Hopdaemon Leviathan

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottled. Reddish amber colour, mediumsized beige fluffy head that leaves nice lace. Aroma is fruits, parfume and some mild notes of sour wooden notes. Flavour is fruity, wooden, mildly yeasty along with some herbal and mildly grainy notes as well.

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

A very special gift from my wife's friends (Dirk and Lea), who hand-carried two bottles of this all the way from Canterbury, Kent.

Seeing how this beer comes from a brewery named "Hopdaemon", and is from the hop-growing capital of the U.K., one would think that this "Strong Ale" would be pretty damned hoppy and bitter. And while I would say that doesn't live up to what I would consider to be an IPA, as far as the bitterness goes, I do think that it does a great job as an ESB.

Ruddy-red in appearence, with a nice ever-present layer of foam on top; decent lacing too.

An appealling East Kent Golding aroma, with perhaps hints of Challenger in the mix. Regardless of the specifics, all excellent indications of a tasty beer forthcoming.

A nice mellow bitterness hits the mouth first, with the nice maltiness of the body making sure to carry it's share of the bargain. Then the bitterness actually seems to ramp up a bit mid-mouth, before tappering off nicely in the backend. Quite interesting, and very nicely done. Much more complex than your typical ESB, that's for sure.

Tis no hop-monster, but for what bitterness it does have, it makes the very most of it. Nicely drinkable, with the 6%ABV not readily apparent. But what is apparent is the overall quality of this beer, and that I consider myself lucky to have another in the fridge waiting for me.... :)

Recommended.
//TB