ESB Amber from Saugatuck Brewing

Today Detroit is well-known for its troubles and not its beer. The salad days of automobiles and Stroh's are long gone but surely the craft beer movement hasn't passed the Motor City by. A friend of mine went to visit family in Detroit and brought me back some local brew including a six-pack of Saugatuck's ESB Amber. The Extra Special/Strong Bitter is not a style which I've quaffed an enormous amount so I can't compare this one to others. Perhaps I ought to reacquaint myself with English beers. (As an aside, I had some Bungalow Rye ESB from House of Brews this spring and it was fantastic.)

ESB Amber pours a clear copper. It had a nice frothy head that lingered. There was some lacing but few bubbles in the beer itself. Malt was most prominent in the aroma with a nice sweet, almost peachy, scent. My understanding of ESB's is that malt and hops are both forward yet remain balanced so I was surprised that I didn't catch much in the way of hops in the aroma.

The taste was a wholly different matter, however. Straight out of the refrigerator, a floral hop bitterness prevailed over a moderate malt backbone. But, as the beer warmed to a more suitable 50 degrees (which didn't take very long in this weather, I can tell you), the two flavors became much more balanced. The malt was bready with some caramel flavor but not too sweet. I could really taste the hops on the tip of my tongue but, the farther back the beer went, the more pronounced the malt became. I'd say the mouthfeel was not too light but not cloyingly full either. It really hit a happy medium. The finish was very dry and bitter too with the hops lingering into the aftertaste.

ESB Amber is 5.4% ABV which seems average for the style. The name comes from the fact that your normal English bitter is what I think of as a true session beer – something like 3.5% - and this is a pumped up version. I really enjoyed it and was glad my friend picked it out as I probably would never have requested an ESB. My plan is to investigate the style more come the autumn when my house can't pass for the Icarus II.

Junk food pairing: Expect it to go well with Parmesan Cheez-Its or BBQ potato chips. Er, crisps.