Bent Paddle 14° ESB Review

Name; Bent Paddle 14° ESB
Style: Extra Special Bitter 
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 32

Before getting started, I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the positive support over my article regarding my thoughts on the proposed PolyMet mining site. It really means a lot to me that all of you care about this issue and how it has sparked discussion over how we need to be better stewards about the environment. After all, we can't have good beer if we don't have good water, which is the most important ingredient in beer.

Now after writing this article, I realized something: I've been behind the curve as far as reviewing beer from Bent Paddle, despite having them numerous times on tap. So I figured I might as well start getting them out of the way. Today I have their 14° ESB, which has been part of their regular lineup for a while now.

Appearance - Dark brown that turns into a clear amber when held up to a light. The head is pretty thin but with a good amount of foamy and the amount of lacing left behind is quite abundant.

Aroma - Yeasts and floral hops with some toffee sweetness and chocolate notes. Also getting some light Vienna maltiness in here as well but it's secondary to everything else.

Taste - Floral hops & roasted barley upfront, followed by some Vienna malts and dark chocolate sweetness. I'm getting some bitter piney hops and more Vienna/Munich malts towards the middle & back while the aftertaste consists of light yeasts and moderate toffee sweetness with a hint of marmalade.

As mentioned earlier, I've had Bent Paddle's offerings on tap numerous times before and this beer is amongst those I've had before. Needless to say, I had kind of an idea what this beer was going to be like as I had it yet again, and it's not surprising to me that this is quite good, despite not having it for almost a year if my Untappd checkins are correct. If it's available where you're at, check it out!

Bent Paddle 14° ESB - 8.5/10