The Swill: Redhook ESB Original Ale
The Still: Redhook Ale Brewery
Woodinville, Washington
http://www.redhook.com
The Drill: Extra Special Bitter, 12ozbottle, 5.8% ABV
The Spill: This beer pours a honey color, with an aroma of malt and bitter hops. It tows the line of skunkiness, but it stays on the right side of that line the whole time. The flavor is a lot more bready and malty than the scent would lead a drinker to believe, without any real trace of hops or skunkiness, though a slightly citrusy finish on the back of the palate does signal the hops' existence.
Says Bill: The term "bitter" is a bit of flase nomenclature, as many beer styles can be, and often are, much more bitter than this brew. The term was coined in England, where sweeter malty brews like porters and stouts were often the order of the day. As a result, the bitter was only really bitter by comparison. I bought this beer in the beginning of the summer while I was on my quest to break out of the dark beer mold and find some suitable beers for summer. After having a bad experience with an ESB a good many years ago, I was hesitant to try this one, but I was very surprised when I did. Overall, it's not a strong beer, but one that's very drinkable, and, as one of Redhook's flagship beers, if you like it, you can enjoy it all year round.
Refill: It certainly isn't as bad as a certain ESB I had in the 90s, which I, as well as two former roommates of mine, won't soon forget: 2.5 taps out of 5.