Maynard's Extra Special Bitter
Amory’s Tomb Brewing Co.

16 oz can acclimated to 48°F and poured into a nonic pint glass.

Pours a cloudy cinnamon color with a 4 finger darkish cream colored head with multiple rings of lacing, the head retaining rocky foam upon dissipating.

Initial aroma is slightly hoppy and butter with caramel and milk chocolate, reminds me heavily of milk duds. Smelling again and again the caramel, chocolate, and specifically milk dud smells persist. Roasted malt is evident to a degree throughout as well. After agitating, the individual components blend together with the caramel and chocolate fading, the hoppy bitter smell staying the same, and the roastiness mellowing in intensity but amplifying in quantity. Maybe present are vague coffee and toasted wheat smells. Very nice rounded aroma.

Initial taste before swallowing is slightly waxy, bitter, the color tan maybe? After swallowing, coffee and slight sweetness stroll in, accompanied momentarily by dark fruitiness (red, dark red, and purple tastes, plum, raisin, raspberry), and an 80-85% dark chocolate taste. Dark chocolate bars grown in certain areas have terroir that creates this kind of fruity taste and really tastes exactly like I'm eating one of them. A strong bitterness and roasted maltiness develop in the middle, the bitterness lasting through to the late aftertaste where it becomes slightly metallic and waxy, maybe a tiny bit astringent, not unpleasant though. Some chocolate taste lingers in the late aftertaste, between milk chocolate bar and dark cocoa powder.

Mouthfeel is uniform and smooth, not quite silk but it feels a little like dairy without the fat. It leaves a tingle on the tongue as well.

Overall this is very very enjoyable and I was surprised how much I liked it. It was my first time trying this style so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I liked the way the layers clearly changed drastically several times. My favorite thing about this beer is the fact that it tastes like I was eating a dark chocolate bar with the terroir creating the taste of dark red and purple fruit. Highly enjoyable and impressive

Will not likely be a regular beer for me (although I drink a different beer almost every time), but will likely buy again at some point for sure, it was expensive, but I didn't buy directly from the brewery.

Poured from a can at fridge temp. Pours a moderately-opaque orange with fluffy white head. Sticks around for a long time with lots of lacing. The nose is wonderful. Orange, spice, caramel, vanilla, hops, and a nice floral note. The taste is fantastic. Definitely a bitter earthy/woody note to kick things off. Some rye spice, citrus, slight nuttiness, grains, rhubarb, bread, and a bit of leather. Refreshing and dry mouthfeel. Aftertaste is mostly bitter oak. Overall, a wonderful beer.

2022-07-08
16oz can served in a nonic pint. Can is dated is date 10/21/21 (although it's actually quite believable reading it upside down as 12/12/01). Got it from @WunderLlama in a ninja box that arrived during NBS BIF #15.

Pours a hazy amber with a smallish uneven head, thick around the edges, little dusting with a few clumpy islands. Carbonation is very fine. Smell is grainy, tea, nuts, caramel.

Taste is grainy, oak-bitter, oversteeped tea, still some nutty sweetness that turns bitter in the aftertaste, just a ghost of caramel sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and very dry. Overall, I like it a lot.

16oz can 10/21/21 part of a part of a homebrew club advent calendar day 4

Copper color high light haze and strong lacing
Toffee and earth taste and smell
Medium body

Something about the new of this beer attracted me to it when i saw it on the shelf at Julio’s Liquors

16 oz can poured into a pint glass

Three finger rocky taupe foam cap , good retention settles to a thick layer with great lacings over a translucent tea colored liquid

Aroma is grains, herbal, earthy, floral

Taste is toffee, malts, biscuity, bread

Low sudsing, gentle hop taste nicely lingers

A proper pint, quite enjoyable, great name

No can date
Pours a med frothy 1/2 finger off white head with med retention, fair soapy lacing, semi clear med orange color

Nose is nice, fair herbal earthy hops, good fruity esters, little sweet caramel biscuity malt, quite effervescent

Taste more herbal earthy hop flavours, UK hops, med bitterness, soft malt, nice caramel biscuity malt, touch of roast and coffee, bread crust, a bit of sweetness, fruity esters, drier finish, med bitterness, more mild sweet malt bread crust, bitter herbal earth hops

Mouth is med bod, lighter carb but usual for style

Overall this was quite enjoyable ESB, so I'm excited to find a solid ESB not only in US but also close by

I haven’t had an extra special bitter in a while. This is very classic: toffee, malty, biscuit. Quite well done. I’d like to see more of this style brewed in the USA.