Extra Special Ale (ESA) - Yards Brewing Co.

wheelinshirt

Pennsylvania

1.83/5  rDev -51.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Really disappointed with this one. I have had their IPA before and i remember enjoying it, but this beer was a mess. Way too carbonated and not balanced at all. The hops and carbonation drown out any malt character. I also got a metallic taste to this one that stayed for some time. Not an enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2007 03:28:15 | More by wheelinshirt

jtierney89

New Jersey

2/5  rDev -46.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Nice garnet color with perfect clarity and a tall peach colored head. Slightly roasted malt on the nose with underlying earthy hops and dark fruit. Kind of complex nose, not over bearing but lots of scents. Bread crusts, toast with jam, buttered biscuit, smells like an english tea house.

Burnt slightly bitter malt up front. Body's on the lighter side, lots of carbonation. Tastes of biscuits covered in very jammy jelly on the mid palate. Finishes extremely dry but leaves a deep fruit after taste. The fruit presence is by no means big but in my personal opinion too big for the style. The bitterness employed primarily by the roasted malt though is very nice. Unfortunately the fruit aspects of this beer do not play well with the earthy hop finish or burnt malt presence. If it was gone I'd love this beer. Oh well.

Clean and dry, just that damn overbearing fruit.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 01:47:35 | More by jtierney89

beernut7

Massachusetts

2.08/5  rDev -44.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a hazy straw color with a creamy head. A heavy yeast aroma is predominant and hints at improper storage before purchase. The brew is overly hoppy with a harsh mouthfeel and minimum malt presence. A floral hop spice starts to work it way though toward the bottom of the glass. I have a feeling this is an old bottle that has been stored at a to-high temperature. The whole brew hints at a great beer, but the flaws of this bottle eclipse the goodness.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2003 16:41:35 | More by beernut7

mentor

Colorado

2.15/5  rDev -42.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Thanks to Francisweizen for this one. Freshness stamp is 042306. Pours a ridiculouos 4 finger head from just half of the bottle. WTF? Light tan head over a very cloudy orange rust liquid. Decent lacing left on the glass. Smells tangy. Mango, orange, and pine sol. Tastes tart to start. Frutiy with an early burst of carbonation on the front flat of my tongue. Yeasty and malty in the middle with some acrid carbonation piercing a bit gently. The very end has a dish-soapy twang that I don't like, and it's combined with chalky malt character. Aftertaste is a sequel of the tart start. I also get a metallic character that I'm wondering if it's hops or just a result of foul preparation. This beer sucks. There is an amazing sameness between this beer and their Philadelphia Pale Ale, although the pale ale has noticable citrus hop character. Mouthfeel is medium, I guess. It's hard to tel, because the moment I start to swirl the beer in my mouth it explodes into a glob of foam. This beer is vastly overcarbonated.

Edit: Wow, this beer received the lowest score I've ever given. I've only reviewed craft beers up to this point...time for me to dig into some macro-swill.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2005 05:54:45 | More by mentor

AlexJ

North Carolina

2.65/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Clear, dark chestnut brown pour with a frothy beige head that leaves thick deposits of crusty lace as it slowly fades.

Aroma is quite simple, caramel malts, a bit of buttered bread, and some jumbled hop notes.

Flavor is very diactyl, with buttery caramel followed by sharp, bitter hops that take no form or profile. Just plain bitterness, and ratrher unpleasant.

Medium bodied, with a chewy, creamy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Very difficult for me to finish due to the unpleasant bitterness, which doesn't happen too often.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 18:36:50 | More by AlexJ

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

2.68/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The gravity pour created only thin wisps of head. Color was a hazy amber, kind of like weak tea. The nose was lightly malty, definitely on the sweet side. Mouthfeel was medium with a mild bitterness on the tongue. Finish had a mild bitterness, but mothing worth getting excited about. Personally, I felt it was the least of the three, to include Brawler and PHL PA, on that particular Cask Night.

Serving type: cask

07-31-2009 19:59:30 | More by woodychandler

budgood1

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

this special ale pours out a very cloudy dark ruby color. yeasty dregs and a foamy head. hard to pin down aroma....almost antiseptic...with some other malty notes. strange, not recognizable flavors. it's like sucking on plastic...slight spice characteristics...hints of belgian like fruity maltiness. hops seem earthy and grassy. medium mouthfeel and smooth in character and finish. either i have little experience appreciating this style of bitter or i'm just not used to it. not really that enjoyable to me.

thanks to frank4sail for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2003 23:33:59 | More by budgood1

LilBeerDoctor

New York

2.83/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Tria. Pours amber with a thick tan head. Aroma of light sweet malt and raisins. Flavor is pretty much dominated by raisins. Weak palate and I'm not a fan of the flavor either.
Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 5/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 13/20
(3.1/5)

Serving type: on-tap

01-11-2009 02:16:28 | More by LilBeerDoctor

cubedbee

Maryland

2.98/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a dark reddish copper with a finger of loose head which sticks around as a ring all the way through the beer. Aroma is a little caramel, a little floral hops, and unforunately a little soy sauce. This is the second ESB I've tried where I smelled soy sauce, so it might be something with me, but it's definitely offputting. Luckily, the smell doesn't carry over to the taste. The taste is a caramel malt with a slight buttery flavor and a fairly strong floral hop finish leaving some lingering bitterness. Mouthfeel is a little too carbonated and prickly on the tongue. The smell ruins this beer for me, but even without it I'd say it's only an average brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2005 02:50:34 | More by cubedbee

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer pours out as a brownish copper color that looks quite nice in the glass. The head in pretty good too, it kinda shrinks down to a thin film that lays on top of the beer as you drink. The aroma wasn't too bad. I found it to be pretty good on the nose. The flavor kinda disappointed me a bit. I felt that the bitterness of the beer wasn't all there. I feel that it was kind of avoided or forgotten. To me this just didn't taste much like an ESB. The mouthfeel is pretty good, it's a medium body with some light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2011 05:28:25 | More by Knapp85

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

poured into my BA mug. Pours a cloudy amber color with a thick off white heading. Very good lacing.

Smell is malty,kind of bitter with some dark fruit's and some spice hop's.

Taste is very bitter and kind of sour. Dry aftertaste,also kind of yeasty.

Mouth is medium bodied with decent carbonation.

Drink is ok, nothing spectacular but for 6.3% Abv I guess it's average.

I was disappointed with this beer I had high hopes going in but a big letdown in the end.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2009 22:44:15 | More by TheFightfan1

mactrail

California

3.03/5  rDev -19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Large and malty. Great big flavors of juniper, resins, dank malt. Tastes like it's been sweetened and spiced, like some kind of holiday grog. Tastes good at first sip, but gets weirder as you drink.

Served in a big English imperial pint nonic. Pulled from the fake hand pump. Plenty of carbonation and a nice sudsy foam, with lots of lacing in the glass. No aroma to speak of. Winey and tastes like some new kind of Long Island Iced Tea. On the cask at Local 44 in Philadelphia. Interesting but I don't get it. [Transcribed from notes written on 05/30/2012 visit.]

Serving type: cask

03-10-2013 06:21:03 | More by mactrail

Romulus141

Nebraska

3.05/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a pilsner glass.

Appearance: Pours a nice, dark, golden brown. With an aggressive pour a half inch thick head will appear, but dissipates. A ring of foam remains around the edge, and lacing sticks to the edges of the glass. What's interesting is that in the pilsner, the bottom of the beverage appears to be lighter in color than the top, for a cool hue balancing effect. Quite nice.

Smell: Sweet smell, although there is some alcohol aromas there are still present. Not too much to intrude, but the alcohol smell is definitely there. The sweet aroma is faint.

Taste: Starts sweet with some earthy tastes, and is followed up with a bitter kick as it leaves to go down the throat. The aftertaste lingers a little longer than I would have liked. Some taste of alcohol is there too.

Mouthfeel: Some body, but not thick. Slick as it passes over the tongue, but nothing overly impressive. Nothing that stood out to me.

Drinkability: I could drink a number of these easily. However, they're not my favorite. I would probably reach for something else over this, mostly because of the bitter aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2006 18:34:49 | More by Romulus141

EmoBeerGuy

New Hampshire

3.08/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I think I may have gotten a bad batch of this ale and for that reason this review is pending my trying this one over again.

This one has little head and had a lot of chunky setiment on the bottom (for this reason i think it may have turned). Flavor wasn't horrible though. Tasted much like an English ESB and works well within that style which, really, isn't one of my favorites. Anyways, a fairly easy drinking beer. One that I WILL try again.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2003 18:57:34 | More by EmoBeerGuy

Braudog

Virginia

3.08/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Bottle at my personal mecca, Brickskeller, Washington. Dark copper with a thin head. Metallic caramel aroma. Thin body. Bit grainy, gristy and carameled, but overall the thinness detracts far too much. Gets a bit better as it warms with more malt bases, boosting my impression. (#2775, 4/6/2007)

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2007 23:48:16 | More by Braudog

kbutler1

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle. Pours a very deep reddish rust mahagony color with surprisingly a very small head of slight tan that collars around the glass. Lots of wheat in the nose but thats really all I am getting. No real hops aroma. Sweet malty taste with a hop and wheat flavored after taste. Lingering bitterness. Medium mouthfeel. Not terrible but not great either. Kind of just ok.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2010 22:54:47 | More by kbutler1

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A 12 oz bottle courtesy of guinnessfan.

A: The esb is a slightly hazy brown color that has some auburn orange highlights. The head was thick on pour, measuring almost 2 fingers and has left a small covering of lace in the glass.

S: The aroma is malty, primarily a nut flavor. I also pick up a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg floating around with the malt. Hops providing a strong bitter component.

T: The ale strives to be a good esb but falls short on several fronts. The malty body is nutty but seems to have a spicy edge. As the ale warms, the malt body comes out a bit more but never really dominates. The hops are not especially bitter either, barely even registering taste-wise.

M: The ale is more spicy than bitter, it creates an enjoyable taste and body even if it isn't quite ESB material.

D: The alcohol is creeping upward with the ale, limiting the drinkability. The strange spicy body would most likely cause me to pass on a 2nd pint.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2007 00:51:41 | More by akorsak

gr0g

New Jersey

3.13/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Review from notes taken on 01/15/2012.

Dark mahogany in color with a one-finger white head. Some lace curtains are left behind. Aroma is primarily of caramel and toffee notes from the malt, while a floral hop note backs them up.

Toffee malt and fruity esters on the palate. Hops contribute a a pronounced bitterness, but one that's well below IPA levels. A slight solvent presence on the finish detracts from the experience. I think I'd pay a little extra and pick up some Fuller's ESB over this.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 00:59:34 | More by gr0g

TongoRad

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I'll be damned if I can make out the freshness stamp on the bottle, but it's there.

A decanted pour shows a slightly hazy dark copper with a long lasting one finger head.

Moderate aroma- creamy, slightly berry-like esters, caramel and some fresh floral hops.

Bittering hops dominate the palate. There's a touch of dark caramel and fruit as well. Finish is crisp and the bitterness lingers. Not particularly bad, but kinda boring. A good fallback option.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2005 00:18:57 | More by TongoRad

dedrinker

Kansas

3.18/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This one looks much like the pugilist: dark amber/ brown.

Hardly gives off much aroma - is it a little malty smell? maybe some more of that tree fruit (same yeast?) and a hint of toffee? I can't be sure.

And if most of taste is smell, then how is it that I can taste it? By its' warming up in my mouth? So do they recommend to bring the beer up to body temperature before drinking? So it kinda tastes malty with a little hop edge on the back. Geez, nothing extra special here at all.

Medium body, mixed fruit and bittering hop finish. It aint bad, but if I was at a bar and ordered a pint of this, I'd be bummed.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2010 23:22:41 | More by dedrinker

aaronh

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This dark amber beer pours with a huge loose head and a slight haziness. The head slowly fades and leaves a decent lacing behind. The aroma immediately brings bubble gum to mind, with cherries and citurs notes evident. A hint of hops may be detectable behind the overall sweet, fruity nose. The first sip is more bitter than the aroma would have led me to believe. The wonderful bitterness is lightly supported by some malt in the background. The finish is a little dry, and some metallic aftertastes are present. Also a bit of a medicinal note lingering on the palate. A bit a fruitiness shows through the flavors a subsequent drinks are taken. The beer feels thin on the tongue, but itfeels like it is trying to hold on to the back of your tongue as it gradually fades down your throat. A little distracting when combined with the odd aftertastes. A bit of a disaapointment from Yards.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2003 16:33:28 | More by aaronh

guinness33

New Jersey

3.23/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

this brew from yards starts out wonderfully by building expectations with a stellar appearance, but tanks back into the land of average thereafter. pours a great looking cloudy amber colour with a big creamy off-white head. nice stickiness and great overall appearance. smells of malt, hop, and a bit of fruit sweetness (plum or grape, perhaps). the taste is average at best, much like the smell. there's a bit of a hop kick in here along with a bitter malt finish that is on the dry side. again, this one's nothing special, but it's not bad either. there's nothing striking that would warrant my seeking this one out on a regular basis, but i certainly wouldn't turn one down if offered to me.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2004 16:46:02 | More by guinness33

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Hand pumped from cask into a pint glass.

A: Handsome looking. Average head is creamy and very white which is somewhat surprising given the very dark brown body. The head retention was decent. Lacing was seemingly excellent but a few more sips revealed that the stick was from the head only and any lacing from the body ended up sliding down the glass and back into my beer. This brew has a clear body, although it is so dark that it's clarity is hard to notice. The color is a reminiscent of mahogany wood with a dark, cherry finish. Amber lines the glass.

S & T: Malty as expected with predominant notes of molasses. Light herbal, piney, resiny hops. The yeast bill is leathery and brothy. The aroma is a little weak for such a dark brew. Flavors reminiscent of the aromas as well as coriander come through. Lightly sweet and lightly bitter.

M: The mouthfeel seems lacking and uninspired. The medium body has a thin texture but a pleasant creamy quality. Carbonation is soft. I realize part of my negative comments could be attributed to the fact that this Yards was served on cask but my contention is that if a beer's more natural qualities aren't enhanced when casked, then why is it on cask in the first place?

D: Extra Special (as in ESA) sounds promising as if this combination of words shouldn't be thrown around. Honestly, I feel like they could have left the 'ES' out of the name and simply called it an ale. Overall, a pretty average brew. Maybe it doesn't really belong on cask as the result seemed underwhelming and contrived.

Serving type: cask

01-10-2010 21:55:10 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

MONKandTUCK

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Deep golden hue. On draught it would be clearer and lighter, probably also carry more head. Darker than Pilsner Urquell, but much lighter than most Pale Ales.

A - Some malts, kinda fruity and vegetal. It reminds me more of a flower than what you think of when you imagine flowers. Definitely not bright and juicy, like American Pale Ales.

T - Buttered bread and a little honey, some sturdy hops. This is remarkably balanced and refreshing. The hops add some depth, but they're not harsh. There's a refined character about this beer. Then.... the finish. Wow, funky. Maybe it's this batch. Maybe it's something that goes unnoticed when this beer is chilled. But damn, there's something fierce that sneaks up in this batch. Ya know how athletes chew food for the taste, then spit it out? That's how I felt with this one.

M - It's no shrimp. Considering the ABV, this beer is substantial. But the malts are staight forward, so the beer is actually refreshing.

O - It was never gonna be stellar; however, this beer lost its opportunity to be my go-to-beer with the lousy finish. I'll try it again, but I suspect the bittering hops had a lot to do with that fresh-cut-lawn taste. gag.

Serving type: cask

04-14-2012 04:59:42 | More by MONKandTUCK

joeskirkie

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Well theres not much head, I've had others that had a vey tall head though. The color looks like a brown that matches the empty bottle, with a hint of red in it.

Light fruity? scent. I definatley detect malts, but not too much roasting going on. The most nocticable thing is a lingering bitterness, but it's well balanced I would say. I can readily call this a smooth and sessionable brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2006 01:27:43 | More by joeskirkie