Rat Dog ESB
Old Market Pub And Brewery

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Old Market Pub And Brewery
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.28 | pDev: 15.55%
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
4
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 02, 2015
Added:
Apr 17, 2004
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
 
Rated: 3 by nathanmiller from New York

Oct 02, 2015
Photo of Redrover
Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

2.73/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
As with all beers served at the Broadway affiliate, it is served in a standard pint glass. The beer is light copper with a bone white head.

Nose of some washed out hops, toasted oatmeal bread and some thing slightly vegetable.

The taste is a bit underwhelming and may be a bit contaminated by something that tastes like a dirty tap line. Given the shape of the rest of the beers I drank, I can't believe its a dirty line, but must be a flaw in the recipe. The bitterness reminds me of a mild instead of a ESB. Some residual grain and a bit of burnt sugar late.

Not worth ordering again. The only real miss during this visit.
May 04, 2009
Photo of freed
Reviewed by freed from Oregon

3.3/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pint of this is surprisingly murky and turbid. Its a dull brown with just the slightest red to it. Thin tan head that was gone after the first sip or two.

The aroma is pretty nice - assertive hops and grassy. It doesn't have the stalwart malt aroma you'd expect from a British bitter, nor does it have much of any malt aroma.

Its unusual to find an ESB that errs on the side of bitter, but this is one really goes beyond what I'd expect, or want, from an ESB. I was rather certain that we'd be brought the wrong beer, as it seemed even hoppier than their Hop On. Its ok, but doesn't lend itself to enjoying with most foods.

Its not a bad beer, but a bit of a disappointment for someone looking for an ESB. I might as well have ordered an IPA.
Oct 29, 2004
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +24.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
This beer is stunningly good looking. It begins with a sandy, pitted head that takes on the contours of a lunar landscape. The color is a mix of Grand Marnier orange and iced tea brown with a mid-range haziness that plays well in the barlight. As I scratched away a few notes at the bar, the Rat Dog’s aroma sauntered downwind and reached me from at least a foot away. The aroma is of fragrant herbal hops with a note or two of orange.

Rat Dog’s flavor is a tasteful weave of big malty fruits (seemingly plucked from a bowl of sangria) and crisp traditional bittering with a small outcropping of hop flowers. A solid measure of malts is greeted by bold hop-citrus flavors with a biting bitter finish that smacks the taste buds like a snare clap.

This quasi-traditional ESB was a very pleasant surprise. The head rises upwards, says hello, then exits gracefully leaving a calling card of rich lace. The follow-through is clean despite the profuse Northern Brewer bitterness.

Rat Dog is a high performance bitter that delivers sustained flavor. The fact that it shares a name with Bob Weir’s band is a nostalgic perk. Old Market serves it a little too cold, but I’m forgiving about temperature discrepancies. When all is said and done, this one serves the essential function of the style, which is to be sociable, flavorful, and to invite encore performances.
Apr 17, 2004
Rat Dog ESB from Old Market Pub And Brewery
Beer rating: 3.28 out of 5 with 4 ratings