Johnstown 1889 Amber

Dark amber color with nice thick head. Nice smokey aroma, smooth on the tongue with hints of caramel. Finishes smooth with a slight bitterness. Not bad.

Mild smoke malt aroma, with some sweetness. Whisky malt. Medium amber, slight haze, with creamy off-white head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with some caramel malt and medium heavy smoky character. Light acidity. Finish is mild smoky bitter, just a bit of carbonic saltiness. Mild bitter after.

My first trip to the JBC. I had no idea what to expect with this beer. The draft came. They call this an amber ale but surely they are mistaken. What we have here can not possibly be anything other that your typical American microbrew red ale. The color was a dark red-brown. There was no head to speak of. The aroma was light and hinted of sweet malt. The texture was smooth, though just a tad watery. Drank like a red ale that was frightened by it’s identity and was hiding under the bed. That’s ok boy, you can come out, heck if you even add a little bit of flavor and texture you might grow up to be a real beer some day. Until then, we will have to accept that you are the bland and unassuming quiet boy in the corner of the bar.

Smells sweet and malty. Perhaps a little cinnamon scent? Nice amber color, but a bit cloudy. No head, no lacing. Tasted a little hoppy and a little toasty/roasty. Decent palate. Overall, nothing special, but a good attempt.

These commerical descriptions crack me up. The previous brewer must have tried to make the beer sound as unappealing as possible. Like all but one of this brewery’s offerings, it is safe and pretty bland. Some toasty notes and a very mild hop presence.

Update: Got some nice hops in here now, much improved chewy-figgy caramel beginning and middle, solid mouthfeel and slightly coating swallow. New score: 3.5