Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (ESB)
Our ESB blends the best of English tradition with the boldness of West Coast style. A blend of malts featuring British-grown Maris Otter is balanced with the earthy spiciness of hand-selected English and US hops. The ale is left unfiltered which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish copper hue.
3.4
740 reviews
Chico, United States
Community reviews
Sierra Nevada Brewing Compan--ESB--Early Spring Beer--2008 Release--12 oz. Bottle--5.90% ABV--45 IBU’s. (4.25 / 5.0) ESB--Unfiltered Bottle Conditioned. Loose sediment hint. Big dense mild lace white head. Slightly cloudy fizzy bright rich gold copper hued color. Mild earthy floral hop front. Earthy crusty toasted caramel Maris Otter dry sweet BC ester hint body. English hop spice clean ESB end. Sampled 11/26/2008. 6-Pack--$7.00.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company--ESB--Early Spring Beer--2009
Release--12 oz. Bottle--5.90% ABV--45 IBU’s. (4.5 / 5.0) ESB--Big dense nucleating lacy rocky off white head. Clear bright thin dark gold amber hint color. Toasted hint earthy herbal hop front. Tangy crisp dry sweet thin textured earthy bitter mild caramel bisquit crusty ESB body. Crisp citrus bitter hop bite end. Sampled 1/28/2009. 6-Pack--$8.49.
Bottle: Vibrant amber, on the orange side, translucent, large frothy off-white head, decent lacing. Somewhat fartus malt like presense. I spoze that would be a bit of sulpher? A little husky, dank, herbal.
&Nbsp Certainly seems more aromatic than your average ESB. Malty start, a little biscuity, not as huskish as I would have thought based on the nose. Even a bit of citrus peel is in there. Low hop presense.
Definitely biscuity with soft notes of cracked husks and soft orange peel as you reach the backside. Lingering huskiness and citrus notes. Body and mouthfeel are moderate. Certainly one of the more flavorful and
aromatic ESBs I have had in a while. Fairly decent.
Bottled. Pours a cloudy golden yellow. Smells of citrus and pine. Moderately bitter and sour, and tastes similar to pine and citrus rind. It finished with a burst of hops and bitters. Decent beer.
lucent copper, lasting creamy beige head, creamy medium body, med co2.
aroma: earthy stale hops, grainy malt, light-struck note, hint of fruitiness.
taste:
T1= sweet bready malt.
T2= stale bittering hops, roasted grain.
T3= slight herbal hops.
tastes like strong, stale SN pale ale.
good with fried fish, especially stronger flavored fish.
Bottle.
Slightly hazy copper colored, small white head.
Fresh hoppy floral aroma. Fairly mild flavor with with citrus and resin. Aftertaste was nice and crisp. A nice beer, not too advanced.
Slightly hazy amber decent head, some lacing... English malty aroma, not much hops... Very malty, subtle hops, creamy, english... medium bodied, medium mouthfeel... Decent...
Provdatum: 2009-06-09
UTS: Kopparfärgad med medellätt krona
D: Humle
S: Humle, någon torkad frukt, danskt rågbröd
ES: Humle
Clear, amber color with brown hues. Medium sized slightly beige head that settles into some lacings.
Some citric and peppery hop aromas, floral notes, fudge, earth and boiled vegetables. Nothing spectacular, and rather week smell, but still kind of good.
The taste is not very powerful, but again, it’s still quite good. I was afraid that there would be lots of flavors of boiled vegetables (considering the smell), but that wasn’t the case. Tasty citric hops quickly develops into a flavor of sweet malts with a gentle caramel character. Some grains, fudge, earth and boiled carrots (but as notes above, the taste of boiled vegetables is neither strong or irritating). Diacetyls are present, but restrained. The finish is gently bitter with bready malts, grass, peppery hops and just a hint of minerals.
Moderate body, quite smooth. Very low, almost too low, carbonation.
Not bad at all, easy to drink and quite refreshing. I could definitely see myself drinking this one again.
Serving type: bottle
(Copy of old Beer Advocate review)
Lovely hazy amber color when poured, light head retention. Nice balance of the malt and hops on the nose. Very mild ale, the hops and malt don’t over power each other, with hop being the last on the tongue. Good level of carbonation and mouthfeel. (old bottle btw)
Dark golden to orange in color with an off white head. The smell is malts, floral, fruits, hops, and earthy. The taste is about the same as the smell.
Bottle. Rich copper in color, very floral, malty aroma, spicy, hoppy, some malt flavor. Medium body and a crisp, clean finish.
On tap at the Gingerman Fort Worth. Faint yet pleasant smell, great taste, nice aftertaste. Surprising.
12 oz bottle. Pours a cloudy yellowish orange with a medium sized white head. Smells of hops, caramel and candied orange. It has a strong earthy hop taste, a pine taste, flower taste and a caramel taste. I thought this was a very good beer.
Pours gold with a thin white head. Smells of roses, toasted malt, caramel, some earthy hops. Tastes earthy and sweet with some floral notes on the finish.
This is the 2009 version...
Hazy and still golden orange. Thin, but leaves an icy lace. Tiny specks sit motionless within. The thickness and white top look great.
The smell is nice, bready malt backbone with some crisp, flowery hops. Almost pilsner-like. Sharp hops, though a little weak.
The hops are more woody than expected, but still mild. Well-balanced. Very sweet and buttery caramel and honey flavor at the tail-end. Nice sweet-bitter balance.
The feel is thick and creamy feel. Very smooth and honey-like. A very mild, sweet (but hoppy beer). Smooth and easy sipping. Diggin’ it a lot; better than the sum of its parts.
2009 Vintage
8/22/2009: Sierra Nevada ESB (Early Spring Beer)... Aroma: Toffee maltiness and caramelized sugar combined with mostly earthy and slightly floral hops. Appearance: ESB-like appearance of orange-amber color with a minimal off-white head; cloudy; moderate carbonation. Flavor: Tofee malt extract, undertones of additional roasted/darker malts; a heavy-handed amount for bitterness and very earhty, almost herbally hops. Palate: Medium-bodied, average mouthfeel, carbonation comes through a bit more than I would have liked, but it isn’t over-done. Overall: Very much like a traditional ESB; quite solid and flavorful, but easy to forget; kind of reminds me of beginner homebrew though...
12 fl. oz. bottle (Alc. 5.9% by Vol.; 9021C13 47) from The Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky. Rating #716 for this beer.
Bottle. Pretty much golden with slight copper leaning, off white yellowing medium head. It may be fairly typical of an American ESB but it didn’t taste very ESB to me. I certainly enjoyed it though, very tasty. Would love to get a few of these down me. Earthy and oaty and reasonably heavy on the malts, which isn’t my thing usually but this was done in the right way. Nice grassy notes with a light bitter finish. Good work.
Gold pour, offwhite head. Hoppy and malty aroma. Hops are floral and lead to a nice tasting beer. A bit more bitterness than a typical ESB and a good malt bill as well. Nicely done.
My ESB came on draft at my favorite local beer joint so not only did I get to sup on a delicious beer, but I also got to enjoy the gentile ambience of my favorite hangout. Clear amber depths shimmer in a Sierra Nevada shaker pint glass. Her body is topped with a copper tinged head wrought with tightly packed bubbles while their larger cousins stick to the sides. Settling into her new home, she starts to clean house by first filling my senses with a gentle bouquet of pine needles, freshly cut grass damp with morning dew, waxy lemon and grapefruit skins with some nice juicy pulpy meat included for good measure followed by a final flourish of gentle floral notes. Spring is in the air, and so are the honey bees buzzing around their nest of ripe, delish honeycomb which would go lovely with the crunchy melba toast which offers solid support. Wow. And that was just the nose. There is a lot going on, but as Sierra Nevada likes to do, they weave it all together with gentle grace. My first quaff is crisp with the pine needles and grass piercing my senses while sticky sap coats my lips and sides of mouth. Brisk and refreshing, she vivifies and invigorates as the top of my tongue tingles with dry acidity thanks to the lemon and grapefruit which was readily apparent in her nose. Joining her sticky sappy brethren is fresh honey supped directly off the honeycomb whose earthiness compliments the finishing snap of melba toast.
Intriguing to say the least, but it didn’t bowl me over. That may hard to tell from the flourish of words above, but it’s no Bigfoot or Torpedo or Porter; their standard Porter is very tasty. On the other hand, the ESB is a very tasty and easy to drink spring session beer which is exactly what it is supposed to be.
Golden with a large offwhite head. Aroma is hoppy, grass and pine. Flavour is nice hop, with loads of grass. nice bitter aftertaste.
Poured a yellowish copper with a mildly thick off white head that lasted only briefly. The aroma was all hops. The flavor was bitter like you would expect, but not so much so that it kills. Overall very good.
Bottle: Start off incredible, floral, piney, fresh full of hop goodness. Finish is less aggressive, softens and goes easy on the palate. ESB or IPA? Food Pairing: An aggressive cheddar.
pours amber with a medium beige head. good lookin beer. Aroma is pine, grapefruit. Flavor is a sourdough bread. crisp. clean. refreshing, etc. not a bad beer.
Bottle- Poured a clear orange copper with nice tan head some lacing. Slight pine-hops with a caramel malt mix. Biscuit and earthy lightness, some bitterness.
Sampled this ESB at my college pub during senior year. The brew has a lovely hop aroma. The color was copper red with a light head. Flavor was rich, mildly bitter and crisp. Tasty beer with a nice alcohol content.
Nice orange color and is nearly indistinguishable from SNPA or Anniv. Ale, you know how it goes. Smells a little (just a little) piney. The flavors are hoppy but also have a nice biscuity, malty flavor that really screams ESB to me. The hops kinda threw me off but maybe this is a West Coast ESB?
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-25-2008 01:56:50
120z. bottle. clear copper color and small beige head. caramel malty citrus aroma. malty and slighyly crisp with a tiny bitter finish.
Overall Impression:
I like this beer, it’s tasty and enjoyable. Nice hops and malts balance. Nice mouthfeel. A nice brew.
Nice aroma of caramel, citrus hops. The appearance is an attractive amber color, clear, white head. The flavor is caramel, malty, with a balance from some citrus-like hops. The malts win out in the aroma and flavor, however. The finish is a nice, lingering citrus bittering, a nice ending. The mouthfeel is thin/medium, carbonation. Very good effort overall.
Gamboge orange with creamy white lasting head, fruity malty smell, earthy grass taste, hints of spice, some bitter aftertaste but a light in texture as in good quality water straight from the Earth used to brew. Bits of malt and ice and drinkable.