Green Man ESB
A malty amber ale boasting rich toasted and caramel flavors, Green Man ESB is one of our award-winning signature brews. Our blend of authentic British malts and hops creates a nutty aroma, full body, and a sweet finish. Prepare yourself for a truly exceptional interpretation of a traditional English style.
3.3
196 reviews
Asheville, United States
Community reviews
Draft at Craft Brewed. Pours a clear copper with a finger of foam that lingers. Lovely toasted malt nose with faint peppery hop aromas. Smooth and very well-balanced with toasted malt, mild toffee and leafy, peppery bitterness. Very nice ESB and very drinkable.
12 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 4/20/2016. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, plum, pear, apple, herbal, grass, light toffee, and yeast/toasted earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of toffee, plum, pear, apple, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, light toffee/fruit, herbal, grass, and yeast toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance; and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol for 5.5%. Overall this is a very good ESB. All around nice robustness and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Nicely rich English malt complexity; with mild hop balance, and restrained English yeast fruitiness. A very enjoyable offering. Very well made for the style.
Draft: Hay, dried leaves, dark honey nose. Cloudy brown, medium tan head. Dried leaves, wood. Medium body, moderate carbonation. Dry, little British malt character.
$2.00 Wine Warehouse Bottle. Pours brown with some floaters. Aroma is caramel, honey, light citrus. Flavor is brown leaves, caramel, light honey, hint of citrus. Drinks like a brown ale.
On tap at Das Biergarten. Amber body. Smells of bready malt and caramel. Faint grassy hop. Tastes of aggressive toasty malt and a little bit of caramel. Nicely bitter with some spicy hops. Medium body. Dry and a touch too crisp. I say that as if I'm some sort of authority of the line between amber ales and ESBs. Ha.
Pours amber with an off white head. Biscuit malt aroma with herbal hops. Flavor is caramel malt with biscuit notes. Earthy herbal hops finish.
APPEARANCE- medium dark amber. Lacks head.
NOSE- little malt. Darth of hop.
FLAVOR- malt forward, also lacks much noticeable hops - thankfully. But it's also not particularly bitter, which is what I'm looking for.
Solid malty flavor with dark fruit—raisins, dried plumbs—toffee, toasted bread and a hint of roasted grain.Slightly spicy hops with a fairly clean finish.
Nice malty beer which is slightly dark caramel colored.
Taste was nice bitter and slight malt tast.
Growler from the source brought to Ohio. Not very aromatic. Bronze, amber in color. Very smooth and extremely drinkable. no after bite. Taste a little malty for the style and not very hopped.
12oz bottle. Pours clear amber brown with a thin off-white head. Light toffee, malt nose. Toffee and caramel flavors, but not sweet at all. Good dose of buttering hops keeps this fresh and light. Light body, crisp finish.
Bottle from Harris Teeter, Hamstead, North Carolina. Amber-brown with a light malty, light gritty-hoppiness. Has a low bitterness.
Can.
Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white to light brown, mostly diminishing.
Body is medium brown.
Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain/nuts, caramel), lightly hoppy (herbs, flowers), with notes of earth and autumn leaves.
Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter.
Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation.
An earthy malt-forward example...despite the hops being exactly my type, they’re just too much in the background to offer much brightness or allure. Watery and sweet in the mouth, without enough of the expected bitterness to balance the sugars properly (this doesn’t exactly put the B in ESB). Might be better fresh on draft, though...seems like the brewing skills here are solid enough.
Pour is a dark brown with a thin tan head. Aroma is a nutty and chocolate malt. Not a huge aroma. Flavor is some mild caramel and earthy malt. Just like the aroma not a huge flavor. Kind of going in the right direction but this lacks some oomph. Double the ingredients used and you may have something here.
Pretty terrible ESB, lacking both the fruity funk of English yeast and any discernible American hop stupidity. Looks like a cask ale, tastes like a mild, slightly nutty golden ale, and the finish seems lost. In dire need of a continent to call its own.
On draft at Pangea Tavern in Avon NC. It is a clear Amber color with a slight head the aroma is malty and the taste iis strong flavor of toffee with a light bitter finish
On draft at Pangea Tavern in Avon NC. Pours a hazy brown with an off white head. Nutty nose. Flavors of toffee. Light bitter finish.
Not a bad bitter, but not really anything special. It pours caramel brown with a little bit of suds. The aroma is creamy, nutty, a little hint of floral hops and maple. The flavor is mildly sweet and malty, just a hint of caramel and toasted malt.
Can to pint glass. Aroma is toast, herb. Clearish brown with reddish tinge. Malt dominant slight caramel or toffee taste with modest bittering. Low carbonation.
Bottle. Pours dark brown with fuzzy white head. Aroma of caramel and maple. Tastes of caramel, bitter hops and malts. Lots of carbonation. Sweet finish. Very good.
Can in Fl. Make up your mind. Esb or amber. Minimal bitters. Minimal caramel. No chocolate like one person thought they noted. Sort of flat. Avg. Boring
Pours clear copper with a small tan head. Nose is light caramel and some floral hops. Flavor is much bolder with a big hit of brown malts and moderate hop bitterness. Finish is a little bittersweet and spiced with licorice. A little odd and very English.
Dark, rusty brown and clear. Good label and cap on a standard brown longneck. Powdery, somewhat sweet, malty aroma. Very nice. Dark molasses notes over a sweet, tannic, leathery brew. Medium body, though it seems like it ought to be heavier. I didn’t care for the finish particularly - there was a strange, toasted sugar bitterness that didn’t fade well. I’d characterize this as a great beer with flaws - it’s right down my alley, but with a couple of noticeable missteps. ABC Liquors, Bull Run.
Bottle. Pours a dark amber with small tan head. Malty aroma with cereal and biscuit notes. Bold caramel malt flavor with this. A bit toasty. Lingering sweet finish. Pretty good.
deep amber - almost brown color; fruity, malty aroma with caramel malt notes; caramel malt flavor with bready notes, fruity hops, and some dark fruit notes;a well balanced, English style bitter
Ruby brown with a minimal head. Strong bread and toasted malt base with no bitterness.
Aroma: slightly bready; Taste: more chocolatey than expected; Palate: malty finish; Overall: not much complexity; fairly forgettable.
Draft at The Flying Saucer, Nashville. Pours dark amber and clear with an off-white head. Aroma of toasted malt. Taste is toasted malt, bread, caramel and mild hops.
BOD 2/19/16. Pours clear, and when held to light, a beautiful garnet hue. Poor head volume, lacing and retention.
Very atypical ESB nose that has a bit of char. Underneath is a rich caramel base with hints of plum.
Almost medium body that is quite smooth with creamy aspects. Body / carbonation is very well done - just the right amount of effervescence. The middle is a fair burst while the finish is nice and prickly.
The flavor profile is good, but also atypical for the style. Missing are the robust earthy hop bitterness flavors and an actual bitterness level that is, well...bitter. This is more an amber or brown ale. Compare this to a Fullers ESB...the contrast is quite striking. Caramel with a bit of char encompasses the tasting experience. A light nuttiness lays underneath and becomes noticeable from the middle on. The finish is somewhat clean with a malty note trailing off. As an amber or brown I would rate this around 3.5, but for the ESB style, it is subpar.
preferred this cloudier brew ever so slightly to the bitter. More classic pub style with a touch more flavor, though there were many similarities.