Day 53, 2.22.11., Thirsty Bear - Cask Conditioned Meyer ESB

So I've worked in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco for about three months now and am just now getting around to trying out Thirsty Bear, a brew pub that lives just a few blocks from my place of employ.  I know very little about the place, except for the fact that they have an awesome logo of an ursine beast dumping a punt down it's gaping gullet.  Bears always eat things all at once. 
So John and I stopped in for a few tastes the other afternoon.  It seems like a pretty cool spot with a fairly typical pub menu (although we didn't eat) and about 7 beers on various taps.  I went straight for the cask conditioned ale, because I think I really love it.  As we drank though, we discussed whether I actually only like the idea of cask conditioning and hand pumping.*  I think I'd better continue drinking beer until I figure it out.
This day they had their Meyer ESB on the hand pump.  It's an interesting beer.  The nose has some very interesting grassy, earthy hop notes as well as dried flower.  It's deep amber with some very fluffy foamy white head. 
As the style's name suggests (Extra Special Bitter) this is quite a nicely bittered beer.  Occasionally the bitterness comes across sour as well.  It's all balanced out nicely with full malty backing and some intriguing smokiness.
It seemed like each sit of this beer was different that the last, which made it a fun beer to drink.
30IBUs, 6.4%ABV, 7 out of 10.



*Cask conditioned or real-ale means that the cask the beer is stored in is also a vessel in which the beer is conditioned.  Residual live yeast allows for secondary fermentation, giving the beer a very light effervescence and helping to mellow the beer.  No carbon-dioxide or nitrogen is added and the beer is drawn out of the cask and into the glass via a hand pump.  The bartender literally pumps the tap handle up and down to exchange the outside air for the beer in the cask.  Also, the casks are kept at cellar temperature.  So the result is essentially a warmish flattish beer with a creamier head and some interesting added character.  It's a British thing.