Elysian Brewing Co: The Wise ESB

I had no idea what I was getting into with this beer. As mentioned in my last post I had never sampled Elysian Brewing Company prior to last weekend. While grabbing a couple of their brews, I snagged a beer called "The Wise". I'm not sure if I was misreading the label, was caught making assumptions, or was simply not observant, but I thought this was going to be a wheat beer. "Weizenbier" in German is wheat beer and I'm sure you've all noticed that breweries like adding 'weiz' or 'weis' at the end of their beer names to indicate the wheat ingredient. So when I saw "The Wise" I guess I just assumed wheat.

After pouring the brew, I realized this isn't a wheat beer. The Wise pours a light copper-brown like color. Actually reading the label, Elysian Brewing Co does conspicuously display "ESB" on the label and describes flavors and ingredients. Quickly readjusting my expectations, I'm thinking that I'm going to get a ultra bitter ale with tons of hops. While there is an initial hop burst, the mouthfeel is surprisingly smooth and thin so as not to overwhelm your palate. I actually find it to be a nice touch with this ESB as I've notice some beers in this genre are too bitter without any balance. The Wise does have some caramel malt to compliment the bitter hops and overall is a quite drinkable ESB. While not your typical extra special bitter, I kinda like it. I guess sometimes you just stumble into something nice. Cheers.

Redhook Ale Brewery: ESB

It's the day after thanksgiving which means I'm consuming leftovers. I've been eating turkey sandwiches and stuffing all day. And it's all still pretty good. I also took home the leftover beer so it's time wash down the remaining portions of yesterday's feast. Having celebrated 10+ years of thanksgiving in Washington state I've had my share of Northwest brews during the holiday season. Even though we celebrated further south this year, I think my family picked up some Pyramid and Redhook out of habit. And I can't complain, as I love WA beer.

Redhook ESB is a widely available bitter. It's changed it's label twice since I moved out of Washington but it's still pretty easy to locate on the shelf. You won't find many breweries that have an ESB as their flagship, but that's because it's difficult to make a fine brew in this style. Since I've had some bad experiences with other breweries' attempts to create an 'extra special bitter' it's time to give this 'original ale' some praise.

For being a bitter style beer, this ale is smoother than you might expect. The only bitter aftertaste you'll receive is a touch of leafy hop flavor on the back of your pallate. The beer is just bitter enough to live up to its style but calm enough to enjoy leisurely. It's a wonderful mellow beer that's also not too thick or too watery. The initial sips have soft malt flavors floating around but nothing too dark that you find in a brown ale. As mentioned a staple of mine.

If you watched Washington's once prominent Seattle Seahawks football team get destroyed on national television yesterday you might feel bad for Washingtonians. But don't feel too bad, because there is plenty of good beer to drown tasty food and bad memories. Cheers.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Early Spring Beer

Sierra Nevada finally came out with their version of the extra expecial bitter. After 27 years, Sierra has attempted most styles of beer. During Sierra Nevada's production quest, most Californians would attest to the fact that, in time, SVBC can tackle any brew. Now that Sierra finally has embarked on the ESB, we may have to give the brewery a another year to figure out the bitter.

Upon first crack, this beer does have an incredible aroma. Very hoppy and light similar to a quality IPA. While quite aromatic, the taste does not live up to the smell. Although dubbed as an "early spring beer" (possibly in an attempt to confuse causal buyers) this beer is quite bitter. I know what your thinking, 'an extra special bitter is suppose to be bitter'. True. But the beer just doesn't have any of the strong flavors you would expect from this classic British ale. Without any hearty flavors, the after taste is just bitter without anything else, as if one swallowed beer mixed with a little dirt.

Despite that description, the brew is not unpleasant in any sense; it just leaves you wanting more. Definitely enjoyable, but not stellar. If Sierra picks up the malts a little, Early Spring Beer could be exceptional. For now, I would say that this beer is a great introduction to understand the ESB style before moving on to worthier craft. I'm confident that Sierra Nevada will get there. Until next year. Cheers.

New Belgium Brewing: 2° Below Ale

Let's cut straight to the point: 2° Below is Fat Tire as a "Winter Warmer".

Most micro breweries release a seasonal Winter style Ale which keeps you warm in the winter (hence the name) by creating a beer with an increased alcohol % and adding some hearty malts to match the strong flavors of the holidays. With the holidays fast approaching 2° Below deserves a post.

2° below is technically not a classic winter warmer (its actually an ESB and it tastes like New Belgium's amber ale). I honestly wouldn't be surprised if New Belgium took their Fat Tire recipe and dry hopped it in the later stages of the brewing process to raise the alcohol % from 5.2 to 6.6. They probably don't do this but the alcohol content is the only difference between 2° Below and Fat Tire. You still get the biscuity nutty unique taste of Fat Tire with every sip of this ale. The color is an amber brown opposed to the traditional winter warmer black-brown coloring. Either way it fits the winter bill and is marketed properly. After two '2°s' you'll be sufficiently buzzing due to the higher alcohol content.

I make this post because Fat Tire is a beloved beer. If you love Fat Tire (as I do) and tend to switch to Winter Warmers in the cold months, please, please go get 2° Below. If you want, drink it in your lockdown pint glass for added nostalgia (see left). However, I also make this post because as a haus member, I know some of you have burned out from the epic first lock down. In that case, don't buy this beer. It will remind you of the glory of that night.

Now, there were still a series of CA beers that I wanted to review before switching out of this great state. But since I love Fat Tire and I want to send a warning to the haters, I had to flag this Colorado brew. Cheers (or not)