Chautauqua Brew

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Lakewood, New York USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

Very nice offering, I would recommend this, for the style it is one of the best I have tasted. If you find your self in this area, look for this exclusive beer, I tried on tap at their brew pub and consider do that yourself

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Appearance: From the pour I got a clear golden yellow beer with a bright white head. The head is light and fades quickly to just a light film covering. Smell: The aroma is light and has notes of pale grain and fresh white bread with just a hint of grassy hops. Taste/Palate: The flavor matches the aroma with a clean light grain and white bready maltiness balanced with light grassy hops. I also get just the slightest hint of citrus hop flavor in the quick, dry and slightly acidic finish. Notes: This is a light and very basic ale, which is nice, but I will defiantly be sticking with there other more interesting and bigger beers!!!

Received two 12oz bottles in a trade (thanks, Ryan!). I poured them into a Southern Tier tumbler (one at a time, of course).

Appearance: Lager-like with dark gold/amber hue. Very clear with much carbonation present. Forms a small, white, soapy head that mostly dissipates but actually leaves some lacing on the glass - nice!

Smell: As soon as I popped the top I noticed a very lager-like scent to this beer. A cleaner, milder macro lager scent with a touch of honey-like sweetness.

Taste: Since Southern Tier is known for taking certain beer styles and imperializing them, I was extremely curious if they’d be able to do the reverse. They categorize Chautauqua Brew as an amber ale - which is usually a very hop-forward beer style not unlike an IPA. I was quite surprised upon taking my first sip and realizing this beer was much more along the lines of a Schlitz or Genny Cream Ale.

There’s not much to truly taste here. It’s akin to a lager without the crispness or sharp edge. There is a noticeable taste of grain and a touch of spice from the hops. I do notice a very subtle apple-like sweetness in the finish often found in English bitters, but it’s not enough to carry the rest of the palate. Additionally, honey and tea leaves can also be found in the palate - but only if you really pay attention to them. There’s nothing particularly off-putting about the palate, although it does become a little tangy as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Crisp at first, but quickly becomes tepid. On the heavier side of light-bodied with a soft, wet, texture. Clean finish.

Drinkability: This is a deliberately small, mild beer and while it may not be delicious it’s very refreshing and highly quaffable. The tepid body and lack of flaws make it very drinker-friendly. And at only 4.7% ABV it’s highly sessionable too. A great beer to bring to a picnic or BBQ in the summer and would work well with snacks.

Overall, this is an okay, easily tolerable beer and a great alternative to a macro lager. An ideal transition beer for BMC drinkers as well. I just wish it wasn’t only sold in one county in western New York.

yellow with large white head. grainy nose. mild bitterness before some crisp grain flavor without much hop flavor. a drinkable blonde ale without much flavor, but finely brewed and conceived

this is the most basic, standard beer southern tier brews, IMO. it’s only sold (supposedly) in chautauqua county, NY. it’s a nice brew, still beats the hell out of any big name beers, but it’s not as nice as southern tier’s other offerings. pours golden amber with a white head. aroma is light and malty, smells like a flowery lager, really. taste is malt with a smidge of hops, very light. mid-light body that finishes clean. a great beer if you don’t want to buy the mass-marketed piss that it shares the shelf with.

Draft at the Southern Tier Brewpub (The Empty Pint). Poured a clear a light golden amber with a bit of a fizzy white head. Aroma is light, crisp malt. Taste is clean and light - bit of grainy, slightly biscuity malt with a very light grassy hop bitterness. Finish is clean, not much lingering flavor to speak of. Decent session beer.

Clear gold, thin white head. Nose is caramel malt, orange/lemon, light butterscotch, bready malt. Flavor is bready malt, citrus, some brown sugar. Lemon/vanilla iced tea finish.

12oz bottle. Hazy light gold, smallish frothy white head. Aroma of scorched honey and dry straw-like bitterness. Taste follows, not scorched, nice cereal grain and lightly acidic/herbal hoppiness (7-). Average body, light carbonation, a bit slick and chewy, quick-finishing .... fairly dull, but not bad, goes down easy, no ugly aftertaste.