Diamond Bear Pale Ale

Brewed by Diamond Bear Brewing Company
Style: English Pale Ale
Little Rock, Arkansas USA

Serve in English pint

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A clear copper body with an off-white head that had minimal retention and a trace of lacing. Aroma had a sweet malt note, good caramel notes and a bit of toffee, some honey. Flavor was similar but there was just the right amount of bittering hops. A clean crisp finish and perfectly carbonated. Not great by any standards, seems to be a good session ale. Was served chilled that may have weakened the flavors a bit.

12 ounce bottle from a beer of the month club. Pours a clear light amber with a decent biege head. Aroma of malt, caramel and citrus. Taste is similar with a bit of hops. Some bitterness. Light and refreshing. Surprised. Nice mild pale ale.

Bottle from nuplastikk...thanks Greg! - So here’s my Arkansas tick, but holy balls did I pay for it. Pours rosy amber with a foamy off-white head. Really sugary nose, with caramel/toffee malt, faint pine hops, a weird light cherry smell, plastic, and Smarties. What the hell? Mineral note in the taste, with tons of syrupy, sugary sweetness, stale hops, and yuck...lots of yuck. I’m not the drain-pouring type, usually grinning and bearing it until the bitter end. But this was bad--poured 2/3 down the drain.

Bottle. Aroma of citrus and caramel slightly, a bit floral as well. Taste is floral with some light citrus and hop bite to it, bit of a maltiness to mellow it out. For an IPA, it’s pretty smooth and mellow, definitely drinkable. Pleasantly surprised by this, this pale ale shows a lot more balance than some of their other, bolder ones like the Two-Term IPA they brew. One of my faves from em! 6.2% alcohol.

12oz bottle. I have trouble believing this beer isn’t way off, deteriorated, or infected..or all of the above. Thick amber-brown with a thin off white head. Piny, sugary deep fruit aroma, some pungent, undesirable sourness. Like a bad amber, lots of caramel malt. In no way to style, and just barely drinkable. Just off...bad stuff.

Location: This rating is a compilation of my notes from a couple of draft ratings from restaurants around Little Rock in fall 2011 (only RB location is Flying Saucer, where I drank it on 10/12/11)

Aroma: The nose is caramel and roasted malts with some citrus hop presence too
Appearance: It pours a carmael-red color with a small off-white head, and light lacing
Flavor: Tastes balanced, some caramel, medium sweet, and some citrusy medium bitterness
Palate: The mouthfeel is pretty smooth, it has a nice drinkability, and a fairly low carbonation
Overall Impression: This one makes for a pretty good drink. As it is one of the few non-macros that seems to be on draft regularly at Little Rock bars and restaurants, I have had quite a few of these over the last few months, and I have to say that I have found it rather drinkable. It isn’t an outstanding offering, but it’s drinkable, and it is certainly much better then most of its competition around this city.

Pleasant aroma. Bready, sugar, slight fruit and pine. Pours cloudy golden with off-white head. Taste is on the sweeter side. Slightly cloying, but with some pine to counteract. Very thin mouthfeel.

Tasted on 9/2/11 on draft at a bar called JJ’s in Fayetteville. Pours clear bright orange with an average white head that slowly recedes to a thin collar of lace. The nose has some bread and cereal malt, along with floral and herbal hops, and an earthy yeast aroma. The flavor features the light malty bread and hay up front, moving to orange zest, herbal, and floral hops, along with an earthy yeast flavor. The body is light with average carbonation and a long herbal, lightly bitter, and spicy hops finish.

Tap - Small foamy head, medium amber color, mild malt flavor with fair amount of bitterness

Bottle courtesy of Emmasdad (thanks Dan) poured a clear amber with a lasting amber head. Aromas of carmel, toasted malt and earthiness. Palate was medium bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of carmel, toasted malt and light earthiness with a crisp dry lingering moderatly bitter finish.