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A Touch of Taste

Empyrean Luna Sea ESB

There is something enigmatic about this Nebraska brew.

You embrace toasted bread, sweet and almost chocolaty malt, sweetness and something lowdown like chalk on the nose. Yet there’s a subtle bite indicated in there somewhere, akin to pine needles or marinated cherries—it’s difficult to pin down.

The flavor is equally involved. Spicy pepper and bitterness prickles your palate and dissipates, leaving a casual, swaggering cocoa powder ease that edges more toward toffee than malted milk. Toasted bread crust comes to mind, as well, before the hoppy side returns to have a say in Luna Sea’s finish.

Clearly, the Lincoln-based brewery put some work into this. Yet it holds at least one more difficult to decipher surprise.

Most beers suffer from ice-cold service. Indeed, mass-produced American beers count on refrigeration to hide their flaws. As Empyrean’s ESB warms toward room temperature, however, it surrenders some of the enigma, becoming a more balanced (and less intricate) beer.

Interesting—and perhaps one of the better options from Empyrean’s stable.

 

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