Cropton Uncle Sams Bitter (Calamity Ale)

Brewed by Cropton
Style: American Pale Ale
Pickering, England

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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50 cL bottle, nonick, 50°F. Much more carbonation than I would like to see in a pale ale; we'll see how it works out with the beer though. Tall, rocky, white head is well lasting and sits on a rich orange-red body with heavy carbonation. What a looker! Cookie, light bread, toasted grain malt (M); resin, grapefruit hops (M); sweaty yeast (L). Yeast and hop profiles are not attractive. Weird taste; I will *attempt* to describe it. Heavily sweet, lightly sour flavor becomes a moderately sweet, lightly acidic, salty, acetic finish. Truly nasty aftertaste. Bad, but there's nothing that screams out infection or old age. No carboard, meatiness, or funky barnyard stuff. Just plain old bad. Medium-heavy body, creamy texture, fizzy carbonation. The bottom line is: my first thought after my first sip was "is a rating worth this kind of punishment?"

First tasted this in the Fox & Hounds, Houston in august 1997. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear pale garnet red in colour with a thin white head. Slight citric note in the short aroma. Thin mouthfeel and good lacing. Pale malt base gives a tart citrus fruit note of lemon and grapefruit. Hoppy resins add a bitter grassy aftertaste, short in intensity. Bitter resins still evident in the astringent citric finish. An ok session American Pale Ale.

Cask (handpump) @ The Black Friar, 174 Queen Victoria Street, Greater London England EC4.
Clear medium orange amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, hay, dusty, nutty, old apples. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a long to average duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20090103]

Handpulled cask at the Falcon, Clapham. Gold with a white head. Predominantly malty with restrained citrus bitterness. Lacks punch but I had a second pint.

500ml bottle from Westholme Stores, Goring. Straw with a loose white head; spicy citrus aroma; soapy mouthfeel, depply bitter and citrus flavours; and a slightly spicy finish. Very drinkable.

Bottle, possibly bad. Poured with no real head, and a bready aroma with none of the cascade citrus character I’d expect. The flavour is biscuity malt, with an unpleasant oily mouthfeel and again, very little hop presence. Perhaps the English should stick to their great bitters and leave the APAs to the Americans.

Bottle. Hazy gold with a small head. Aromas are citrus and sweet, clean hops. Flavours are fruity and spicy with some green pine. Minimal malts. Dry on the finish. Decent.

Bottle. Hazy, pale golden colour, white head. Spicy and somewhat grassy hop aroma, not really Cascade-like. Sweet malty base, moderate fruity hop bitterness. Well-carbonated, light to medium body. I think this bitter would disappoint Uncle Sam.

A light golden coloured ale, WIth hints of both lemon and grapefuite in its flavour.

hazy, cloudy dark orange/brown color with a large off-white head. tangy citrus, hop aroma. flavor of caramel, and bitter citrusy hops with notes of lemon, and orange peel. caramel malt underneath. tart.

Bottle. Cloudy gold, lovely smell of flowery hops. Light, crisp, easy-drinking. Pine, resin, but a little too much lemon.