Elora Special Bitter
All or Nothing Brewhouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

500 mL bottle; best before April 2012. Now labelled as their 'extra special bitter'. I think they are phasing the Elora name out, as the same thing has been done with the Irish Ale.

Pours a clear copper-orange colour, with a short-lived, off-white head that fizzles away to nothingness disappointingly quickly. Only a thin collar around the edge of the glass remains. Decent aroma; toasted bread, caramel, and some kind of florally, fruity smell that reminds me of bergamot tea. Credit where credit is due, this brew has a nice aroma with none of the usual funky, sour notes.

There is a leafy, earthy dryness throughout the sip; not overpowering but a permanent presence nonetheless. Toasted, bready malts with some light caramel sweetness also show up, along with some light citrus fruitiness. Brief lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. Light-bodied, with mild carbonation that fits the flavour and style nicely. A little slippery in the mouth; very smooth and easy to drink.

This is not a stellar brew, but it's tasty enough and it's a reasonably good bitter from a brewery that seems to be improving somewhat. I like Wellington's bitter a bit more, but this is an equally quaffable brew I could see myself getting again, and something I'd happily try on tap if I saw it being offered.

A - poured into large wine glass - little head and non-existent lace - golden honey colour

S - grass, pine, juniper, lots of hops, reminds me of camping in the forest

T - strong pine, grassy hops, bitter on the end, reminds me of an imperial IPA I had recently, not like other ESBs I've had (which are milder)

M - medium bodied bitter but not overpowering with little carbonation

O - much better than I anticipated - I expected nothing and found a somewhat refreshing hoppy ale - could be that Trafalgar is improving on this one given the previous reviews

I liked this beer!

Got it in a discovery pack at the lcbo.

Sharp bite like a tonic water that finishes with hoppy blast in face.

Hint of necture nut honey sweetness.

Pours giant head, goldie copper color, hazed with bit of sediment.

Sweet hoppy smell.

I would buy a full 6 pack of this beer.

For a brewery that tries so many styles that I like, I am amazed how bad their beers can be. Didn't know this was a Trafalgar brew until I opened it and was worried right away. I got no aroma from my heady pour. Dominant taste was metal. The little bit of flavour of the bitter is ruined by the metallic tainting. This was from the OCB mixer and will just reinforce my decision to avoid Trarfalgar.

This will be #2 in my OCB mix pack #7, and it's Trafalgar...oh no. Well at least the last old Elora brew I had from them was decent.

Appearance: Well you certainly get points for the head, as two fingers of head managed to retain fair well and produced ample yeast. The body however isn't so hot as an unpleasant looking orange color boats thousands of sandy particles and no signs of carbonation. I guess good balances out the bad.

Smell: Pretty good, light caramel malts with notes of flowery hops and tea. It's a little light but it warms up well. The style is supposed to be a bit light so it's fairly good.

Taste: Umm...I think there might have been a mixup here. I was looking for a Bitter, not a Pale Ale. Starts with some fruity malt taste with light caramel and a slight taste of peach but then it turns to a big kick of floral hops that are really not for my palate.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is all in the head, it's non existent as you drink it. In additional to that, the floral hops leave an oily cloying bitterness. That and it turns into an immediate hop kick that needs to be reigned in.

Drinkability: If the hops didn't stick around for so long, it might be salvageable, but I honestly don't see much in this one. Maybe a dinner drinker, but there are better beers I'd rather have with my meal. At least it's light on the system, albeit not your tongue.

Final Thoughts: Well, it seems that the tweaked Elora brews that used to be brewed by The Old Mill Brewery are still the best beers out of Trafalgar. Still that's not saying much. If this was intended to be a pale ale, maybe this one would have fared better, but think kind of hopping just seems a bit much, especially for this style. I think the worst part about this one, is it makes me want to hold out and see if maybe these guys can get it right. You'll still want to pass on this one though.

Pours a light amber with a thin white head, seems somewhat flat, which isn't surprising.

The aroma of this beer is wonderful! Sweet flowery hops, lemon tea, orange and cinnamon...pretty interesting.

Not as tasty as it smells but still very good. A nice hop presence balanced by some sweet malts, finishes nice and bitter.

I was not expecting much from this beer after trying their other brews but this was actually very good and very drinkable. I know it's hit and miss with this brewery but this beer is worth a shot!

341 ml served in a chilled glass

Apperance - beer pours a hazy amber colour with about one finger of head. The head is fluffy and an off-white. No carbonation present in the beer.

Smell - I can smell some caramel and earthy tones, maybe some slight hops.

Taste - beer taste pretty flat, not much carbonation or mouthfeel to this beer. You can pick up the caramel early on with a slight bitter hop finish.

Mouthfeel - the added carbonation brings a little more earthy tones and hops to the front. The mouthfeel is somewhat thicker and creamy, however, not much added back.

Drinkability - Not a beer i would go out and seek again, nothing special here.

12oz Bottle

Appearance - The beer pours a hazy copper colour with an average size frothy beige coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some really nice lacing on the sides of the glass. The head stuck around for a few minutes before it was gone.

Smell - malts, caramel, light hops, grass

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an average amount of carbonation on the tongue and feels fairly creamy. Most of the flavour consists of malts and hops mixed with caramel. The flavours are decent but they don't seem balanced. It finishes with a malty bitter aftertaste.

Drink - The beer definitely needs some balance, the flavours are decent but something just seems off.

poured into a samuel smith pint glass.
looks nice, big fluffy 3 finger head that lasts for a good bit then leaves a web of lace.
nice color, pale amber. carbonation appears low.

nose is weak faint. stirring glass for further analysis. other then a weak tea smell there is nothing here. not a good sign.

down the drain.

took a short sip and it felt like sludge going down. thick and filling. just gross. a weird bitterness that goes away immediatley.

tried two more sips to be fair and it got worse each time.

the beer hasnt gone bad. there would be flavor if it went bad.

Re-rating the newly packaged "special bitter" product. 650 mil bomber.

Hard pour yields a light amber beer with a slightly off white 2 finger cap....reduced quickly. Light, fine- bubbled carbonation.

Light aromas of sweet carmel malts and some golding hops. Light bodied, malty caramelly-sweet without cloying, buttery mouth feel... finishes harsh as acidic bittering takes over. ...not bad for a Canadian ESB.

Probably the best traditional ale effort from this brewer but the hop boil is still too long and this stuff still gives me heart burn.

This beer pours a clear medium orangish amber colour, with 3 fingers of foamy, creamy off-white head, which a few pillars of lace around the glass as it recedes. It smells of bready, cracker-like grain, and wild grassy hops. The taste is dry, bitter cracker grain, a little bready, and mildly bitter English hops. The carbonation is fairly sedate, the body medium weight, smooth, and a bit creamy, and it finishes mostly dry, the soft, but enveloping bitterness slightly overshadowing any residual maltiness.

I quite enjoyed this very drinkable bitter, at the end of a soul-sucking, but ultimately satisfying work week in my home away from home.

Better when originally brewed by the Old Mill in Elora, This is a watery rendition of an ESB, with a faint bitterness in the finish. There is a tad of a scent of malt and clear washed out redness in the colour. The mouthfeel is close to that felt by water alone.
Consistent with most beers from this brewery.

Light bodied burgundy in color with shy carbonation with some golden hues.

Smell is sweet and hoppy, shy bitterness, it is blanced in between hops and malt. Shy caramel flavours that tickles the palate.

the mouthfeel is watery, very smooth, some bittersweet, and a shy bitterness, very blanced, not overwhelming, buttery in mouth

Bomber purchased from the LCBO, been almost dreading opening this because of warnings against Trafalgar, but here it is.

Pours a dark golden brown/orange, almost looks like an IPA. A finger of foam that doesn't have much staying power.

Nose is toasted bread, a leafy/herbal-ness, and a hint of something citrus.

Has an almost medicinal bitterness at first, a little off putting but it slowly opens up into a decent, though slightly under-whelming bitter. A grassy, leafy hop profile layered on a sweet caramel, honey on biscuits, and buttered toast, a hint of pale malts. Follows through with a dry bitterness that teeters on being "off/soapy" but comes down on the side of pleasant. Faintly thin body but nothing overly disappointing. Too carbonated, could easily be toned down a notch.

While this is certainly nothing to write home about this also isn't the trainwreck I was half expecting. Looking at the other reviews perhaps if you want to try one from Trafalgar, this is the one. I would drink this with a meal, would pair well with pub food. Nothing too bold but enough character to make it through a meal.