New Amsterdam Pale Ale

Brewed by Matt Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Utica, New York USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

12oz bottle in a shaker. Pours amber/copper with a lacy, cream-colored head. Aroma of caramel malts, a little toffee, and some citrusy/floral hops. Flavor about the same, with a decent amount of ingredients but nothing sticking out. Average texture. A decent beer.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Buy Rite - Jersey City, 7/11/10

Aroma: The nose is pretty much all caramel and toffee with a slight earthy hop
Appearance: Pours a mostly clear orange-amber color with almost no head
Flavor: Relatively sweet up-front with lots of caramel/toffee malts and a light hop backing
Palate: The body is light-to-medium, fizzy carbonation, and pretty sold mouthfeel
Overall Impression: This beer is alright, it has a big malty feel to it, but not a whole lot of depth beyond that. The palate is pretty good except that the beer is a bit too fizzy. Otherwise, I think it is pretty dull. Not bad, just not exciting enough for a better score, a touch too sweet as well.

Bottle. Pours amber with a thin head. Herbal hoppy aroma with light bready malt notes. The flavor has a light sweetness with some herbal notes. Decent.

12 oz bottle. Poured a very nice good looking rusty orange with an average to slightly large tightly packed foamy light beige head. Aroma starts off sweet with liquid caramel and fruit notes but after settling for a few minutes lots of dusty grains come about and the pleasant sweetness fades into memory. The flavor is mostly grainy with amber malts shining through and some harsh dry honey coated cereal. Did Matt Brewing buy all the originaly "microbrews" of the east coast and pump them out now to try and squeeze by instead of making their own beers??

This was a favorite of mine back in the 1980s, one of the first microbrews I can remember trying. It was popular for a few years, but then the quality declined, and it began to disappear from the refrigerators of New York City corner stores. I am not sure where this resurrection is coming from (the label looks a little different from the one I recall), but I welcome it, because this is a good brew, and it deserves a higher rating. Fruity, fully hopped ale aroma. Dark amber pour with an impressive head. The taste is dry, a little sharp, and well hopped, with some nice esters. This is a fine brew, very much in the tradition of the New Amsterdam that I remember.

Hazed copper pour with a large off-white head. Caramel aroma with light hops. Sweet caramel flavor. Dull. Light bodied.

Bottle. Pours hazel brown with a medium white head. Aroma of caramel malt and toasted wood. Palate is average. Primary flavors lean heavily towards burnt malt, emphasizing roasty flavors that are matched with a semi-sweet body. Bold, flavorful brew that reminded me of Bass Ale.

bottle poured a light amber color with a thin white head. aroma has caramel sweetness, bitter hops, and some grains. light mouth feel and a malted body that has some washed out bitter hops. the sweetness is certainly on the high side.