“The Daily Drink” brings you a must-try libation from our booze columnist Zach Geballe.

Seattle has an interesting relationship with ESBs. Redhook’s ESB is what put the microbrewery scene here on the map. Success inevitably breeds imitation, and for a while beer drinkers here were awash in copycat ESBs. Seattle’s taste in beer still mostly remains defined by bitterness: how many IPAs have you had recently? So when I had the “New School ESB” from Old Schoolhouse Brewing in Winthrop, it felt a bit like a trip down memory lane. That malty sweetness, that bitter finish, that medium palate weight? It’s like I was 21 (ok, more like 18) again! Old Schoolhouse’s offering ticked all the boxes I want from an ESB, with a proper balance between sweet and bitter and a crispness on the finish that keeps it drinkable. I had this one at the Whisky Bar in Belltown, and you can find it on a few other taps around the city.

Zach Geballe does a lot of drinking. When he’s not working at The Dahlia Lounge or for his business Vine Trainings, he’s studying for the Court of Master Sommeliers Exam. His weekly column here at Seattle Weekly, The Bar Code, endeavors to inspire, educate and sometimes poke fun at all things beer, wine and spirits related.