Johnstown Brewing Company Reviews

Beerman6686	4.1 Johnstown Wet Hopped Barley Wine Tried this at Kelly’s for the Pittsburgh wet hop "festival". Poured a murky brown color with an off white head. Aroma was very hoppy, mostly piney, with a large maltiness to go along. Flavor was also very hoppy, not as malty as some other barley wines, somewhat reminded me of Victory Old Horizontal. Thursday, July 31, 2008
Nate	3.4 Johnstown Laurel Highlands Scotch Ale On tap at the brewery. Very mild aroma. Light sweet caramel malt with bit of toffee and light tang. Bit of fruity hops. Dark amber-brown clear with thin off-white head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts papery but sweet. Nice toffee and light carbonic acidity and a bit of dry hoppy bite. Nice roiunded sweetness with mild bitter finish. Mild alcohol taste and a dry nutty after. Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Nate	3.2 Johnstown Picket Line Porter On tap at the brewery. Mild chocolate roasted malt with light coffee and a bit of lactose sweetness. Dry grassy hops, mild. Bit of Tootsie Roll. Dark black-brown clear with thin light tan lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts dry with roasted grain, mild chocolate and coffee. Light Twizzlers. A bit stale toward the finish but good sweet porter. Light dry nutty bitter after. Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Nate	3.2 Johnstown Polska Brewski On tap at the brewery. Described to me as an English mild using Polish hops - hey, Polish Mild. Nice Bohemian aroma, grassy and herbal with light caramel and raw honey comb. Hazy medium amber with thin off-white lacing head. Medium body with heavy carbonation. Starts fairly dry with nice grainy malty character. Fresh dry grassy hops and a bit floral with a light paper taste. Dry mild bitter finish with beany dry bitter after. Tasty. Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Nate	3.3 Johnstown Twin Piston Pilsner On tap at the brewery. Nice light grainy hops aroma. Fresh aroma. Light sweet pilsner malt and mild beany character. Golden clear with a mild haze and thin white head. Medium-light body with medium-high carbonation. Starts with light acidity and nice pilsner maltiness - a nice sweetness. Light grassy hops, fresh. Clean finish with mild grain and hop bite. Nice pils. Tuesday, June 10, 2008
santos999	3.6 Johnstown Incline Pale Ale On tap at the Pints for Pets Brewfest. Clear copper with a white head. Smells piny, floral, and slightly sweet. Bitter pine and resiny flavor with a subtle caramel backbone. Monday, May 19, 2008
santos999	2 Johnstown Picket Line Porter On tap at the Pints for Pets Brewfest. Light brown with a small beige head. Spoiled milk aroma with hints of roasted malts. Thin mouthfeel. Boring, bland taste. Monday, May 19, 2008
Probiere	3.1 Johnstown Wire Mill White Ale A very pale, uniformly cloudy ale with a thin white strip of head. Small hint of spiciness and a whiff of tartness in the aroma. Mouthfeel is light, taste is mild but pleasant, with light bitterness to start, followed by a fruity/spicy middle, and finished medium dry. Average, but one of the few beers I have had here without any major flaws. Monday, December 17, 2007
Probiere	2.7 Johnstown Twin Piston Pilsner Light, with a very pale straw yellow color and a weak floral hop aroma. Light mouthfeel and low carbonation. Inoffensive but absolutely nothing of note in the flavor department. Monday, December 17, 2007
JdoubleyouS	2.8 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale Fruity aroma, pours golden clear not bad head. Not too nice on the tongue and the finish just didnt impress me. Monday, June 6, 2005
JdoubleyouS	3.8 Johnstown Steelworkers Stout Nice looking on the pour, very dark, nice roasted aroma. down the hatch and slight dissapointment. Kind of watery but with decent flavor. Monday, June 6, 2005
JdoubleyouS	2.4 Johnstown Flood Light Very pale yellow color, thin white head. Very light and fizzy but surprisingly with a nice touch of flavor. Like Nate said tastes like a higher quality light beer. Monday, June 6, 2005
JdoubleyouS	3.1 Johnstown 1889 Amber Dark amber color with nice thick head. Nice smokey aroma, smooth on the tongue with hints of caramel. Finishes smooth with a slight bitterness. Not bad. Monday, June 6, 2005
JdoubleyouS	2.4 Johnstown South Fork Dam Beer Golden colored with thin head. medium carbonation. Drecently hoppy beer with a good finish, not my favorite of the JBC’s but good none the less. Monday, June 6, 2005
JdoubleyouS	4 Johnstown Old Stone Bridge Brown Very dark brown appearance, chocolate aroma with a hint of caramel. Smooth on the tongue, sweet with hints of bitterness. I enjoyed this one. Monday, June 6, 2005
Nate	3.6 Johnstown Incline Pale Ale Fruity malt aroma, grapefruit, citrus, and hop oil. Light sweet alcoholic ozone. Sweet. Medium amber clear with thin off-white head. Medium-heavy watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with fruity and malty sweet. Great bitterness, fruity hops - citrusy and oily. Nice balance between bitter and sweet, mild acidity. Very nice APA. Full bitter finish, though a bit chalky in the after. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	3.8 Johnstown Steelworkers Stout Nice smoky roasted bitterness, almost burnt. Chocolate and coffee. Smoke. Nice aroma. Nice bitter sweet. Dark cloudy black with tan creamy staying head. Medium watery body with smooth nitrogen carbonation. Milky. Starts with bitter sweet roasted malt. Mild sugary notes, chocolate, coffee. Light to no acidity. Mild carbonic finish with roasted bitter hops. Smoky roasted finish with smooth bittersweet after. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	2.9 Johnstown Old Stone Bridge Brown Medium chocolatey aroma, caramel maltiness and fruity Tootsie Roll notes. Light coffee. Deep brown clear with thin off-tan head. Mild medium body with fairly smooth carbonation. Starts with medium sweetness, chocolate, and Tootsie Roll. Nice coffee bitterness. Finish is light sweet with good roasted bitterness. Good balance of sweet and bitter. Decent brown ale. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	2.6 Johnstown South Fork Dam Beer Light grain aroma, no malt, bit of graininess, and mild hop notes. Mild yellow gold clear with thin white head. Light medium body with mild-medium carbonation. Mild acidity throughout and mild grainy malt. Light hop notes with soft bitterness at finish. Nice mild style and should attract new microbrew drinkers. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	3.2 Johnstown Lovette Brothers Irish Red Ale Mild malt aroma with some hop notes, some fruitiness, and bit of brewed tea. Medium gold-amber clear with thin off-white head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Good maltiness, caramel and grain bread. Fruity character and mild acidity. Finish is fruity light bitter hops. Mild chalky after. Nice ale but not as red as I would expect an Irish red to be. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	3.1 Johnstown 1889 Amber Mild smoke malt aroma, with some sweetness. Whisky malt. Medium amber, slight haze, with creamy off-white head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with some caramel malt and medium heavy smoky character. Light acidity. Finish is mild smoky bitter, just a bit of carbonic saltiness. Mild bitter after. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	3 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale Has a mild fruity-hoppy aroma, mild sweet malts. Some caramel, orange peel, and brewed tea. Golden amber clear with thin off-white head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Start with mild acidity, soft malts, and a light saltiness with good hop bitterness. Finish is solid bitterness with mild graininess. A tad watery and could use a bit more malt character, but a decent pale ale. Thursday, March 24, 2005
Nate	2.2 Johnstown Flood Light Light hoppy aroma, sweetness of grain. Clean overall. Pale yellow clear, a bit dull, with thin white head. Light bodied beer with medium-high carbonation, almost fizzy. Starts with light grain, mild malts and some mild bitterness. Medium acidity throughout with mild bitter finish. Tastes like a higher quality light beer. Thursday, March 24, 2005
euserphriendly	2 Johnstown Lovette Brothers Irish Red Ale A clear red body and small head. Decent malt taste, but could really be more...something. Saturday, February 5, 2005
euserphriendly	1 Johnstown Cambria Iron Ice Lager Like drinking watered down mass market american beer. Probably will never be available here again. Saturday, February 5, 2005
euserphriendly	2.4 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale A strong citrus/Grapefruit flavor. This beer is too light on the hops for the style. However, it is probably the best the JBC has to offer. Saturday, February 5, 2005
Probiere	2.6 Johnstown Jingle Bell Bock Smells alcoholic with maybe a whiff of indeterminate spice and some sort of tang. Taste rough malt and alcohol. Little melding of flavors and no depth or complexity. Mouthfeel is watery and shouldn’t be for a bock. Blah. Thursday, December 30, 2004
Probiere	2.3 Johnstown Patton Pumpkin Ale Mildly pumpkin-like, decent mouthfeel, orange and cloudy. Blah except when served with cinnamon-sugar on top. The spice adds a bit of bam. Still boring though. Monday, December 6, 2004
Probiere	1.1 Johnstown Windber Cherry Wheat Pink-orange color. Maraschino smell. EW! PUKE! Sweet and nasty like a bad Shirley Temple. Monday, December 6, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	2.9 Johnstown Steelworkers Stout Sampled on draft at the brewpub this beeer poured a dark black color with a medium sized creamy tan head that lingered and left good lacing. . Good. The aroma was strongly of coffee and a hint of chocolate. The flavor contained elements of dark roasted malt, coffee and bitter baker’s chocolate. The roastedness lingers on the long dry finish. This body is far too watery to consider this a stout. Friday, June 11, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	2.4 Johnstown Old Stone Bridge Brown Sampled on draft at the brewpub this beer poured a dark red-brown color with orange highlights and a medium sized foamy tan head. The aroma was mildly malty and had hints of coffee. The flavor was dry, bitter and smoky. Short finish and a thin and watery body. Blah. Friday, June 11, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	2.3 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale Sampled on draft at the brewpub this beer poured a neutral brown color with a medium sized off white head. The aroma was faint grapefruit. The flavor starts out with grapefruit that falls off a watery cliff and has just a hint of malt underneath. Short grapefruit finish. Thin and watery body. Uninspired. Friday, June 11, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	1.6 Johnstown South Fork Dam Beer Sampled on draft at the brewpub this beer poured a honey brown color with a small off white head that left a bit of lacing. The aroma was faintly sweet and a touch bready with not much else going on. The flavor started with a mild hint of hops on the front but led to a somewhat skunky industrial lager presence. Short finish. The body was thin and watery. Pretty awful. Friday, June 11, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	2.3 Johnstown 1889 Amber My first trip to the JBC. I had no idea what to expect with this beer. Sampled on draft this beer poured a dark red-brown color with no head to speak of. The aroma was light and hinted of sweet malt. The flavor was watery basic amber ale with no particular flavor points standing out. Short finish. Light and somewhat watery body though smooth. Friday, June 11, 2004
FROTHINGSLOSH	2.6 Johnstown Flood Light Sampled on draft at the brewpub this beer poured a light golden color with minimal head. The aroma was a faint generic macro lager. The flavor was smooth, relatively dry and had a bit of nut. Short finish and light body. Ok. Friday, June 11, 2004
zach8270	3.5 Johnstown South Fork Dam Beer [draft - 10th Annual PA Microbrewers Fest, Pennsylvania Brewing Co. - Pittsburgh, PA] Poured a deep orange color with a very thin head. Faint aroma mainly of hops and some malt. Initial flowery hop taste with a nice, smooth malt balance and a good bitter finish with a zest of pepper at the very end. My first kölsh. It was interesting. Now I must seek out others to compare. Sunday, June 6, 2004
Drew	2.7 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale Lots of citrus in this one - lemon, melons, grapefruit - juicy. Flavor was pretty well balanced, but thin. Could use an extra dose of evertything - there just wasn’t enough flavor to go around. Sunday, June 6, 2004
michael-pollack	2.8 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale Draught: Smelled of malt, hops, and a bit skunked. Looks thin. Light brown color. Nice head and lacing. Tastes slightly hoppy, and malty. A bit like a bock. Easy to drink, but still thin. A below par APA. Weak, thin, not too much flavor. Saturday, April 17, 2004
michael-pollack	3.1 Johnstown 1889 Amber Smells sweet and malty. Perhaps a little cinnamon scent? Nice amber color, but a bit cloudy. No head, no lacing. Tasted a little hoppy and a little toasty/roasty. Decent palate. Overall, nothing special, but a good attempt. Saturday, April 17, 2004
Probiere	3.7 Johnstown South Fork Dam Beer The description is further proof that either the brewer or the webmaster didn’t give a shit about misrepresentation. I was told by the server and owner that this was a koelsch. This beer stands head and shoulders above the others in their lineup. It has a clear and assertive hop profile, running the gamut from citrus to floral to herbs and back before disappearing with a bitter note excellently balanced against a solid malt backdrop. I would have another but I can only take so many hops in one night. Update: It was better before. Filtered and the hop profile is ultra-bland now. New score: 3.5 Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	2.9 Johnstown Lovette Brothers Irish Red Ale Milder than the amber but otherwise almost indistinguishable. Maybe a better palate than mine could tell the difference. Dark orange/light red, medium body, caramel malt and light hops. Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	3.3 Johnstown Cambria Iron Ice Lager Surprising upfront hop hit with a toasty biscuit malt finish. The ABV on this one is less than 6%, so I entered it as an American Standard and not a malt liquor. When chilled it reminds me of Anchor Steam. When it's warm, it's just disgusting! Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	3.1 Johnstown Heffley Springs Honey Raspberry Wheat Initial flat sweetness and medium-heavy body. Looks like lemon jello with a rapidly fading head. Residual berry tartness on the finish. With some tweaking (more wheat, better ester control) this could be pretty good. Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	2.2 Johnstown Old Stone Bridge Brown I realized looking at my notes that my number scores were being way too kind to this beer. Appearance: muddy, murky mess, like weak coffee with the grounds still in it. Aroma: coffee and burnt nuts. Flavor: weak coffee. Finish: thick. Hmmm. Here’s hoping Barrett gets this one back on its feet. Update:Now filtered: much better looking. Milder. Sweeter malt aroma. Smart start but ends mildly alcoholic with too few hops. Much better than before, drinkable, but not good either. New score: 2.7 Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	3 Johnstown 1889 Amber These commerical descriptions crack me up. The previous brewer must have tried to make the beer sound as unappealing as possible. Like all but one of this brewery’s offerings, it is safe and pretty bland. Some toasty notes and a very mild hop presence. Update: Got some nice hops in here now, much improved chewy-figgy caramel beginning and middle, solid mouthfeel and slightly coating swallow. New score: 3.5 Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	2.7 Johnstown Flood Light A terrible desecration, trying to make an ale taste like a lager, but they do it, and it’s as drinkable as your favorite macro. Light, flat, typical, inoffensive. Update:Bit more toast malt flavors, lower carbonation, mild finish. Less cheap. New score: 3.0 Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	3.2 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale The previous two ratings were entered about two months after the brewery began selling its own beer. I can only assume that the recipe has changed since then, because the new head brewer is changing most of the recipes. At any rate, this is not as insipid now as it apparently was then. Very juicy and full of lighter malts. The correct, orangey color. Hops are still very subdued; I wouldn’t call this a pale ale yet, but it’s drinkable, and something I’d have again if I were there. Update: Orangey aroma, now filtered, still watery, but hops and malt both ramped up. Rather decent specimen now. New score: 3.5 Friday, March 26, 2004
Probiere	2.6 Johnstown Steelworkers Stout Super-roasty but watery, with a distinct burnt flavor. If they roasted their own malt, I’d say they overdid it. Dusty charcoal finish. Gets points for being dry, but it’s not very good. Update: Still thin, but the terrible charred taste is gone. Decent for a dried stout if only they’d fix the mouthfeel. New score: 3.2 Friday, March 26, 2004
CapFlu	1.1 Johnstown White Hat Pale Ale (Draught) Thin, white with a yellow body. Thin and watery flavour. Lacking hops and nearly no flavour at all! Tuesday, November 25, 2003
CapFlu	2.3 Johnstown Steelworkers Stout (Draught) Listed as Johnstown Spanish Peaks Steelworkers Stout at GBAF 2003. Headless and opaque. Slight coffee. Weak and boring. Tuesday, November 25, 2003