AleSmith Anvil ESB Ale Reviewed

By scot in Beer on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

In my quest to have enough bombers to bottle my latest two batches of beer, I tasted and reviewed Anvil ESB Ale by AleSmith Brewing Company. Anvil is an extra strong bitter and is my fourth beer from the California based brewery.

Anvil pours with more foam than just about any other beer I have had. Huge. free run 5.0 +3 femmes I believe my first pour, which was vigorous, was about an ounce and filled the glass. The nose is hit with lots of nice toasted malt and some nice, pleasant dark fruits. A touch of floral, maybe from hops, is present too. The toasted malt is the center of the taste with dark and light fruits both intermingling along with a sense of wine and a musty flavor that seems to have its place. A medium body and light carbonation accent the beer well. A great balance of these complexities making this often avoided, by me, style really stand out. I now need to dig further into this style. I could see this beer going higher than my rating but I don’t know about lower by more than a point. 8/10

I hope to have several tastings tonight as the weather shouldn’t keep me from getting home in a timely fashion. Enjoy!