Summit Unchained Series 19: Make It So

The Summit Brewing Company is in St. Paul, Minnesota and has been making craft beer since 1986.  This is part of their Unchained Series of limited release special batch beers. Number 19 is an Extra Special Bitter style brewed with Earl Grey tea. It is 5.3% ABV.

The beer pours a deep amber and burnt orange, the color of a dark tea. There is a relatively short head of light tan foam. The aroma is malty, sweet, fruity, with an inflection of tea. The taste reverses the aromas, putting the tea at the front, with the malt just a base to hold up the tea. The finish is dry and moderately bitter. The beer drinks easy with tingling carbonation. I always say that Summit never brews a bad beer, even if they don't brew flashy beers or whales. That being said, this one doesn't work for me at all. I am very glad I found a single. The tea and the beer don't complement each other, rather, they clash, and the tea spoils the beer.