Atlantic SOB Special Old Bitter Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Was up in Roswell, GA today and figured I would drop in Roswell Package since it was such a large building and I was not dissappointed. Aroma on this ESB is very malty sweet with some sourness and earthy figs and ripened raisins with maybe some very faint woody overtone and some English hops. Appearance is a deep, amber-red in color when held to the light with a massive head on top that is light-tan and well-carbonated and is creamy and leaves frothy lacing on the glass. Mouthfeel seems to be complex enough with decent balance with a palate that is wet-like and smooth. Flavor is malty sweet with some raisins and prunes with an aftertaste that is clean and a bit smokey to burnt in some respect with a finish that is medium-bodied and decently tasty. Overall, not a bad ESB here for sure and an interesting take on the style by Atlantic Brewing; decent stuff here. I will add this beer seems way too carbonated leading me to believe it may be a bit past its prime in freshness...

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

An amber apperance. A caramel and raisin aroma. The taste is slighty bitter with a malty backbone. The flavor consisted of caramel, some citrus fruits, and raisins. Standard issue ESB but aright.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

This ESB/Bitter pours a light brown color from a 22oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is malty and caramel, slightly earthy. A medium bodied ESB/Bitter. Malts are caramel and sweet. Hops are earthy and floral. Good balance. Lively carbonation. Nice beer, kind of standard bitter but very decent. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Poured a copper color with good head and above average lacing. Aroma was average malts and bitter hops. Flavor was malty toffee which i don't pick up normally was a burt flavor i didn't like. Some diacetyl which i hate.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

Dark pour, small head and lacing. This beer is ungood. Burnt aroma and burnt flavor. One in our group reminisced of the old days of uncoated aspirin, when it gets caught in your throat and comes back up...that is the flavor of this beer. Ungood.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Pours an amber copper type color with a nice initial head, very good lacing. The aroma was roasted malts, bitter hops (resinous?). The flavor was roasted burnt malts, caramel, toffee, even some coffee? (almost porter like in flavor in some aspects). Lots of astringency to this one, maybe a touch of diacetyl. The mouthfeel was bitter astringent, light acidity.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

The deep brown body is topped with a thick, creamy head that sticks thickly to the glass. The aroma is fairly malty along with a bit of musky hops. The flavor is fairly rich, but not too sweet. Good body.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Ah, now this is right up my alley, me'thinks....

Had the honor of meeting up with bennybrew and his significant-other during my latest trip to Southern Maine -- where I was both pleased and surprised to receive a bottle of this from the master brewer himself. Does it get much better than this?

Brought this back with me to sunny SoCal, where one thinks about drinking more Summer and Wheat beers than what I like to term "cold weather beers" such as this. But throwing all that out the window, this is a great beer, regardless of the climate... :)

Really need to let this warm up a bit, since straight out of the `fridge it seems to come across as a clone of Atlantic Brewing Company's other excellent beer, the Bar Harbor Real Ale. Not that is a bad thing, mind you, but to truly do this beer justice, you should treat it just like it would have been served 100+ years ago -- nice and cool cellar-like temps, that is.

Appealing aroma, with the hops not neccesarily playing second-fiddle to the malt, but making sure that the entire package is harmoniously balanced. Dry and a little bitter, but with enough girth in the malt bill to make sure that things never get out-of-hand.

In short, a fascinating study of a style that tends to get over-looked by many other U.S. breweries. A shame too, since beers like this easily set the standard, IMO.

Big cheers to head brewer Benny for the sample!
//TB