Though I daren’t speak it too loud for fear of jinxing it, this has (so far) been something of a revival year for ESB, with even flash North Island brewers giving it a go. Rogue & Villain is the latest such release, from one of said flash North Island brewers, Warkworth’s 8 Wired.
ESB is one of my most beloved styles, and as such, one I judge most harshly. For me, it’s about hitting the very center of the brewing dartboard. It should stand directly in the middle of malt and hop driven character, similarly palate weight, similarly bitterness, it goes on but you get the jist. While Rogue & Villain isn’t 100% on target (and I doubt any ESB brewed outside of Britain, the Fullers Brewery specifically, is ever going to be) it’s admirably close.
The aroma certainly carries that balance, with toffee and malt biscuit, marmalade, dry earth and sweet spice. The suitably weighty palate (5.5% ABV) nudges a little further towards the malt spectrum, with chocolate digestives and golden syrup alongside more bitter citrus peel and dried stone fruit, with a firm bitterness that neatly fastens down the finish.
Notable yeast and fermentation characters knock a few feathers out of place (I said I’d be harsh), which combined with a notable lack of clarity leads me to wonder whether this would have done better for another couple of weeks of conditioning before heading to keg and can.
Like I said, perfection is a very distant land when it comes to NZ brewed ESB, but I’ll always be glad to try another release that proves we’re still on the road.