Wilson Creek ESB - Olde Hickory Brewery

Jason

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22oz brown bomber with a freshness date.

LOOK: Orange amber, clear with a lively lacing on the glass.

SMELL: Caramel, ripe plums and pears, baked apple, cake batter, herbal hops, woody and earthy.

TASTE: Malt bomb, toasted bread, caramel, fresh grain, grassy, bark-like hops, earthy, woody, yeast, ripe orchard fruit.

Killer, soooo drinkable. Seriously, every sip I take I cry knowing that this bomber is the only one I have. There is balance, near perfection. To style, no doubt there.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 05:21:01 | More by Jason

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -9.1%

05-19-2013 14:54:02 | More by mikeincharleston

GennyCreamAle

New York

4/5  rDev +3.9%

05-10-2013 11:07:27 | More by GennyCreamAle

buckyp

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.9%

04-28-2013 23:30:03 | More by buckyp

pburland23

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -2.6%

11-18-2012 02:33:20 | More by pburland23

SLeffler27

New York

4.1/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pale orange creamy foam continues to build well after the pour, ultimately reaching equal parts head to beer. The head lasts an eternity as it slowly turns rocky over a clear, dark amber beer while continuous random carbonation ferments from within. Dense clouds of lace are left behind on the Dogfish Head Fisheye pint glass.

Apricot gives way to honey and caramel with spice and caraway, imparting a freshness on this beer.

Opening with a nice, bitter bite that is equaled by a grainy or bready flavor. There is some acidity and lots of caramelized sugar, though not too sweet.

A full body with prickly carbonation and soft texture, followed by a hint of alcohol.

This stands up as an everyday beer with lots of character. It is quite satisfying on a hot Sunday afternoon and the bottle can easily be finished in one sitting.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 19:46:17 | More by SLeffler27

Onenote81

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had on tap at the OHB Tap room recently. Came out a dark honey orange with a small cap on top. Nose carried some vegetable scent, noble hops, grass. Crisp, mouth with moderate carbonation. Mild bitterness with dry character. Subtle fruit-like sweetness pulls through. This is a balanced bitter beer, that pared really well with my burger. Sorry I've passed over this one for so long. I may have to grab a few bottles now.

Serving type: on-tap

07-11-2012 14:22:08 | More by Onenote81

soulfly1492

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Aroma: Mild for a bitter. Sweet pale and crystal malts, some darker malts in the mix, albeit small doses. Hops are mild to moderate and are pine and floral rather than citrus.

Appearance: Deep copper, clear when held up to a light. Head is pure white, mild retention and lots of lacing.

Taste: Nice blend of malts, pilsner, munich and crystal. Mostly sweet with some added bitterness. Some fuity esters from the malts and yeast, not from the hops. Little citrus. Some of the darker malts show up as roasty notes.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body. A bit watery. Finishes moderately dry.

Overall: Overall a good brew. Nice complex malt flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2012 00:32:26 | More by soulfly1492

BigTrubble

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%

06-17-2012 23:54:46 | More by BigTrubble

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served from tap into a shaker. Poured red-orange with a minimal off-white head. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, caramel, caramel hop, earth, and earth hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, bitter hop, caramel, dark chocolate, earth, and earth hop. It had a light feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty decent brew. I was really surprised to find the dark chocolate note in this one. It really added a nice bit of complexity to this one that tied the bitter and sweet aspects together. All of the proper notes for the style were definitely there as well. Worth trying if you get the opportunity and definitely do so if you are a fan of the style.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2012 12:54:55 | More by thagr81us

tdm168

North Carolina

3.48/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - dark orangish amber with a mountain of loose, bubbly, soft, white head that has great retention

S - lightly malty, a bit earthy

T - lightly malty, faintly nutty, a hint of caramel

M - a bit crisp, heavily carbonated, medium bodied

This is a rather mediocre ESB. The flavor is there but it's light. Drinkability is high, but if you're looking for something that's traditional you'll probably want to look elsewhere.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 01:42:28 | More by tdm168

wedge

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

@ Busy Bee

Clear, dark amber color with a small white head on top. Smooth, pleasant aromas of bread, fruit, and light caramel malt. Refreshing malty flavor...earthy sweetness, toasted malt, sweet tea, and mild fruity esters with a slightly bitter finish. Notes of apple and spice. Fine carbonation, medium bodied, and fairly crisp. This is a nice, smooth, well-blended ESB from OH. I had a few...

Serving type: on-tap

05-09-2012 20:27:07 | More by wedge

therope

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -9.1%

05-08-2012 07:31:38 | More by therope

Lob

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -15.6%

05-07-2012 16:09:26 | More by Lob

GTB

North Carolina

2/5  rDev -48.1%

05-06-2012 11:50:37 | More by GTB

DaveONan

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +10.4%

05-05-2012 22:46:04 | More by DaveONan

KajII

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

[Best served in a Nonic Pint glass]

The pour was a hazy medium reddish brown with a large off white frothy head that had decent retention, reducing after a while to about a semi thin layer of film and a large collar which did allow for excellent sheeting of sticky lace.

The aroma was of a biscuit malt, an herbal hop and an earthy yeast with notes of a mild caramel, honey and a bit of dried fruit (raisins).

The taste was sweet and boldly malty with a hint of caramel and honey early on and progressed into a decently pronounced hoppy flavor with just a mild note of dark fruit at the end. The flavor stuck around for an average duration after the swallow with a moderate harsh hoppy ending.

Mouthfeel was just a tad above light in body and extremely creamy and yet a little dry in texture with nice mild carbonation.

Overall a very full flavored and smooth ESB, one that I enjoyed immensely...

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 15:15:36 | More by KajII

oberon

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Iam not sure if this is the same ESB I had at Amos Howards last spring.Poured into an imperial nonic a brilliant burnt orange with a soapy-like 1/2 finger white head that left a half ring of lace at settled pretty quickly.Fruity esters over top of crispy bread malt,myself I would have liked a little more bready malt but it's still appetizing none the less.Bready malt and juicy fruit on the palate,mild caramel/biscuit and leafy hops in the finish.It's a nice ESB I will say my favorite American ESB's are brewed in Pennsylvania where a few breweries make great bready renditions,this is above average.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2012 21:13:48 | More by oberon

cosmicevan

New York

4.3/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

picked this one up in NC around the holidays. says fresh before march 2012 and the clock is ticking so why not tick it tonight? poured into a duck rabbit snifter.

a - a hard pour yeilds a transparent reddish orange brew with a finger full of frothy white foamy head. some carbonation can be seen.

s - very nice festive malt. a hint of potpouri and autumn. somewhat marzen like.

t - oh wow, that is quite nice. again, marzen comes to mind. very festive on the malt. good potpouri and craft store vibe to the flavor. apples and cinnamon. i dig it quite a lot.

m - smooth and crisp. refreshing.

o - overall, this may be the best ESB i've ever had. the spicing really adds an element of tastiness to a style that although i have been appreciating a lot more...i don't particularly find all that exciting. as opposed to a hopped out version, olde hickory took the malt and zested it up. if it didn't say ESB on the bottle, i'd swear this was a fresh oktoberfest. nicely done.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 03:59:23 | More by cosmicevan

dprophet

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +16.9%

01-22-2012 09:24:41 | More by dprophet

CooperEllis

New York

3.33/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This Bomber is labeled Wilson Creek E.S.B. so reviewing it here.
Freshness dated "Before March '12"

from brentk56 in the '11 SSBIF

It's a bit light in the glass. Amber, bright, few bubbles until to you tap it a bit to hard on the table then there is a small explosion.

Thin lacing, sticks but not sticky. So much grain in the nose.

Malt, a bit more malt but gentle on the palate. The after taste is square, four corners of malt, baked apple and oatmeal. nothing flowing or improvisational. It might not be jazz, but it is certainly solid. The mouthfeel is smooth, light without much in the end. Light end of carbonation as well. Easy to drink but it's missing something.

(143rd)

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2011 03:22:14 | More by CooperEllis

UNCCTDawg

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.9%

12-09-2011 19:52:03 | More by UNCCTDawg

jmarsh123

Indiana

3.48/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep caramel with a wispy head.

Aroma is fresh baked bread. Not a whole lot of hops and the bready aroma is center stage.

This is a malt bomb. Lots of toasted bread and some earthy hops, but malts are center stage. Finishes with a sweet yeasty grainy flavor.

Mouthfeel and carb are good.

This one doesn't really do it for me. A bit too sweet. I'd prefer if the malt bill were dialed back a bit as there's promise here, but definitely above average and definitely better when it warmed a touch.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 22:06:15 | More by jmarsh123

EasyReader

North Carolina

5/5  rDev +29.9%

11-17-2011 00:54:17 | More by EasyReader

NCbeerpirate

North Carolina

5/5  rDev +29.9%

11-15-2011 16:22:35 | More by NCbeerpirate