British Bulldog Extra Special Bitter

 A gift from the rascally WFM, British Bulldog Extra Special Bitter is a 5.3%, 32 IBU ESB from Old Dog Brewing Co. out of Bobcaygeon, Ontario. The beer comes in fairly plain 473mL cans, from which emerges a mostly clear copper ale with a thin, off-white head.

British Bulldog has a malty, sweet, and bready aroma. The flavour is pretty agreeable, with a sweet to bitter progression. The beer kicks off with some caramel and bread notes, and closes out with a touch of floral bitterness and a faint metallic clank. The mouthfeel is a little thin, though. I’d probably like this beer on cask, but as a canned offering, it could have had a bit more carbonation and volume.

ESBs aren’t particularly well represented in Ontario, so I was excited to receive a can of BB. It was decent stuff, but it didn’t exactly blow my mind.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Godspeed Goodies--Oi!

Oi! is an extra special bitter from the team at Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery. It’s a 5.1% alcohol ale sold in snazzy, peaceful 355mL cans. Oi! has a beautiful bronze colour and it pours with a thin, short-lived off-white head.

Oi! has sweet, malty aromatics, with caramel and toasty notes. The flavour is l, in its time, biscuity, malty, sweet, and toasty. The movement is from sweet to modestly bitter, and the balance is commendable.

My favourite ESBs typically have a bit more in terms of coppery notes than Oi! does, but the balance is strong, the strength is respectable, and overall impression is really enjoyable. Oi! is reflective of Godspeed’s commitment to subtle, well-made ales. It’s a good ESB that demonstrates a laudable attention to detail.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Beau’s ESB

Beau’s ESB comes in some rad 473mL cans emblazoned with a collection of vehicles on a royal blue field—spiffy stuff. Born in Vankleek Hill, Ontario to Beau’s Brewing Co., the extra special bitter is an organic 5.6% English-style ale. It’s a bronze brew topped with a sudsy cream head.

To my sniffer, Beau’s ESB has a bready, caramel, and malt-heavy nose. For flavour, the beer starts sweetly, with caramel and toast kicking things off. The back end wanders into bitter territory, with a sludge of treacle and brown sugar to shut the door.

Rich and deep, Beau’s ESB is a nice take on the British fave. It’s a bit too big and too sweet for a classic ESB, but I liked it anyway.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The 47 ESB

Lot 30 Brewers is a new beer builder located in my greater neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end. After a trip to their brewery and bottle shop, I brought home a 473mL can of The 47 ESB. It’s a 4% ale with a dark dull gold colour and very little head.

The beer has a sweet, biscuity scent with some solid malt notes. The flavour is fairly pleasant, with toasted malts, biscuit, and some sticky toffee. The read downside of this beer is its almost total lack of carbonation—it has the fizz you’d expect from a cask ale, but it isn’t a cask ale. There also isn’t a whole lot of bitterness, but it’s the fizz void that really hurts.

The flavour of this beer is, as mentioned, pretty rich and enjoyable. That’ll carry it along way, but the still nature is a drawback. The beer tastes good enough that I’d be interested in checking out more of Lot 30’s offerings, but I’m not inclined to buy this one again.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

La Vache Folle ESB

A gift from my tremendous in-laws, I got a 500mL bottle of the 6% alcohol La Vache Folle ESB, from Microbrasserie Charlevoix, from Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec. The brew is a bright copper-hued number—clear with an off-white head and lovely lace.

The beer has a malty, faintly metallic nose with some brown sugar sweetness and a hoppy kick. The scent-picture painted by the aroma is well-actualized in the flavour, with brown sugar, caramel, and malts in good measure up front, and a pleasingly bitter, gently metallic, and unexpectedly grassy back end.

This English-style, Québecois Extra Special Bitter ale is a well-executed take—a tasty, fairly strong, and flavourful version of a classic pub-style pint. My only beef is that there was a bit too much sweetness through a finish that could have been crisper.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Kingpost ESB

Kingpost ESB calls Collingwood, Ontario home. It's a 5.8% alcohol, 40 IBU extra special bitter from the Collingwood Brewery. The beer leaves its 473mL can looking copper-hued and clear, pouring under a decent layer of off-white head.

Kingpost has a sweet and malty nose, with an agreeable caramel bent. The flavour has a metallic quality alongside malt and caramel notes. The initial taste is sweet; I was caught off-guard by the depth of bitterness at the back end. There was some real hops astringency that resulted in a quick, dry, and bready finish.

I thought Kingpost was a nicely constructed English-style ale. The front end could have been stronger, but the finish was most satisfactory. Would buy again.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

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Henderson's Best

During my first visit to Toronto's Henderson Brewing Co., I had to sample their flagship ale, Henderson's Best, an ESB. My pint of this amber ale arrived looking lovely and clear, with decent carbonation and a healthy cream head. At 5.5%, this beer had enough heft to soothe this savage beast.

It had a sweet, malty nose that was rich in caramel. The flavour, too, was malty with a caramel focus, but it also had a slightly coppery vibe. Not a lot on the hops side of things, though, with just enough bitterness to keep things balanced.

Henderson's Best is a good take on the Extra Special Bitter style. A nice English-style ale with decent strength and a pretty look, I found myself pretty pleased with my order.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Equilibrium Extra-Special Bitter

As if the name isn't enough, the 473mL cans of Equilibrium Extra-Special Bitter feature a teetering elephant and the slogan "balanced brilliance". I think they're suggesting the beer is balanced.

The "they" I'm referring to is Burlington, Ontario's Nickel Brook Brewing Co., the outfit responsible for this 5.5%, 43 IBU ESB. Equilibrium pours a comfortable toffee colour under a layer of sudsy off-white head. Pretty murky stuff, too.

My nose was met with a classically English-style pub ale aroma; a blend of caramel and copper, with a malty spine. The flavour, believe it or not, does exhibit a nice degree of balance (though I think that, semantically, balance doesn't have degrees--it's an all or nothing proposition). Malty, sweet notes of caramel and raisin are set off against bitter ones, while a tinkling metallic undercurrent keeps pace.

I haven't had a really nice ESB for some time. For one thing, I think of them as a fall brew, and it was decidedly July when I tasted Equilibrium. But also, I just haven't found any that have tickled my fancy outside of the traditional English ones. However, in Equilibrium, Nickel Brook has put together a charming ESB--one that contains a hearty hops bill to lend it something different.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Trafalgar ESB

The Trafalgar ESB comes from Oakville, Ontario, where it is crafted by Trafalgar Ales and Meads. With 5% alcohol, this Extra Special Bitter is sold in 500mL bottles. It pours a relatively clear red-copper colour and has a moderate amount of carbonation and a thinnish cream coloured head.

The ESB has a really inviting aroma that blends bitterness with some caramel notes--this is a great smelling beer.  It starts with a malty caramel taste that morphs into a pungent hop flavour by the end.
The finish is bitter and dry.

Hoppier than I expected, this is an English-style pale ale wearing IPA pajamas.  It's a well made brew. You better believe I'll have another.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.