This is the first time I have had a beer from Sharp's so I was interested to see what it is like. I would imagine this would be one of the flagship beers since it is a reserve? The Sharp's Single Brew Reserve 2008 is not listed on their website but it is an ESB in style and to me was like the old saying mutton dressed as lamb. It seems to want to pass itself off as the equivalent of Fullers Vintage Reserve but fails miserably.
Perhaps I am being a little harsh? Well let's see. The aroma I got fruit and maybe a little caramel. I also got plenty of malt and fruit and a little caramel as well as an alcoholic taste to it. That is pretty much all I can remember of it to be honest, there was nothing special here to mark it out as being a "reserve". The problem now is that because this is a reserve and supposed to be the brewers pick as the pinnacle of their brewing, I now have very little to persuade me to try any other Sharp's beers. Now this was not a bad beer, there was just nothing about it that stood out and marked it as a reserve beer. Am I being too harsh?
Nope, it's bland rubbish. I've yet to find a decent Sharp's beer.
ReplyDeleteAnd the older I get, the more annoyed I become with the notion of "ESB" as a defined style. I mean, look at what the BJCP considers to be English commercial examples. See the common characteristics there? I bleedin' don't.
Time for your blood-pressure medication grandad...