Buzzards Bay Stock Ale

Formerly brewed at Just Beer (fka Buzzards Bay Brewing)
Style: Amber Ale
Westport, Massachusetts USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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UPDATED: OCT 2, 2005 Re-rate 10/2/05: Pours ruby red with an off white head. Smells of roses, brown sugar and a little malty. Taste is tarte with some cherry notes as well as some nice spicey elements. Slightly metallic finish. This brewer continues to durprise me with their beers.

For an amber, this pours a deep brown color with golden highlights and an initially dense head that vanishes, but not before coating the glass with Belgian lacing. The aroma is caramel and toffee with herbal and floral hop scents. The flavor is a dark caramel with an earthy bitterness that persists into the finish. Drinkable, but will never be an intentional repeat.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.clubsofamerica.com/beerofthemonthc of the Month Club<font size=-1>

This amber ale pours a dark brown color from a 12 oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is floral, earthy and sweet, a touch perfumy. A medium to light bodied amber ale. Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are grapefruity and slightly bitter. Pretty much tastes like your typical brew pub amber ale. Perhaps a bit watery and a little sweet, but still very drinkable. Mouthfeel is a touch thin. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

2004 bottle from the sampler. Dark auburn-brown with some cherry red hints and a moderate-sized light beige head. Aroma of sweet caramel, candied sugar(though there is none in there) and dry yeast. Flavor starts with a good toasted malt chewiness, lightly dry, but with sweet brown caramel malt in the background. Hmm, I’m not sure this is such an imposter. Filtered and pasteurised, but then, so are all of their beers. They do a good job and brew with quality ingredients. So I can’t fault them too much for the lifeless flavor. Moving on, it seems that there is a faint amount of smokiness in here. It is on the finish and very subtle, but still there. Light fruits finish it off, with a very light hops profile. Strangely, I’ve always like crystal malt, so I guess this is no exception.

This beer came to me in my beer club. I am not familiar with the brewer. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark brown color with a medium sized dark tan head. The aroma is molasses, maple syrup and light roasty malts. The flavor is molasses, raisin and moderate roasty malts. A rather nice beer.

Light for stock ale, most will raise your eyebrows, these seem watery, trying to appeal to the lite beer crowd, glad I’m not one of them. Mild malt and hop presence fair nose, and a decent color at least.

Extremely aromatic. Floral, caramel and perfume. Smells very good. Dark amber color with no head. Unfortunately it tastes like it smells...like perfume in water..chemically..with a floral and caramel aftertaste.

Not terrible, but my sample had a strange "dusty" aftertaste. I’ve had beers with dry finishes, but this is ridiculous. Light caramel and roated toffee flavors with somewhat timid hopping. Prettier looking than good tasting.

Clear, deep mahogany/brown with a small, tan head. Aroma holds pronounced caramel & oak with broth and an "oily" quality. Thin mouthfeel. Flavor is smoky with caramel malt flavor leading to a dirty, dry finish.

<font size=-4>Single bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 cellar.<font size=-1>

12oz bottle: I didn’t realize that this one had been retired. It pours a cloudy brown color with a bit of head, which drops off rather quickly. The aroma is good, but a tad light. Notes of toffee and caramel malts. Possibly some raisins also. The taste is OK. Somewhat sweet, with some roastiness and dryness in the aftertaste. Not bad. Why did they kill this one?