michael-pollack (1310), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA May 15, 2008 12oz. Bottle: Aroma of hops, resin, citrus, grapefruit, and caramel. Poured amber in color with a medium-sized, creamy, off-white head that lasted throughout. Clear. Sparkling. Some small particles. Excellent lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and light to medium bitter. Taste of caramel malts and resinous, citrusy hops. Light to medium body. Thin, watery texture become sticky. Average carbonation. Resinous, hoppy, dry finish.
Sleeper (34), Washington, USA Jul 2, 2008 Pours with thick head that settles to nice lacing. Hazy amber color. Smells hoppy but taste isn’t overly hoppy. It starts bitter but smooths out during the finish. Very drinkable but nothing outstanding here. kevd193213 (293), Coventry, Rhode Island, USA Jun 22, 2008 Draught. Slightly cloudy amber pout with a thin white head. Aroma of hops and malt. Taste of malt and spices with a really hoppy finish. Almost a fusion of an amber and American pale. Good session brew. Gooney (18), Oregon, USA Jun 18, 2008 12 oz bottle from New Seasons - Very nice aroma. A bit malty to the taste, but has a very pleasant drinking sensation. Caramel flavor, and has more hops than Lamar Odom. DuffMan (1868), Calgary, Alberta, Canada Jun 10, 2008 Bright orange-red amber. Very hoppy nose-- citrus, passionfruit, with underlying sweet malt. I’ll have to agree with the description that this beer balances its hop load and its sweet malt perfectly. Terrific, and amazingly drinkable. Everyone in the room agreed that this was top notch. Frohike (8), Santa Cruz, California, USA does not count Jun 9, 2008 This was a rather forgettable amber ale and an unfortunate first foray into Speakeasy for me.
Mouthfeel was very thin and the complexity was weak, even for an amber. I disagree with some of the reviews here, but maybe my palate isn’t aging well?
I suppose it’s very "drinkable" as most ambers are. But then again, it has the bitters of an IPA... There’s a reason the styles are distinct, in my opinion. Melding them makes a weak IPA, or a weird amber. Neither is really palatable.
Turned me off of Speakeasy, but I’ll try another of their brews before I jump to conclusions.
|