Driftwood Brewing Co. – Naughty Hildegard ESB

Rating

4.5 out of 5

Aroma

3.9 out of 5

Appearance

4.5 out of 5

Taste

4.3 out of 5

Palate

Total

4.3

4.3 out of 5

Overview

• Brewery: Driftwood Brewery
• Beer Style: Extra Special Bitter
• Pros:

  Great hopped flavour with English inspiration

• Cons:

  Big hop flavour for an ESB

• Conclusion:

  Delicious and relatively traditional ESB

Driftwood Brewing Co. – Naughty Hildegard ESB Review

The Naughty Hildegard pours into the glass with a head that measures about a finger thick. It is thick, smooth and fluffy but settles rather quickly. The smell hits the nose with plenty of hop. By the aroma I would place this more as an IPA than the declared ESB label. There is a touch of floral and tropical fruit in the aroma that helps to mellow the hop bitterness. The taste is delightful, it is smooth, hoppy and has an almost sour touch to it in a slightly floral and almost toasted taste. This one is actually hard to put a finger on but overall the taste is less hoppy that the aroma might suggest. The nature of this beer verges on IPA status but has a high likability factor through the complexity and uniqueness in the overall flavour. Hildegard Von Bingen would be proud to have this beer brewed in her honour.

Alcohol – 6.5%
Size – 650ml
driftwoodbeer.com 

Old Naughty Hildegard ESB label Design