ESB by Sea Change Brewing

I recently found out this blog ranks highly in search engine results for craft beer reviews so it seems the onus is on me to revive it. To that end, I'm going to start adding new reviews and looking for another contributor or two.

Today I'm reviewing ESB by Sea Change, a local Edmonton brewery. I purchased this as part of six pack of singles I assembled myself at Sip Liquor Market, a great little beer-focused shop not far from my home.

Is this an authentic attempt at an ESB or English Special Bitter? Read on and find out.

Appearance: ESB comes in a 473mL can. The packaging features a custom illustration very much in line with Sea Change's highly consistent design language. Once poured, I can see that this beer is much darker than I expected. I anticipated copper or amber and what I got is brown. Visually it reminds me of a British brown ale more akin to Newcastle than a quintessential English bitter. Head retention was little to none and there was no lacing left on the glass.

Aroma: This beer is really giving me brown ale vibes. It smells nutty and slightly chocolatey to me.

Taste: Have I mentioned how much this beer reminds me of a brown ale yet? The flavour profile skews sweet and malty. The nut and chocolate notes on the nose carry through to the taste and the bitterness I associate with English bitters just isn't there. Don't get me wrong—I don't expect a hop bomb and I'm fully aware of the difference between ESB and IPA. But this beer just doesn't meet my overall expectations for an English Special Bitter. There's also slight metallic tang hidden here—it doesn't bother me, but it is definitely there.

Mouthfeel: British brewers take a lighter approach to carbonating bitters and this beer aligns well with that.

Overall: What is this beer trying to be? I don't consider myself too much of a style purist but when a brewery puts out something called ESB, I expect an ESB. This is not that. To be fair, it's not a bad beer. It is an easy drinker. If this were marketed as a brown ale, I'd probably rate it a full point higher.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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