Lightning American Amber Ale

Draft @ Hamilton’s Tavern. Pours a medium brown with an off white head that left good lacing. Nose of toasted malts and not much else. Finish was quite bitter, in a good way. Overall a pretty good ESB.

02-Mar-08 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 01-Feb-08 for $4.49 at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) At 7.5%, I’m expecting a fairly big and bold amber ale, and this beer certainly delivers. It’s very malty, caramely and fairly sweet, and while there’s no question that malt is the name of the game here, it also offers a mild hop bitterness and citrus/pine hop flavors from start to finish to keep the beer honest. It boasts a medium-full body that is quite rich and opulent for the style, and the mouthfeel is creamy and round, but the finish could be a bit more dry on the palate. Although this isn’t an especially aromatic brew, the sweet and very fruity nose also exhibits medium-strong caramel notes. The hazy, deep copper-colored body is capped by an inch-tall, creamy, off-white head that exhibits magnificent retention. Significant lacing sticks to much of the glass. Overall, this is a solid amber ale and one of the best beers I’ve tasted from Lightning. It’s very easy to get caught up in the recent trends and focus on the "big" beer styles from a brewery, but at Lightning, that isn’t really their thing anyway. Here is a basic style done right, though the alcohol could use a bit more restraint.

Bomber from South Bay Drug. Amber, near mahogany, color with a minimal beige head. Medium body with smooth carbonation. Flavor is caramel and floral hop. Finish is fairly balanced. Overall this is a very tasty ale. For an amber it is very nice.

22oz bottle from the South Bay Drugs. Appears in the glass as a perfect reddish toned hue with just the right topping of head on top. The aroma is a sweet and delicate offering of caramel malt and a really light hint of toffee. The flavor was more or less the same with a much more notice of toffee and the caramel malt had a roasted touch to it. An average amber with not much to write about.

Amber color with hardly a head. Aromas were roasted caramel with touches of citrus. Citrus fell off in the flavor to be replaced by some nuttiness. Just a touch soapy, but not too bad.