UPDATED: AUG 18, 2019 Fles 66cl thuis. Zacht maltig, caramel, hop bitters, boterig, licht stroperig, citrus, fruitig, licht droog. Goede balans. Goed. (18-8-19).

UPDATED: MAR 4, 2019 (> cara-fin, uk hop, ~fruit confit, douce-amère, sèche, cara, µ-manda, fait du bien de boire ça (pour un style pas folichon))

UPDATED: JAN 15, 2019 Classic and regular AleSmith beer, strange I haven't had this yet. Older bomber at Uncle Babe's in Ghent, shared with Goedele and Craftmember. Egg-white, creamy, dense, membrane-lacing, stable head, initially clear coppery amber robe but clouded and a bit more brownish with sediment. Aroma of wet rusk, sweet paprika, tomato soup, young abbey cheese hint, pumpkin, peanuts. Sweetish onset with a vague sourish accent, red apple, faint nectarine, sweet tomatoes, medium carbonation, soft light caramelled and thinly bready maltiness, slightly peanutty but all a bit on the thinnish side even for an ESB; sweetish, with the bittering aspects of the hops remaining relatively feeble - clearly this bottle was too old and the hops have deteriorated; a light oxidation is indeed noticeable, and combined with yeasty and malty effects leads to a strong fresh tomato soup-like effect in the finish, next to thin cheesy remains from the hops, which nevertheless still produce a pleasant end bitter aspect and remnants of doubtlessly once bright orange peel aromatics. Must have been a fine English style bitter when young, but clearly not a beer to age for years, which is probably what happened here. Still interesting and pleasant to drink, though, and glad I ticked this one as I apparently have overlooked it all those years that I've been familiar with this brewery's output.

UPDATED: MAR 22, 2018 Bottle. Pours a dark red, almost clear with a delightful fluffy, tightly packed head. Good lacing on the glass. Aroma is fruity esters, sweet caramel, dark fruit. Flavour is fruity, mildly roasty, good residual sweetness, pleasent caramel presence. Medium body and mouthfeel. It is dry, but does not feel like it. Very good.

From May 2008 This pours a hazy dark amber with a 3 finger and still growing head of foam. # sips of the foam and it looks like it finally is going to settle down. Btw, the foam taste very tart fruity. The smell is fruity with a lot of citrus and I get some malty tones. The taste(of the actual beer) is a lot like what I tasted in the foam. Surprise. Citrus that goes from tart to just plain sour and I'm not getting a whole lot of malt here at all. Hey I love sour ales but in a brew that's supposed to be an ESB? I don't think so. Perhaps this is a bad bottle. Yeah, that must be it as I couldn't fathom this being what the brewer intended. Not being locally available, a revisit may be a long time coming...I'm pouring the rest down the drain.

UPDATED: NOV 10, 2017 Draft at Alesmith. Deep amber color. Smooth and malty. You could drink this all day.

Bottle. Creamy white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter flavor. Average moderate bitter finish. Oily palate.

Anvil ESB is deep amber in color with a toasty character that comes from British malts and a bit of kettle caramelization. Nice balance of flavors that will keep wanting more, AleSmith should be happy with the way this one turned out.

Alesmith considers this their flagship beer but I think their Speedway Stout or their Numbskull beers show off more of what makes this brewery my favorite. Still the esb is a great drinking beer. It’s very balanced and has enough flavor so it can’t be dismissed. It’s drinkability reminds me of a Newcastle Brown or Smithwicks Red Ale. I wish they made the esb in 12oz 6 pack bottles instead of the full size bottles as this would be a daily driver for me.

Anvil ESB is a fine traditional British pub ale. Nice toasty malt character you would expect from the British malts and kettle caramelization that blend well with a English hop profile. A wonderful balance of flavors that lead to two thumbs up.