ESB Ale
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

This is when Tröegs beers were good.
Along with the Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale which they should not have retired.

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice looking beer. Carbonation appropriate for the style, fairly flat and the head just covers the top of the beer but is quite thick and manages to stick to the glass. A couple big bubbles hangin' out in amidst the froth. Nose is quite nice as well. Get some nice caramel notes and some fruityness, maybe apple? Wow. Very very very nice flavor. Very rich maltyness that doesn't fuck around. Rich, deep chewy malt flavor! Really nice. Balanced by a hefty dose of hops in the finish. This is a fairly old bottle, so I'm not getting much hop flavor, maybe that's the reason, but the hops bitterness is definately present.

Nice mouthfeel. Just right on for the style. Very drinkable as well. I wish I had more!

Pours a copper color with dark amber highlights. The thin, tan head fades to a thin layer of malty foam. The aroma is a touch of hops atop a solid malt background that produces strong caramel aromas with a touch of fruitiness. The taste is very strong roasted malt up front, followed by a healthy dose of pine. A bit of sweetness can be detected after a few drinks. The mouthfeel is good, but perhaps a bit more carbonation than expected from an ESB. The drinkability is also good, but it is not quite as smooth as some of the best ESB's. This is a good ale with an agressive and unique flavor profile that is very enjoyable.

For my money, an excellent example of the style and a quaffable, mellow English-style ale.

Pours a beautiful clear golden copper, reminding me of orange pekoe tea. A delicious, creamy beige head drops to a thin collar and leaves nice lacing. A complex and alluring nose of caramel malt, yeast, piney hops, orange citrus, pumpernickel bread, and roasty smoke/peat notes. On palate, sweet roasted malt, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, and fruity/raisin notes. Throughout, an excellent balance of bitter hops with piney notes and a clean, hop finish. The mouthfeel is buttery, soft, and creamy.

The judicious use of hops/bitterness in this brew is instructive, especially to some brewers of very hoppy APA's. The way in which this bitter element balances so beautifully the high abv and maltiness, combined with the low carbonation (appropriate for the style) and the earthy notes results in a mellow, comforting, warming ale firmly rooted in the great British brewing tradition. Pennsylvania comes through again. Seek this one out and enjoy.

Although the Troegs beers aren't 'knock you off your feet' bold, they're all exceptionally well brewed and solid across the board - scoring high in every category. They're designed to be very drinkable and highly enjoyable. This is a perfect example. It pours a clear, light copper with a reddish cast that's topped by a densely creamy head. The head holds well and drops to a nice creamy collar and powdery surface covering. Exceptional Belgian lace is left throughout the glass. The aroma places bright floral and piney hops (Goldings? A touch of Cascade?) over a slice of sweet and toasty caramel malt. It's exceptionally inviting and lays the ground work for the flavor that follows. A fresh hop character flows through the flavor from start to finish, backed by a softly sweet caramel, toffee-ish, and toasted malt (with a roasted edge) that's supported by a supple bitterness. Unbelievably well balanced!!! Hops, hops, hops... all fresh and ready to go, and yet it finishes softly with just a short note of floral hop flavor. Excellent, and definitely worthy of much more attention and kudos than it's received!

Troegs ESB: Great looking beer, deep dark, and angry appearance. This is the finest ESB I have ever had. I have always been looking for hops in most ESB’s, but have come away disappointed. This beer is wonderfully well balanced with the typically strong malts, but an aggressive hop taste that is every bit the match of the malts, if not more so. Very nice.

This beer poured an amber color into the glass. The head was creamy and dense but seemed to disappear rather quickly. It did leave some lace behind, but nothing spectacular. The aroma shows hints of hops, fruit and malt. The taste was not bold but rater interesting and clean. Simple. The tastes of malt (sweet) and fruit, prunes or raisins, seemed to dance back and forth in the beginning. It finishes a little bitter with the hops. They seem to take you from sip to sip.

The ESB is my first taste of Troegs outside of a beer festival. Nice, deep, clear amber color with a very thin head that stuck around till the very end. Only a little lacing, however. Noted hop odor with a rather intriguing mix of toffee and floral hints. The hops are also pretty evident in the taste at first. A pleasant malty aspect takes over upon swallowing, only to have the hop bitterness return in the aftertaste. The ESB leaves a good creamy mouthfeel, but after my first glass I was a bit eager to try something else. An enjoyable ESB all around, and a good, not quite outstanding product by the Harrisburg craft brewers.

Red-orange-copper body, with a few strands of rising carbonation, topped by a big, frothy head. Very good lacing. Nose features a grove of grapefruit. (my God, what will the pale ale smell like?). However, taste features far more malt, and the hop assault implied by the aroma does not materialize. There are hops there, but this is an extremely balanced taste. Too balanced perhaps? Could use more of something, in order to be "special". Maybe my ESB expectations are too British? Anyway, this is a fine ale, possibly suitable for session work if you deal with the heavy grapefruit aroma. It just wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Top notch ! Maybe not an ESB but an American Amber Ale. EIther way, a great beer !

Copper colored with a tan head leaving good lace throughout. Huge hop aroma ! Hard to believe they are Goldings hops (if that's all that's used for finishing) since aroma seems very Cascade-like to me. Nice hop taste also (more like an American Amber Ale) ... Great Balance. Medium bodied.

Session Beer City !

This is a solid beer. I don't quite agree that this is an ESB. It seems to me that it is more of a pale ale. The head is decent but the nose leaves something to be desired. The carbonation of this ale is right on and it is definitely a drinkable beer. I enjoy this beer but not my favorite from Troegs.

Clear bronze hue. The head settles quickly into a thin ring. Nutty malt notes, slight earthy and floral Willamette / EKG hop nose. Caramel malt sweetness upfront, followed by slightly burnt biscuit malt & hop bitterness. Fruity esters are lacking, and leave this beer a bit one dimensional. Lightly bodied, w/ an agreeable mouthfeel that adds to the drinkability. Finishes clean & crisp. Overall it's a bit skewed towards malt sweetness, but is nontheless a decent ESB.

The brew pours a nice dark amber color with a smallish head and decent lace. The smell is near perfect for the style. Sweet malt dominates but there is just enough hops in the nose to put the B in the ESB. Very nicely balanced brew that starts off sweet but finishes bitter. The mouthfeel was a little too syrupy and sticky for my liking and brought down the drinkability somewhat. Overall a very nice brew that goes down very smooth.

Pours a nice copper-ish color with a fluffy off-white head. On the nose are aromas of caramel malt and citrus flavors. The mouth feel is smooth, body is medium with rich complexities. On the palate there is a excellent malt and hop balance, nice sweetness, nice bitterness, fruity, caramel, and citrus flavors. The finish is slightly dry. Overall an excellent ESB!