You know it's a good day when you go to the Liquor store and find a beer you did not expect to be in stock. In this case, Central City's Red Racer Extra Special Bitter. I was told by their Twitter peeps that their beer wouldn't be back in Manitoba market anytime soon. Well, I went to the liquor store last weekend and low and behold, there was the ESB! I was excited.
Central City's Red Racer line is very solid, always a treat. Their India Pale Ale isn't available in Manitoba for now, but the ESB is for the meantime (until it sells out). It sells for $2.50 for a 355mL can and has ABV of 5.6% - so middle of the road.
Appearance: Pours a reddish-brown caramel, slightly clear. Decent amount of carbonation. Cream head, foam is gently dying down.
Aroma: Welcome to Hop City! This is quite a hoppy brew, which is quite mouthwatering! It's a bit nutty, citrusy and overall - a delight! The citrus mainly consists of a lot of grapefruit and some lemon zest.
Taste: Quite a bitter ESB. I love this, so much that I wish I bought more. It's incredibly hoppy, so if you're a hops lover like I am - you will enjoy this. It's quite grapefruity, and a bit of a hint of lemon. The bitterness of the hops sticks to your palate for quite a while.
Overall Thoughts: Red Racer ESB is exactly what the name states, extra special bitter. If you like a bitter hoppy beer, you will quite enjoy this. The grapefruit citrusy zing is a nice sweetness that compliments the bitterness. I think you should get it, even if you are a bit scared of hops. A can of hops never hurt anyone!
Edit: The ESB won Gold at the 2012 World Beer Cup (Extra Bitter category) this weekend. If this review doesn't influence you to try the ESB, then what will?!
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