Lavender Earl Grey
Foamers' Folly Brewing Co.

 

Dark orange-brown color. Poured a very tall head (more than twice the level of the liquid in the glass) that slowly turned into larger bubbles and collapsed to a finger wide layer after several minutes and didn't shrink any more. High flow of tiny bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Left many small bits of lace. Be very careful, tip the glass, and pour slowly or you will lose most of it.

Primary scent is a medium roasted malt. Some bergamot and lavender show up when you get past the head. Some bready yeast fills in at the end. Swirling the glass kicks up just a hint of barnyard. It seems like a lot of the scent is held back by the thick mat of the head, even after several minutes.

The medium-strong caramel malt dominates. There is a medium level of bitters that blends well with the malt level. The two florals show up after a few seconds. The bergamot and lavender are distinct. The florals also give it a bit of a sour kick. Some of the basic black tea and more bitters show up towards the end. The bitters also built up over the course of the bottle. The aftertaste is a mix of florals, black tea, and bitters.

Very foamy when it is first poured. A small sip is very mouth filling. It seems to foam up too quickly to really get much tongue tingling. A bit too exuberant. This calms down after several minutes in the glass and becomes easier to drink.

This was a lot of fun. Party in a glass. A lower carbonation level would make it easier to drink. The head also seemed to block a lot of the scent; this was a lot more flavorful than you would guess from smelling it. Very complex flavor with the florals doing unusual things. IBU 30 is in the middle of the range, but it seemed more bitter than a standard ESB.

This could also be considered a "Herb and Spice Beer", but I think the base ESB is a better indication.