ESB
Sea Change Brewing Co.

Pours a medium-dark amber, leaning brown, with a tan head. Promises of malt, grain, and a ghost of nondescript fruit on the nose, all somewhat subdued. The flavour is big on the malt, starting with lightly toasted grain, transitioning to faint and distant fruit, and then some surprisingly "dark" notes for the style, suggestions of chocolate and coffee. The hops hum along in the background the whole way, but the rather long and satisfying finish is more of those toasted grain and chocolate malts. There is a hint of that grapefruit-vomit New World hops in here, but the malt is so good and so dominant it mostly drowns it out. The mouthfeel is maybe slightly "prickly" for the style - to really capture that English pub ale feeling it should be smoother, perhaps flatter - but at this point, that's a nitpick. Overall quite a lovely craft ale and one that I'll keep an eye out for in the future. Pleasantly surprising.