Machine House Brewery Reviews

RennyDoig	3.8 Machine House Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Pours black with minimal head. Aroma is floral with sweet malt and notes of coffee and whiskey. Flavour has dark chocolate and dark malts. Some notes of whiskey and a boozy finish. Mouthfeel is a bit smooth and low on carbonation. Leans a bit too much into the whiskey, but enjoyable. Saturday, February 17, 2024
Oakes	3.9 Machine House Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Dark brown. No head. The barrel is fairly assertive on the nose, with a lot of fruity, molassesy character. On the palate, it feels much lighter than I would expect, and there's some decent brown sugars to it. Light fruitiness. The barrel is a bit harsh, but it's also mellower on the palate than on the aroma, which helps temper the harshness. Not super refined, but it's solid, mostly on the strength of the rich molassesy, fruity base beer (which I loved when I had it on cask). Saturday, February 17, 2024
mcberko	3.5 Machine House Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 500mL bottle, pours black with a tiny head. Aroma has plenty of whiskey barrel presence, a touch of woody oak, and light toasted malt. Flavour has a pleasant whiskey barrel presence, a hint of caramel, light wood, and a touch of butterscotch. Lots of whiskey, caramel and oak on the finish. Could use a touch more carb, but there's a nice barrel presence. Pleasant -- one of the better big beers from Machine House. Saturday, February 17, 2024
RennyDoig	3.4 Machine House Triticalewine Pours murky dark amber with small white head. Aroma light fruit. Flavour malts, a bit fruity, and winter spice. Mouthfeel fairly light on the carbonation. Okay, feels like something is missing. Saturday, February 17, 2024
Oakes	3.6 Machine House Triticalewine Pale amber-brown. No head. The aroma is quite orangey, light blackcurrant. On the palate, it has a bit of roughness, a crackery note, some alcohol, and again a lot of orangey character. That seville orange marmalade is the best part of this. The base malts aren't super amazing, though. A touch of alcohol in the finish. Saturday, February 17, 2024
mcberko	2.9 Machine House Triticalewine 500mL bottle, pours a cloudy dark amber mahogany with a tiny white head. Aroma has plenty of spicy, earthy rye upfront, with bready malt, and a touch of toffee. Flavour has tons of marmalade, bready malt, some caramel, and earthy spiciness. Plenty of marmalade, weird spiciness, earthiness, and bready malt. Very odd. There's nothing wrong here, but I'm not really digging the flavours. Saturday, February 17, 2024
Oakes	3.6 Machine House HBC 586 Fresh Hop Pale Soft, juicy, medium bitterness, a bit of caramel, and stone fruit hoppiness. Saturday, January 27, 2024
Oakes	3.4 Machine House Bruno Amber, opaque. So the aroma is figgy, with lots of bourbon, dried orange peel, that sort of thing. On the palate, it doesn't have a lot of body, the malt character is decent, but the lack of body does hold it back...a little carbo would bring out the complexity a bit more. Saturday, January 13, 2024
pictoman	3.2 Machine House Bruno Poured from 500mL bottle (bottled Nov 2022). Very hazy copper with very minimal white head. Some whiskey, some bread malt, a bit flat, meh. Saturday, January 13, 2024
RennyDoig	3.2 Machine House Bruno Pours murky brown and flat. Aroma deep caramel. Malt and spice. Definitely some woodiness, almost retroactively dry. Odd; okay. Saturday, January 13, 2024
mcberko	3.2 Machine House Bruno 500mL bottle, pours a murky rusted red, no head. Nose brings out bready malt, gentle toffee, and very gentle whiskey. Flavour is quite bitter, subdued whiskey barrels, and bready malt. The flat carb doesn't work well, the whiskey is not that complex, and there's a pronounced bitterness to this. Not bad, but this doesn't work for me. Saturday, January 13, 2024
mcberko	2.6 Machine House Winter Warmer On tap at The Beer Junction, pours a mostly clear muddy bronze with almost no head. Aroma is dry and malty, with toasted nuts, dry caramel, and bready crusts. Flavour is weird — the carbonation is flat, which is throwing off the flavour — there’s bready malt, maybe toasted nuts. But the flat carb kind of ruins this, creating a muted flavour profile. It’s not terrible, but it’s severely lacking for me. Sunday, December 10, 2023
OldMrCrow	3.9 Machine House Just a Little Bitter Bottle. Lovely UK-style bitter. Fairly dark roast brings some slightly unexpected chocolate along with a marked but not overstated hop bite. Amazing flavor packed into 3.9%. Lovely, lovely beer. Tuesday, July 25, 2023
OldMrCrow	4 Machine House 10th Anniversary Session Pale Ale Bottle. Lots of melon on the nose. Grapefruit and melon flavors, amazing what they get out of the citra/simcoe/mosaic combo. No astringency, minimal onion/garlic. Light body, but not overly so and in fact quite substantial for 4%. I'm really enjoying this one. Lovely. Thursday, June 22, 2023
OldMrCrow	3.8 Machine House Summer Ale Golden pour, white head. Yeast on the nose, nice Hallertau bite with ample body for the abv. Light pilsner malts for a mild—seems more like a hoppy golden ale. In any case, quite enjoyable but not as good as the 10th anniversary session ale that preceded it. Thursday, June 22, 2023
mabel	3.7 Machine House Export India Porter [11949-20191020] Cask. Pot and roasted grains aroma. Black cola body with a quick foamy off-white head. Roasted bitter grains flavour. Full body. Good. (7/3/8/4/15) 3.7 (@ Cask Days 2019 Sunday session, Toronto, ON) Saturday, May 27, 2023
Oakes	3.6 Machine House Springtime Pale Bitter Hazy, amber. On CO2 for some reason. Fruity, blackcurrant hops…good classic English hop profile. Biscuity malts, not bad. Definitely would want this on cask though. Friday, May 5, 2023
Oakes	4.3 Machine House Imperial Stout Black. Thin head. Cask. Gorgeous molasses and dark fruit aroma. Full body, dark sugars layering over smoky charred fruits. Splash of alcohol in the finish. You never see this approach to imperial stout anymore in the pastry era, but I am all about this. Rich, luscious, just a damn fine imperial stout. Friday, May 5, 2023
Oakes	3.6 Machine House 9th Anniversary Vintage Ale Cask. Hazy amber-brown. Full body. Layered fruit, sweet toffee, dash of alcohol in the finish. Solid ESA. Friday, May 5, 2023
troopie	3.8 Machine House / Floodland XX Medium brown body with thick head. Light aroma. Full pleasing taste with a bit of a hop note. Sunday, March 26, 2023
eslyter	3.8 Machine House Golden Ale Crisp yet soft on the palette, a little bitter and with a flavor profile that hints at Belgian beers while retaining the mildness more characteristic of English style bitters. Monday, February 27, 2023
eslyter	4.4 Machine House Best Bitter A delicious English style bitter from the northwest U.S. Drink it. Saturday, February 18, 2023
OldMrCrow	3.5 Machine House Autumn Bitter Bottle from PCC Copper pour, really roasty nose. I'm just not feeling this. Too roasty but not rich, I don't know. I'd take their best bitter or other similar efforts in a heartbeat. It's well done at 4.1% and serious props for pulling that off. Still, not one I need to repeat. Thursday, December 15, 2022
OldMrCrow	4.2 Machine House Winter Warmer Seems that this mofo goes way back. Who knew. It's fabulous. Seriously, fabulous. Like the very best English winter warmers with a tiny bit of extra left--coast juice. Not in the sense of bullshit c-hops and red malt, just on the fucking mark. This beer is nothing short of wild in an vastly underexploited style, at least in the US. Wow. Friday, December 2, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.9 Machine House Tettnang Extra Pale Ale Hazy mustard pour, decent and lasting head. Kolsch yeast brings a tiny bit of fruit with the light citrus pith from the Tettnanger. I really, really like this beer. Monday, November 28, 2022
mcberko	2.3 Machine House Simcoe Fresh Hop Bitter On cask at The Beer Junction, pours a clear pale golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out earthy notes and bready malt. Flavour is dry and bready, with stale bread and not much else. Stale and lacking anything remotely interesting. Lame. Sunday, October 23, 2022
troopie	3.4 Machine House Simcoe Fresh Hop Bitter Orange body with almost no head. Aroma, hoppy like a pale. Malt and hop well balanced taste with a great finish. Bottle conditioned, also available in cask elsewhere. Wednesday, October 19, 2022
OldMrCrow	4.1 Machine House 9th Anniversary Vintage Ale Bottle. Rich deep brown pour with some haziness. Glorious rich malt and toffee nose is a harbinger of the mind-blowing flavors. Burnt toffee, pumpernickel bread (not pumpernickel rye, the but rather dark black bread), molasses, a hint of licorice, and just English strong ale goodness to the core. This is, unreservedly, a spectacular beer. Sure hope I can find more of it. Sunday, October 2, 2022
douglas88	3.5 Machine House Fresh Hop - Centennial Bottle. Pours a clear golden hue with a medium white head. A light citrus nose. Toast, mild but present bitterness, clear fresh hops, biscuit. Saturday, October 1, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.3 Machine House / Floodland XX When I sent a photo of this bottle to a beer nerd friend of mine, he responded with "Holy shit, the Traveling Wilburys of beers." TBH I was a bit offended until I realized that he thought that the Traveling Wilburys were good, or at least acknowledged that they members were literally the best in the world. I got home, poured a glass with enormous expectation and discovered his simile was far more apt than I had realized. Because while these two breweries are each arguably the best in the US for their styles, the beer itself is a little more than a novelty act. Friday, September 30, 2022
brokensail	3.5 Machine House Dark Mild Bottle @ Home. Dark brown, nearly black, with a tan head. Plenty of roasted malt along with some toast, coffee, bread, and a touch of roasted nuts. An earthy and floral hop character with some subtle woody notes. A touch of caramel and molasses. Predictably light in body with a fairly lively carbonation. Perhaps a touch acidic on the finish, but still pretty nice and serves its purpose. Tuesday, September 6, 2022
troopie	3.8 Machine House Cambridge Bitter Light gold body with white head. Malty taste with a light hop note and hop in the finish Earlier Rating: 4/1/2018 Total Score: 4.1 Cask conditioned draught. Orange pour. Light grassy aroma, Citrus in the flavour, balanced with sweet malt. Lasting finish. Saturday, August 27, 2022
andrewje41	3.6 Machine House / Floodland XX On cask at Special Brews. Fun, unique brew from two locals I don't get to try nearly enough. Golden pour, clean, tons of sticky lacing. Cream body, bold spicy malts. Some earthy, grassy like hops that are light and low bitter. Surprisingly light and smooth flavor for a strong ale. A few easy drinking pints of this will lead to a good time for sure. Tasty, unique ale here. Very nice. Thursday, August 25, 2022
eslyter	4 Machine House Cambridge Bitter Very smooth, very little carbonation, sweet, and slightly bitter. Is that like a traditional English bitter? Maybe, I'm not an expert. It's delicious. Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Cybercat	3.8 Machine House Barrel-Aged Barleywine (2022) Pours hazy caramel with a nice parchment head. Aroma features caramel, toasted malt, fruity and boozy notes. Flavor offers caramel, toasty malt, bourbon, sweet notes. Texture gives decent body and peppy fizz. Sunday, August 21, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.9 Machine House Northwest IPA Bottle. Lovely hazy pour. Chinook heavy on the nose in a delightful way, strata as well. Beautiful flavor. Really beautiful. Earthy and just hopped enough without going over the line in any way, a lot hoppier than a Greene King IPA or something but still very English. Beautiful juiciness coming into the organic humus. Shit, I loved this and it was a fantatic palette cleanser after the less than satisfactory Stryrian Pale Ale. Wednesday, June 22, 2022
OldMrCrow	2.9 Machine House Styrian Pale Ale Bottle. GREAT concept. Execution is lacking. This far and away the soapiest-ass beer I have ever had. Like to the point I was worried about whether something went wrong with the bottling. Don't get me wrong there are very interesting element here and I respect the effort. But definitely not something I would repeat. A very rare miss from Machine House Wednesday, June 22, 2022
andrewje41	3.8 Machine House / Hogshead Fits the Bill 500 mL bottle poured from Special Brews. Tasty brew here, very flavorful light brew perfect for having more than one. A dark copper orange appearance, loose bubble head. Smooth, flavorful bready malts, with a gentle, earthy linger that goes on forever. Always glad to have these guys in town doing this style so well. Very nice. Thursday, June 2, 2022
Fatehunter	3.2 Machine House Best Bitter Hazy dark straw body with no head. Aroma is apricot, pine, and mild grapefruit. Taste is muted citrus bitter. Texture is crisp. Tuesday, May 10, 2022
troopie	3.9 Machine House / Hogshead Fits the Bill Conditioned bottle. Dark orange body with very thin fast dissipating head. Malty aroma with some orange. Very full taste with a hop skin. Long satisfying finish Sunday, May 1, 2022
troopie	3.8 Machine House Totally Fuggled Dark amber body with big white head. Full floral aroma. Malty taste with thick fruit stripes. Balanced finish Saturday, April 30, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.9 Machine House Comet Guzzler Bottle from PCC Precisely as the name suggests. Plenty of hop punch without overdoing it, an impressive feat of brewing at 3.8%. Revisit, again bottled. I'm actually blown away. This is exceptional brewing in the sense that it creates a beer that satisfies the Seattle palate, at about half the ABV of the usual Seattle beer. Lush herbal earthy comet hops on the nose, pretty damn decent burst of flavor on the tongue. Not overly thin, just delightful. You don't even have to guzzle; sipping works too, which is impressive for a US <4% beer. Bumping to 3.9 Monday, April 11, 2022
improvjock	2.8 Machine House Dark Mild Bottle. Pours a dark brown with small tan head. Aroma of roasty malts, coffee. Fairly thin, but that’s to be expected given the low ABV. Well balanced, not too sweet and not too bitter. A bit bland though. You could do worse with a sessionable beer, but it was just ok for me. Tuesday, April 5, 2022
fiulijn	3.3 Machine House Stock Ale 2021 Tasting at Matt's, bottle; bottled December 2020 Dark amber colour; the bottle is gushing. Intense aroma of bourbon; vanilla, malt. The body is getting thinner, I suspect there has been an infection here (not an Old Ale acidification), eating up those sugars thinning the body, adding acidity, some Brett character, and adding much carbonation. Rough, not completely disgusting, but this is definitively infected. Monday, March 28, 2022
fiery1	3 Machine House Stock Ale 2021 500ml bottle @ Matt's. Pours a murky dark amber colour with a medium beige head. Nose is bourbon and hints of dark fruits. Flavour is dominantly bourbon with brown bready malts, and trails with lightly sour dark fruits. Medium bodied, ok carbonation, and a moderate sweetness with a mild bitterness. Mixed feelings on this, touch too much on the toasted brown bread malt. Friday, March 18, 2022
mcberko	3.4 Machine House Stock Ale 2021 500mL bottle, pours a deep dark amber brown with a large beige head. Aroma brings out bourbon barrels, dark fruits, and brown sugar. Flavour is gently tart, with bready malt, toasted caramel, a little bourbon, and just a touch of tartness. Malty, barrel-heavy and just tart enough to be to style. Pretty reasonably brewed to style. Not the most complex of the style, but for a non-English-brewed English Strong Ale, this is solid. Friday, March 18, 2022
Oakes	3.4 Machine House Stock Ale 2021 Amber, and hazy. On the palate, it's got some fruity tartness, lots of barrel. Deep maltiness. Medium body. A bit fizzy, but I like the deep fruit notes. Hit of alcohol in the finish. But really, there's good things but something missing. Maybe needs to be rounded out a bit, which probably should have happened in the barrel but didn't. Friday, March 18, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.8 Machine House Best Bitter Bottle. Excellent Bitter in a somewhat traditional style albeit hopped a bit more for US beer nerd tastes. Copper pour, small white head. I always feel like a good bitter is something you drink instead of contemplate, and this fit the bill perfectly. Monday, February 14, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.5 Machine House South American Pale Ale Bottle from Bottleworks. Landing somewhere in English IPA -- American Pale territory, this one brings a lot of cascade character made interesting with perfumy Victoria, no excessive bitterness, good balance of malt and pleasant yeast character. Balanced enough, easy drinking enough, a bit outside of the box, enjoyable but not exemplary. Sunday, February 13, 2022
OldMrCrow	3.5 Machine House ESB Bottle from Bottleworks. Happy to try anything that Machine House brews. Copper pour, off-white head. Good lacing. Raisin on the nose. Sweetness from the caramel malt is offset appropriately. Good beer and yet for whatever reason it's not sending me to the heights the way that some Machine House creations do. Sunday, February 13, 2022