tgbljb from Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
poured a crystal-clear medium copper with massive tannish head that fell to 1/4 coating that had a sponge like appearance.Nice lacing on the side of the glass. Smell is an attractive combination of a roasted malt and a bitter hop. Taste is very pleasant with a good maltiness, a nice hop background.but an odd metallic taste. Finishes with a medium hop dryness that mixes with the caramel malt in a nice proportion. A very good and easy drinking beer.
Dec 11, 2005
Photo of ski271
Reviewed by ski271 from Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Pours a clear medium amber with a small, off-white, foamy head that quickly diminishes to a thin film. Very attractive, complex lacing. The smell is malty up front with a little sweetness to it. A little doughy & yeasty (soft-pretzel-ish), toffee, grape, honeysuckle, herbs and lightly floral. The taste is grainy and malty with a light floral hop bitterness that starts out weak and builds to a moderate level by the finish. Bits of honey, diacetyl, alcohol and…. melon? I’m going to have to try this again to see if my taste buds were out of whack yesterday when I wrote this. But until then, I’d see that this was a decent beer. Medium body, dry texture, low carbonation. In all, a decent beer and a decent representation of the style, but not one of Weyerbacher’s more impressive brews.
Nov 02, 2005
Photo of BeerBeing
Reviewed by BeerBeing from Pennsylvania

2.92/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Presentation: 12oz brown glass longneck US generic bottle, while and black on red label

Appearance: dark amber color, off-white head, minor laceing

Smell: malt, hops, some caramel and biscuit

Taste: medium body, light mouthfeel, roasted malt and moderate bitterness of hops

Notes: average brew, nothing special
Sep 17, 2005
ESB Ale from Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 54 ratings