Extra Special Bitter
McNeill's Brewery

Extra Special BitterExtra Special Bitter
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From:
McNeill's Brewery
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 12.14%
Reviews:
95
Ratings:
118
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 21, 2016
Added:
Sep 03, 2001
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  4
This brew pours a darker amber color with a very generous amount of head. Great retention and great lacing. Right from the start you know this beer is good as soon as you take a whiff. It’s a clean smell full of citrus and grassy hops. It also has a nice caramel malt background with some honey added in. Smells really good. The taste and mouthfeel are even better. Grassy and citrus bittering hops. It has a bitter and dry feel at the same time. All three things, the hops, the dryness, and bitterness are all just right. Not extreme but not wimpy either. The caramel malt background and honey just add to the fantastic taste. This beer is just crisp and clean.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3 by wpreynolds from New Jersey

Jul 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.06 by swierczt from Connecticut

Jul 08, 2016
Photo of jmdrpi
Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania

3.69/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
on draft at the brewpub

mildly hazy dark amber orange in color, white head. mild earthy hop aroma. taste is fairly bitter, but thin, biscuity malt flavor.
Apr 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.13 by SABERG from Massachusetts

Mar 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by patrick802 from Vermont

May 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Noelito76 from New York

Jan 25, 2014
Photo of scotorum
Reviewed by scotorum from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Poured from the 22 oz. bottle into a Samuel Smith English tulip.

a: Nearly clear dark gold, huge white head dissipated fairly quickly to surface foam and some lacing.

s: Strong pine with a curious fruit or spice undertone.

t: Pine hops forward, if I had not been told this was an ESB I would have taken it for a stronger than average American IPA. Much too hoppy for an English style ESB, likely to please hopheads. Surprisingly dry finish considering.

m: Light to moderate, good body.

o: Difficult to rate this because it's a good IPA, just not malty enough for a good ESB. Maybe this is the coming style given the popularity of IPAs: an "American ESB." Or maybe the new definition of "Strong Bitter" is "Hoppy Bitter." In any case it seems to me this beer represents a trend of more and more American craft brewers brewing out side the traditional style boxes.

Creatively speaking that may be very good, because it means an infinity of different tastes. But one consequence of that is that buyers can no longer rely on getting any particular ballpark taste from any craft beer described as in that style by the brewer unless they have already tasted it. I'm not objecting to McNeill's ESB, it's a pretty good brew. But in my style book, it's definitely not a traditional ESB.
Sep 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by HRamz3 from Pitcairn

Sep 03, 2013
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

3.99/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Murky burnt orange with a tan head, lots of carbonation. Caramel and lush citrus bond wonderfully in the nose, subtle herbal hops finish. Taste mirrors with the caramel and citrus, hops now more grassy tasting than herbal but perhaps best described as botanical, biscuit emerges with malt in tow. Hop finish is large for style, leaving quite an impression for the feel, but otherwise snappy and malty. Nice ESB, would have again
Aug 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jealmanzar from New York

Aug 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by OriolesFan1008 from Maryland

Jul 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Jun 27, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by sammy806 from Maryland

Jun 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Kelp from New Hampshire

Jun 04, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by sacrelicio from Minnesota

Feb 13, 2013
Photo of Willytee3
Reviewed by Willytee3 from New York

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pour a light amber orange with one finger of cream color head. Large bubbly carbonation that recedes quickly. Little if any lacing.

Trace of smell is clean and crisp with slight Carmel malts.

High carbonation with a little bitter bite up front. OK mouth feel. Slight malt flavor through the sip. A little fruity essence not much, finishes bitter on the tongue and lingers. A little malty sweetness is present with nice balance to the bitter.
Oct 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by fuzzcherry from Minnesota

Sep 23, 2012
Photo of Trail
Reviewed by Trail from Vermont

2.62/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
This beer is not my favourite. It's labeled as an ESB, but, um, it isn't. A fair amount of hops - it's hoppier than SNPA, and in spite of being called an ESB it has predominantly American-tasting hops. I think I'm detecting a fair portion of Nugget, Cascade and (I think) Newport hops, none of which are remotely English in profile. There's no earthiness here, and the only thing bitter-ey about this is the diacetyl... which is nuts. So, uh:

Appearance: Slightly below average. It'd be fine for an amber, but it's miles away from being pale. Cloudy, there's an insane amount of sediment in the bottle (and this is coming from a homebrewer.)

Taste: Not terrible, not great. This tastes like an aggressively average American pale ale, and the only distinctive thing about it is the elevated bitterness. No malt profile to speak of save a brief, well-rounded sweet tang at the end of the sip that gives way smoothly to...

Mouthfeel: There is so much diacetyl here I feel like I'm drinking this out of a theater popcorn box. The first couple mouthfuls were novel but by the end of the glass it's getting to be a Goddamn chore. I've had several bitters with significant diacetyl where it worked, but they all had less than this - and they also had less hop bitterness, and the flavor was therefore better integrated with the beer.

Overall, this is a disappointing beer - doubly so because a good ESB is so hard to find in the USA. I'll admit that I do have a very... defined idea of what an ESB should taste like (Fuller's) but this is so far outside the style that I don't know what they were thinking. Marketed as a Pale I'd probably bump the taste and overall scores up half a point apiece, but this mosaic of attributes doesn't work no matter how they're described. Pass, and I would have to think about it if someone offered me one.
Sep 16, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Aug 29, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by RoryOMoore from New Jersey

Jul 08, 2012
Extra Special Bitter from McNeill's Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 118 ratings