London Calling
Stray Dog Brewing

473 mL can, Day 19 of Nita Beer's 2024 Advent Calendar; no canning date and served barely chilled.

Pours a relatively clear amber-bronze colour, capped off with nearly two fingers of soapy, foamy, beige-coloured head; it gradually seeps away over the course of the next five-plus minutes, leaving behind a frothy collar and a modest band of lace. Malt-forward aroma with some British hop characteristics: I'm getting toffee, biscuits and wheaty, bready malts, with caramelized sugars, tea leafy, earthy hops and a subtle fruitiness.

The flavours follow the nose: malty & sweet initially, countered by sturdy hop bitterness later on. Flavours of toasted bread, biscuit, toffee and caramel are joined by leafy, earthy, slightly grassy hops. Finishes bittersweet, with a beautifully balanced aftertaste that fades from the taste buds after a second or two. Medium in body, with low carbonation that weakly brushes across the surface of the tongue, adding a faint prickle to this ale's smooth mouthfeel. Great drinkability, but at just under 6% I can't really call it a viable session option.

Final Grade: 3.88, a B+. Stray Dog's London Calling is a very solid ESB - rich, balanced, flavourful, and arguably as good as any of the British bitters that the LCBO still bothers to stock (and on that note: bring back Fuller's!). Their increasing scarcity is not all that surprising, as the average craft beer geek's tastes do not seem to gravitate towards classic English styles - certainly not when there are tons of hazy IPAs, fruity sours and imperial barrel-aged whatevers to tick. Clearly I'm old-fashioned, but I'd take a quality ESB over any of those styles most days of the week.

Pours a murky, bronze color. White head formation with little retention. Malty, caramel on the nose. Biscuity, malty up front. Uncharacteristic hoppy finish. Thin mouthfeel.