Orlio Organic Common Ale

Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
South Burlington, Vermont USA

(12oz bottle) Small beige head that mostly vanishes, atop clear amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, some chocolate, peach, bread. Taste is medium sweet, bread, some caramel, peach, light seltzer. Watery light-medium body.

on tap @ 3 Needs-pours a foamy off white head and copper color. Aroma is medium malt, woody. Taste is medium malt, woody, secondary earthy hops. OK/mild carbonation.

Pours gold with a white head. Smells fruity with some toasted malt hints. Tastes breaddy and sweet with a crisp finish.

12oz bottle. Clear copper amber color. Nose of stachy dry hops, like dried lawn clippings, along with a honey and caramel fish scent. Flavor: simple, crisp, sharp, slightly sour and vegetal, with a stale bread and dried grass flavor. A simple beer.

Bottle from Capone’s. This one is better than the ratings would indicate, and quite frankly the blanket hatred of Magic Hat rather pisses me off. At any rate, the pour is deep copper with a 1-finger khaki head. I have no fame of reference for what a common ale should look like, but this one looks good to me. The aroma is caramel malt, wet crisp hops, citrus, and some brown sugar. The taste is wet hoppy, citric, with a good balance of caramel malt. The palate is medium heft, with a smoth finish, staying in balance until culmination. This common ale is uncommonly good.

Draught pint at Three Needs, Burlington VT, April 2007. Dark golden-amber, just a bit of head (poured too cold into a wet glass for one thing) that lasts as a tiny ring....grainy, lightly herbal/woody aroma, fairly dry and indistinct....the body is woody, dry at the finish but a bit of dried fruit and caramel at the front keep it from being undrinkable; still on the whole this is dullsville, at least on draught. Carbonation is a bit prickly and soda-like. I need to get a bottle, apparently it’s better.

On tap at Vermont brewpub. Floral hoppy. Light orange with big soapy head. Creamy, above average mouthfeel. Good bitterness without the high IBU.Drinkable.

Come on....you’ve got to be kidding me? I even had this bottle fresh and bought it from the cooler and kept it refrigerated. This is the worst beer I’ve had in recent memory.
I dont know for whom I feel worse, Magic Hat and their horrid bottling line, or the suckers at Orlio who thought, "Hey, let’s use MH as a contractor, they’ll do a good job with our beer...".
Bottle drunk (but mostly poured out) on 5/28/07.