DuClaw Venom Pale Ale

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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12/2/05: Nitro Pour, Bowie.
Fir tree aroma. Light red-gold body with a nicely creamy almond colored head. Lace clings medium-heavily to glass. Fresh, XL-hop taste with added citrus. Very creamy. (I enjoyed the nitro-version more than the draft-version).

not as hoppy as I might expect from an "american style" pale ale which claims to be aggressively hopped. surpriseingly smooth as well. It could be more bitter, I seem to never find enough bitter in my bitter beers. still good though

UPDATED: DEC 5, 2005 Draft at DuClaw. Amber body (not very pale if you ask me), with nice off-white head. The aroma is, floral, musty, spicey and citrusy. The flavor is citrus and musty with a solid sweet flavor, caramel, apricots and bicuit. Medium body, bitter finish.

UPDATED: OCT 2, 2011 Draft at DuClaw Bowie. From a sampler. Regular version as opposed to the nitro version which I’ll note at the end. Amber bodied with lots of hoppy notes, citrus fruits, sweet malts, and light spice. Taste is big hops and very citrusy and piney. Lots of sweet malts throughout this and light fruits (tangerine and apricot). Body is medium with a light lingering bitterness. Finishing this one brought forth more hops, fruits (citrus-lemon, sweet tangerine, and apricot) and sweet malts. Mild spice notes as well. The nitro version is much the same except VERY smooth and creamy bodied. Slides down smooth and easy. Almost preferable to the regular draft. Good either way, though.

RE-RATEBottle. Amber pour with a short beige head. Strong citrusy hops. Tangerine notes and apricot with soft tropical fruit in the aroma along with a pleasant caramel backbone. Taste is big citrus notes, resinous hops, tropical fruit and chewy caramel. Body is medium with a bubbly carbonation and a lingering bitterness. Slightly oily in spots as well. Ends with more big citrus, resinous hops, apricot, tangerine, caramel, and sweet malt.

Poured an amber color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine resin, caramel malts, and citrus hops. Taste included much of the same, with grapefruit as well. Rather muddled in the finish.

Draught at brewpub: Copper/golden yellow, not totally clear, with a medium, lasting white head. I had both the nitro and regular versions. The aroma is spicy pine, grass, and fresh plant-like hops with just a hint of malt in the background. The nitro version was the same but the hops were a bit restrained. The taste highlighed that fresh hops again, showing grassy, pine, and light grapefruit hops, as well as a bit of light grains and malt with a bit of dough on the finish. There’s plenty of bitterness here, but it’s definitely not the same as an over-hopped IIPA. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, creamy mouthfeel that was almost filling at times but never felt over-carbonated. I imagine it would be quite easy to drink a few of these in one sitting.

Tap. Beautiful copper color with a very thin white head sitting in the glass. Very balanced taste with a nice hop bite. The hops fade too quickly for my taste but overall a great beer.

From a growler. Clear deep copper color with great head and creamy lacing. Great pine and grapefruit in the nose. Very balaced grapefruit and pine hop flavor with a good malt profile and a good lingering bitterness. Nice creamy texture. Very nice pale ale. Thanks Doug!

While there description says aggressively hopped I would say extremely well hopped and balanced. This came from a growler a friend just brought back and it held up perfectly. A beer I could drink ALL DAY. Exceptionally well made and enjoyable.

Old Dominion Brew Fest 2005, Very good pale with great balance. Love to try IPA sometime.