Portsmouth Extra Special Bitter - Portsmouth Brewery

ThirstyBird

Germany

4.13/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours medium dark reddish brown with a slight haze. Smallish tight tan head. Smell is malty, a bit of caramel, some fruit some mild hops. Pretty nice nose. Taste is similar to nose with some spiciness added and some dryness at the end. A pretty nice ESB. Carbonation is low key finely structured and quite creamy and very smooth. A nice easy drinking and nicely flavored brew. I would certainly enjoy having several of these.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2011 03:16:25 | More by ThirstyBird

thegerm87

Connecticut

2.75/5  rDev -25.9%

05-27-2013 01:58:29 | More by thegerm87

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

04-23-2013 05:46:01 | More by Kelp

erlenmeyer

Maine

3/5  rDev -19.1%

04-19-2013 21:51:14 | More by erlenmeyer

Celtics76

Rhode Island

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

04-03-2013 15:29:03 | More by Celtics76

splendidsplinter

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -19.1%

03-15-2013 19:49:17 | More by splendidsplinter

Mikecap

Rhode Island

3/5  rDev -19.1%

03-09-2013 16:58:35 | More by Mikecap

vonnegut21

New York

4/5  rDev +7.8%

01-23-2013 20:44:55 | More by vonnegut21

DonFrap

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

01-06-2013 03:01:59 | More by DonFrap

rderedin

Maine

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

12-14-2012 03:18:34 | More by rderedin

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Copper brown color with a light haze. Starts with a modest head which settles to single layer of minute bubbles.

Strong toast aroma. Low hop nose.

The taste matches the smell until the swallow which is bitter. Lots of biscuity toast with a little malt sugar. The hop is hidden. The body is thin but there's a bit of "roundness" and the carbonation is low like the British versions.

Serving type: growler

09-15-2012 21:21:19 | More by smcolw

Stockfan42

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.8%

05-30-2012 05:17:28 | More by Stockfan42

ales4baldo

California

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Poured a small head, not much. Copper color and a little dark. A little foggy but a bit clear as well.

S- Lots of sweet malt. Biscuit notes. Reminds me of a Dunkel style beer. A little honey and not too much of the hops coming through.

T- Interesting. Really does remind me of a Dunkel. Has a nice honey in the initial drink. Marks come through and stay throughout. Has a nice sweetness to it. Hops are mellow and the bitterness Is low. Kicks in a bit at the end.

M- Has a soft and small body. Really thin and water like. Flavors are subtle but rounds out nicely. Good malt character to this beer.

O- A decent beer. Nothing's special but a good drink by itself or with a heavy meal. Has a nice taste and good malt use. Simple and refreshing at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 04:17:38 | More by ales4baldo

phingdong

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +7.8%

02-01-2012 23:12:46 | More by phingdong

FrankLloydMike

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.8%

12-08-2011 17:29:49 | More by FrankLloydMike

rab53

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.8%

12-02-2011 05:37:01 | More by rab53

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +34.8%

11-28-2011 20:03:46 | More by Rochefort10nh

BeerThursdays

Delaware

4/5  rDev +7.8%

11-16-2011 15:57:59 | More by BeerThursdays

randomdanger

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.8%

11-15-2011 15:58:13 | More by randomdanger

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber shared with pmsawyer and poured into a Portsmouth snifter. This brew appears a color caught between amber and ruby to brown. A creamy tan cap appears across the top and fades with spotty lace holding across the top and around the edges of the glassware. Decent clarity through the body with orange hues when held to the light.

The aroma is sweet with caramel malt initially. Not really what I was expecting for an ESB but still quite enjoyable. After the brew settles down in my glass fruity notes of alcohol and hops come forward smelling almost like candy. This is quite a malty offering with a light herbal aspect and a touch of sulfur across the back.

The taste is also malty sweet with a hoppy aspect that is a mixture of both floral and fruity characteristics. There is a solid flavoring here of hops that was missing in the aroma, notes of citrus mix with herbs and fruit that impart a mild amount of bitterness which does a good job contrasting the sweetness of the caramel malt. There is a mild alcohol presence and collectively this brew is very well balanced with a good integration of hop flavoring.

This is a medium bodied brew with a light level of carbonation. It is fairly easy drinking. It boasts a mildly warming alcohol incorporation. The downfall of this brew is that it has such a huge emphasis on caramel malt that the hops almost play a backseat to this brew instead of being the star. Regardless, it was a fairly decent example of the style and one that I would not refuse again, perhaps a more fresh example would yield different opinion.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2011 21:38:21 | More by stakem

cosmicevan

New York

3.85/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Massive props go out to my buddy CooperEllis for picking up my KtG and nabbing me a mix pack of Portsmouth bombers (and glassware).

a - Popped the bottle and filled my portsmouth tulip. Deep copper amber with a thin bubbly head and vibrant carbonation. The head didn't hang too long, but wasn't gone that quick. The surface of the brew left a murky swampy trace of the head that was once there.

s - Malts. Smells kind of malty. Pretty malty. Did I mention that this beer smells like malts? It is almost lagerish in the smell or even a malty red or amber ale. There is some subtle potpourri notes in the background...kind of like walking into a craft store, but not nearly as intense. Overall the smell is pretty subtle and laid back. Really have to dig in to pull much of anything beyond the malt.

t - Toasted malts. Almost like a toasted lager, but a bit more seasoned or spicey (again potpourri), but just a pinch of that festive spiciness.

m - Medium to light bodied...even a bit watery. Leaves a cooling biscuity aftervibe. Carbonation is very subtle

o - As the description suggests, they key to an ESB is balance. Should be called Extra Special Balance. This is a very non-offensive brew...I think it would be accessible to any beer drinker and is a solid example of the style. There is a tingle of festiveness which gives it a bit of pizaz. There isn't any real hopping to this beer to speak of...all malts...but not in a bad way.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 00:46:49 | More by cosmicevan

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

So I am in New Hampshire for the Great Bay Half Marathon...its the night before a race and ....why not drink some....ok....alot of the local beer!!! The Extra Special Bitter from Portsmouth is good. This beer has was a copper/amber in color with thin white head and great lace. The smell was nothing to write home about. This beer was light and crisp in taste! Basically a solid beer nothing crazy going on with this beer. The ABV leads to this beer being a Session...certainly worth a taste.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2011 02:18:49 | More by WoodBrew

Kinsman

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had myself a good time for a couple of hours when I stopped by Portsmouth this afternoon and had the chance to try a few new beers while I was there.

Dark copper colored body with some ligher orange hues. Was poured from the tap with a nice foamy and slighty sticky off-white colored head that initially was just shy of 2 fingers thick.

Aroma was simple and straight-forward but enjoyable with a nice caramel and toasted malts profile and some floral and grassy hops to balance this out.

Not as hoppy as some ESB's I've tasted, but then again many authentic English ESBs are incredbily well-balanced and this seems to fit in well with those. Caremel like sweetness with slight hint of toasted and bready grains for the malts and plenty of grassy and herbal or floral flavors to balance this out with hops.

Mouthfeel is light bodied, a bit lively, and rather crisp. Overall, nothing mind-blowing here but still a very tasty brew.

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2011 01:07:36 | More by Kinsman

deltatauhobbit

Maine

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear amber/copper color with a bit of head that goes around the rim, the head is the type of big bubbles that don't leave much in the way of lacing.

Smell is primarily malty with a touch of caramel and some fruity tones, the hops are quire subdued though and take a backseat.

Taste follows up on the malty presence, lightly roasted and caramel add some character to the malt, still picking up hints of fruitiness, beer has a slickness to it that seems buttery at times, definitely a bit of diacetyl but nothing that is overwhelming or distracting.

An enjoyable ESB and easy to drink, nothing overly complex but fits quite well within the style, still there's more readily available ESB's out there that are just as good.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2011 20:16:49 | More by deltatauhobbit

pburland23

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Portsmouth Brewery. Served in a Portsmouth shaker.

Pours a medium reddish brown color with a very thin, soapy head. The size and style of the head fooled me momentarily into thinking the beer was from the cask, but it wasn't.

The aroma is underwhelming. There is a scant whiff of hops bitterness, but not much else.

The taste was unexpectedly floral, but it was pleasant. There was a herby, lavender quality to the beer which slowly melded into a pleasant and not overwhelming amount of hops bitterness. It was almost like two different beers from the start to the end of each sip, but they worked well together.

The mouthfeel was spot on for the style. Slightly viscous but smooth. Bitters are sessionable by definition and clocking it at a substantial, but not too big 6%, this ESB fits a bill.

A solid, well crafted beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2011 00:31:48 | More by pburland23