Grays Hausmann Ale

12oz. bottle from Woodmans in Madison. Medium amber with a small off white head. Aroam is mild sourish malts, hops, and light citrus. The aroma was sour malts but the flavor is sort of a candied malt along with hops and grains. Not bad.

12 oz bottle. Poured a medium orange color. Head was one finger high and off white. It reduced over a period of a few minutes to a thin, but tenacious, film that left some lace behind. Aroma was of husky grain and biscuity malt. Dry on the tongue up front with some sugars coming out at the end. Tasted husky with a touch of caramel. A grainy aftertaste "graced" the finish.

Bottle thanks to Skyview! Poured a clear, brilliant medium orange with a short, well-retained cap of white head. The aroma picked up candied caramel paired with a dry floral hop presence.. soft with building sweetness the deeper you inhale.. quite pleasant. Flavor had a sweet, yet darker caramel and vegetal base with grassy and floral bitter accents.. left a rather lengthy vegetal finish (was pretty good up until that point). Light-bodied and again felt good until the finish... tacky veggies, some sour fruit, and grass left a less-than-pleasant final impression. This wasn’t far from a solid session brew.. just need to iron out a few kinks.

Picked up six pack from Bob McFarland’s Liquors in McFarland, Wisconsin. Pours a clear caramel amber brew with a thick white head that quickly dissolves to a fine film and some surface bubbles. Aroma of light caramel malt, green vegetables, grassy hops with a touch of dry hay. Taste is lightly carbonated, medium bodied with a taste of toasted multi-grain crackers some dried leaves and a mild bitterness. Finish is little gritty, with some pepper/herb spice aftertaste. Terrific to see another historical pre-Prohibition Wisconsin label has been revived by Grays but the flavor is a little off for a Pre-Prohibition recipe.

12 oz bottle from Woodmans on Gammon Road, Madison (Oct 2006) consumed a bit above fridge temp from a Corsendonk glass. Bottle says "Hausmann Pale Beer." Light gold and slightly bubbly with a thin diminishing head....unpleasant nose of skunk, rotting vegetables, a bit of caramel, sun-bleached plastic....body isn’t so awful as the nose but isn’t really good either, with light pale malt and little caramel struggling to rise above the extremely watery and heavily filtered body, sitting lifeless and sludgelike in the glass....the finish adds a metallic component to the charms of an already nearly worthless beer; Grays should really consider not doing any contract brewing anymore!