Doc's E.S.B.
Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 2.1%
Reviews:
2
Ratings:
2
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 05, 2003
Added:
Aug 11, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by TXHops:
Photo of TXHops
Reviewed by TXHops from Texas

3.73/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Of all the standard range at the Grapevine Big Buck, the ESB is one of my favorites. I love the Black River Stout, but the ESB is possibly slightly more drinkable, and when on cask, is possible the fruitiest beer I’ve ever tried.

The ESB emerges from my growler with a brilliantly clear, light garnet/deep amber body supporting an initially impressive, though quickly receding head of tiny bubbled foam. The head laces quite well, but fails to last more than about a minute before becoming wispy…

A slight toffee aroma initially greets the nose, supporting an intensifying fruity smell reminding me of a cross between Fruit Stripe Gum and Juicy Fruit—not quite as tart as Fruit Stripe and not quite as sweet as Juicy Fruit.

The flavor is IDENTICAL to the aroma—representing the halfway point between two of my favorite childhood gum brands. Luckily Doc’s ESB isn’t expected to hold it’s flavor for more than 10 minutes… The gumball fruitiness, which initially mixes with the understated toffee flavor recedes dramatically as the hops are allowed to serve their bittering purpose. Not as caramelly or as bitter as Fuller’s landmark example of the style, The Big Buck’s does have a touch of that ge ne sais quoi that can make a beer so intriguing. I think it’s the fruitiness of the beer, mingling with the more standard ESB characteristics that creates an intriguing, almost-synergistic-but-not-quite impression that I kinda like.

The carbonation is soft, but not quite soft enough or the flavors that this beer offers. As I mentioned before, this beer from the cask is a heavenly event, but force carbonation creates a simply better-than average ESB. I do like the fact that Doc’s tends not to have quite as strong a grain flavor as a lot of American ESB’s tend to have. I’m not talking about German Pils graininess, I’m talking about the flavor of copious amounts of crystal malts, resulting in the flavor of chewing raw malt-type graininess. To me Rogue’s Younger’s ESB and a couple of brewpub ESB’s I’ve had exhibit that characteristic, but the Big Buck offering features more integrates flavors. The force CO2 version still doesn’t beat a cask Fuller’s ESB though…
Mar 05, 2003
More User Ratings:
Photo of beernut7
Reviewed by beernut7 from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is a sweet malty ESB with little in the way of hops bitter. The malt is well balanced with a spicy hop character. The smooth mouthfeel and clean finish help make this a brew to remember…and go drink again.
Aug 11, 2002
Doc's E.S.B. from Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse
Beer rating: 3.81 out of 5 with 2 ratings