John Harvard’s Pale Ale

Brewed by John Harvard’s Brewhouse (Corporate Office)
Style: English Pale Ale
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Serve in English pint

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Lake Grove location. Copper coloured beer, bright appearance. Aroma is sweet and caramelly with loads of toffee as well. Fruity hops but not very well defined in the aroma. Some strong diacetyl brings a buttery slickness to the palate. Moderate bitterness. Might have been good at one point, but the diacetyl totally kills this one for me.

Sampled at the brewpub, amber color, with a white head, faint malty nose, with a weak hoppy aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a sweet caramelized malt, flower hop accent, piney note, leading towards a hop flowery lingering bitter finish.

Taster on tap at brewpub. Dark amber color, no head. Slight hop aroma. I tasted the malt more than the hops in this one.

On tap at DC. Brownish amber, clear body. Aroma is faint but citrusy hoppy. Mildly malty and well balanced with the zing of the hops, this would be the one to drink all evening long.

this was the best representation of it’s catagory. As an esglish pale ale it was somewhat on target - but just weak in thinkness and flavor

Draught @ Wayne, PA: Aroma of spicy hops (like Amarillo), but also slightly sweet and floral. Poured a copper color with a medium white head and small lacing. Medium bodied. Clear. Tasted hoppy, like some Cascades and Amarillo maybe. Flavor was lasting. Dry finish. Fizzy carbination. A good APA. Perhaps my new close-to-home fav.

Bright amber/copper, white-to-light-cream head. Pine hop aroma. Arguably bordering on thin but in a way that suggests Englishness, the fruit undercurrents further suggesting a UK pale ale, though without the caramel presence. Good top twange but all aromatics, not matched in bittering hops. Decent beer. Oh look, they even say in their commercial data that this is a tribute to the British brewers of Burton--so they were trying to get an English sensibility. Well, they succeeded! (on tap, Washington D.C. Penn Avenue location)

On cask at Union Station, Wash DC, 9/2/05: True amber with a moderately foamy head. Not a great consistency for cask ... average US pale, if that.

Tap@John Harvards, Boston, Ma. Failry decent pale ale. But quite light and a little too soft. Aromatic hops, flowery, with lychee notes. I thought it was a touch sweet aswell.

tap at brewhouse: thick amber body. Aroma is hoppy and fruity, even a hint of grapefruit. Flavor is the same with some caramel in there. Enjoyable.