Brutal Bitter Ale
Tasted this beer on cask at the BSF bar, GBBF 05. It truly was sensational served by the handpump. When it was very fresh the effervescent off-white beer head just non-stoppingly grew inside the glass, and sustained well. We barstaff were even instructed to serve half-pint of this beer only in a pint glass, and it seemed no full-pint was available for the same reason! The aroma is complex, lots of marmalade, juicy zesty and perfumy hop and fruit-ester note covering a bed of sweetish, toffeeish malty body and deeply sweet honey-like aroma, while a deep-running diacetyl aroma was also apparent, if I was not misled. I personally found it a bit overly sweet, but had to take it as natural part of this heavenly nectar. The palate was truly enjoyable and satisfying--upfront was "brutal", oily attack of aromatic hops along with mixed fruity tastes brought by hops as well. The malts were bold and toffeeish, but much less aggressitve than the nose suggested and provided a thick platform to buttress the heavy hoppy dance. A profound, vertical bitterness lingered from half-way through the sipping towards the very last second of the drink, providing perhaps the best part of this beer. Overall the body is thick and bold but the mouthfeel remained rounded and at times creamy, due to the bubbly texture brought about by the hand-pull I suppose. I must say I truly enjoyed this precious pint on cask, as it doesn't happen every day that you get to drink a pint of American beer on cask this side of the pond. Excellent ESB!!!