Gearys Summer Ale

Brewed by D.L. Gearys Brewing Co.
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

Sample from bottle at the Halifax Seaport Beerfest. Amber colour with a mostly diminishing fizzy off-white head. Butterscotch dominated aroma that’s not unpleasant. Sweetness in the flavours leans more to borwn sugar, along with light bread and a lightly fruity bitter finish. Medium bodied, smooth.

Draft @ a Bar in Camden Maine. Pours light amber with a half finger tan head. Nose is light bitter hops. Tastes sweet, with a nice hoppiness that rolls over the tongue. Nice and fresh and a nice bitterness for the Summer.

An initial bite...but the hops are quite mild. The malt is sour, and a muted, unpleasant aftertaste lingers. A tad too heavy. Tastes better very cold than just cool -- a sign of a bad beer. Weak, tastes much like a macro-brewed beer. I would not recommend this one. It is I think a totally specious claim to say this is similar to a German Koelsch. Three letters to that: WTF? The thing that really kills this beer is the unpleasant sour taste of the malt...sort of reminiscent of miller high life or other thoroughly foul beers.

Light amber colored, fruity and wheaty on both the nose and palate. Fruity chewy spice, a refreshing summer beer

UPDATED: JAN 1, 2008 This bottle courtesy of John jjpm74, thanks and appreciation go his way! Shorter brown 12 oz bottle with a twist off cap. At first I thought the aroma was rather dishwatery but it cleared immediately to a unique sweetish candy aroma typical of many strong ales. I’m almost afraid to taste it for fear of an alky impact. This brew is a little darker than the typical pale yellow american lager, nearly the color of yuengling’s traditional, almost but not quite orange. Tho the aroma is strong, the taste of this is laid back for a 6% brew. The alky does not hit immediately but begins to build with each taste on the sides of the tongue. No head on this beer just a thin girdle around the inside of the glass. For 6%, this stuff is friendly and well behaved, the alky content is tasted but it’s certainly not in yer face. Medium low carbonation. This brew is more enjoyable than other kolsch I’ve had such as Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale, Schell Zommerfest and Rock Bottom Hoochie Koochie Kolsch. The fruit background hints in this brew make the bitterness much more acceptable. This stuff is on par with the best kolsch I’ve tasted, John Havard’s Monroeville Kolsch. Not one to enjoy bitterness, real kolsch does not appeal to me but this one is probably one of the more palatable. Finish is a medium bit of malty bitterness that hangs for a few moments after the last swig. It is then that you feel some alky on the palate.

Thanks to mkgrenwel for the bottle. Clear amber/orange with a small head. Aroma is sweet caramel and spicy hops. Taste was a nice balance of sweet and bitter, with a lot of spiciness. Also apricot. Very nice Summer beer.

7/01/07 I picked this bottle cause it was close to by boss’s name, Gerry at IBM. I used it to toast my last day at IBM yesterday. IBM now stands for India’s Blue employees Mean more profit. This beer did the job nicely on a warm day. I did not expect the hops ending but it was alright.

Nice example of a Kolsch. Probably the best I’ve ever had. Unlike some I’ve had that are just glorified pale lagers, this is a full bodied, full flavored example of the style. Spicy and moderately bitter. Lots of orange. Sweetness is pretty apparent, somewhat compromising the crispness that should be present. Full bodied and slightly syrupy. Looks really nice in the glass and has some great flavors, but needs the edges rounded out a bit.