Lake Placid Ubu Ale

Brewed by Lake Placid Pub & Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Lake Placid, New York USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Depp brown body with a minimal beige head. Hoppy and floreal aroma. Taste is malty, with roasted notes, some coffee and nuts, then comes the bitter (but not in an aggressive way). A well balanced beer. A nice surprise!

Opening Thoughts: To be honest, it has been a long time since I’ve had a beer from Lake Placid Pub & Brewery. But, because they won “Best Craft Beer in the Hudson Valley” (ignoring the fact that I don’t consider Lake Placid to be in the Hudson Valley region, that is; yes, it is in fact near the beginning of the Hudson, but it isn’t really part of the region per say), I decided to give their flagship beer, Ubu Ale, another shot.

Ubu Ale is an English Strong Ale and is produced (in bottled form) by the Matt Brewery in Utica, NY. I honestly don’t have fond memories of the last time I had this particular beer, but it has been a few years, so I’m willing to give it another chance.

Appearance: The pour is a deep brown with a touch of red. There is a nice, fairly thick, soapy head that is a khaki/tan color. Just a tiny bit of carbonation is coming up from the bottom of the glass.

Aroma: The aroma is malt-forward, as I would expect from a beer of this type, slightly bready with a faint touch of chocolate coming in at points.

Taste: At first sip, the malts come out initially with a fairly typical chocolate and toffee presence. This gives away quickly, as the taste changes that of some dark fruit with a touch of smoke. There is a bit of nuttiness to the malt presence, but not enough to highlight itself. A noticeable twang is present throughout, which detracts from the rest of the experience; I’m not sure if it’s an intentional sour note or some sort of weird off-flavor, but it doesn’t work well with the rest of the character.

Mouthfeel: Ubu is light-to-medium in the mouthfeel, but it is noticeably oily (and not in a good way). Low carbonation that I suppose works with the style, but it seems even lower than the gentle carbonation that I’d want in a good English strong. There is something off about the texture of this beer.

Overall: I’ve confirmed my old feelings about Ubu. I don’t really like it, but that isn’t to say that it is an objectively “bad” beer. I hope this isn’t the beer that won them the TAP award (I haven’t really had any of their beers in a long time, so I can’t comment on the quality of their products overall). It’s a one-off for me; it’s so close to being an acceptable beer of the style, that I think I’m as much frustrated as I am put off. Oh well.

Score: 4/10 (Below Average)

Minimal head that faded quickly. Poured from bottle. Roasted and peaty nose with a slight sweetness. Medium body nose translates straight to the taste

A nice and delicious, malty English ale. Incredibly smooth, the hoppy character, which is slight, balances with dark, almost coffee notes ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a very pretty dark amber almost purple. Smokey aroma. Mouthfeel is moderate but clean. Taste is smokey with lots of dark fruit. Lots of moss and peat. A verygood beer. Not sure if allot British. More like Belgian. Either way, very good. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

The smell instantly shows the alcohol and doesn’t give the impression of the malt and certainly not the bitterness underneath. It’s a good overall effect, but the aroma definitely isn’t a strong point. A bit unbalanced but the hopping saves the day.

Bottle. Nose showing etoh, otherwise caramel and spicy grain, a little honey and sweet chocolate malt. Very old, dulled copper penny color with a dense but short beige head. Taste is sweet, a little ashen roast sliding in under slippery malt, some caramel and laid-back chocolate, heavy without being aggressive, alcohol well-integrated (which I did not expect right out of the bottle). Faint tang, faint hops, little bit of a pilsner squeal, hint of floral notes. Medium-full body is not flat, but the taste is. Not quite sure what this is aiming for; strict style adherents would reject this straightaway, but I see it as more of a ditzy, confused Brown Ale.

Pours brown with very slight head. Not much of a nose, but what there is consists of a nutty malt aroma. The nose carrier over to the taste - nutty, caramel malt present, with some bitterness on the finish. Pretty good. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pour is dark brown with a light tan head that fades quickly. Aroma is of bready malts, slight earth, and sweet toffee. Flavor is of caramel, roasted coffee, and brown sugar with a dry/bitter finish. Medium bodied.