Extra Special Ale (ESA)
Yards Brewing Co.

Beer pours a nice head. Beer is a nice brown color. Good strong malty note in the smell. Caramel with a light toffee roast comes upfront. Hops are florals but dominated by the malt. Taste is a bit more balanced but still malt heavy. Caramel notes upfront and a floral yet earthy hop note to keep it from being too sweet. Good medium body with nice thickness to it and a biting carbonation. Delicious and a great ESB.

 

One of the first local craft brews I had starting many years ago, so it holds a fond spot in my heart, but I've noticed some batch inconsistency with ESA. When it's on, it's really on - superb balance of malt and hops. But sometimes I've gotten an off batch - not just a bottle or two, but the entire six pack or case. Fortunately that's only happened twice so far in many years of drinking ESA. But when it happened it was really disappointing.

This is basically an older-school ESB only slightly Americanized. That is extremely something I enjoy.

Pour is brown and medium hazy with a nice head. They give you full imperial pints at the Yard's brewery.

Aroma is malt-heavy: toasty and nicely ashen. Not biscuity to toffee-sweet, like most English ESB's, although that works here because it compliments the dry, spicy goldings hops.

Tastes like it smells: malt-forward but with a lovely hop balance. It's a milder ale, and not particularly bitter even by the standards of the late 1990s when it was introduced, but it's still a fantastically brewed beer that's a delight to drink.

 

 

 

Appearance
Pours to lacey buff head and clear red amber
Aroma
Sweet crystal malts and...bubblegum?
Flavor
Starts sweets ends tangy
Mouthfeel
Somewhat sugary and astringent. CO2 high for style.
Overall
Drinkable but heavily stylized. Not a true ESB.

 

 

 

Orange color, rising bubbles, and a lingering ½ finger head. No noticeable aromas. A little bitter at first, transitioning to an interesting dank earthiness.

 

 

 

 

Crisp,well carbonated ale.great balance between the malt and hops which made it an excellent easy beer to drink

Clear orange amber with a couple fingers of tan-tinted head.

Yeasty, bready aroma aroma and taste, with some sweet caramel malt character, a hint of spice (nutmeg or cinnamon maybe?) and a modest hop bitterness on the back end.

Medium bodied with a prickly feel. Nice, quality brew.

 

 

 

 

On tap at Yards Brewing Company in Philadelphia, PA.

This one pours a dark, slightly hazy amber, with a small head, and a good amount of lacing.

Smells like grassy hops, orange, caramel, and toasted brown bread.

This is one of the better ESBs that I've had. It's got a nice clean bitter finish, with grass and orange as the dominant hop flavors. There's a great malt backbone, it's nicely toasty and warm tasting, a little bit of not too sweet caramel, etc.

This is light bodied, with a very crisp mouthfeel, and a good level of carbonation.

They pretty much nailed the style here. It's quite wonderful.

 

DATE: September 2, 2016... OCCASION: much work was done today, of the spreadsheet variety... GLASSWARE: Barley Creek pint... dark amber, almost opaque body that evokes a black and tan... the creamy head, off-white and smooth, almost lactic... tough to see, but bubbly enough... nutty, caramel sweet, slightly buttery with some suggestion of citrus and hop... the first sip is sweet, soft, smooth and savory--easily can see how this "helped establish" a cask ale following... flavorful, caramel-empowered, malt-forward profile... the nuttiness is also pronounced, with a lingering citrus--orange, mostly , with grapefruit--with pear strengthening the flavor... glass lacing is thick, filmy and significant... a delicious, full-bodied ESB that finishes strongly and invites the next... at 6% ABV, substantial but drinkable...

 

 

 

On cask @ Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon in Kennett Square, PA.

Deep amber/brown color and good clarity around the edges. Average sized white head with good retention. Mild aroma of lightly toasted malt and light fruity hops. Smooth, biscuity and caramel malt flavor balanced with ample hop bitterness. Medium bodied with low carbonation, as this was from the cask. A great candidate for being served on cask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured 12oz bottle into snifter glass. 6% abv

Appearance- Pours a dark brown with a reddish tint. Heavy two finger head that steadily dissipates. Very clear.

Smell- Caramel, roasted malt, with an extra layer of molasses like sweetness. Some grains in there as well.

Taste- A toasted cracker taste is evident of a roasy malt which lingers on to a quite nutty flavor, still carrying on the toasted flavor. Sweet caramel mixes in with very faint chocolate notes, yet still has a slight medicinal taste. Hop bitterness is well present on the back end, but also never loses that sweet taste.

Mouthfeel- Medium in body with lively carbonation.

Overall- An interesting style not common which makes this beer stand out. Very complex. It has characteristics of a brown ale, a pale ale, and a porter all in one which is very interesting. Worth a try for sure.