Brew52 » pale ale

Tapping Tonight

Rett — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:11:23 +0000

Had a great time at Rock Bottom tonight. Ben, Josh, and I got there early enough to have a beer before the tapping. I had the IPA which is pretty intense, so my taste buds were somewhat shot when we got the try the Catcher in the Rye Pale Ale, but it was nice. Similar to the IPA, but less hoppy, which means I liked it a bit less. Although as I’m typing this there’s a commercial on tv for Bud Lite Lime, which really puts things in perspective for me.

I also think it’s worth pointing out that it was super nice of Rock Bottom to give out free pints to everyone in the bar. Plus, they weren’t jerks about the happy hour. Where some bars quit 15 minutes early Rock Bottom was nice enough to honor the cheap drinks and appetizers right up until the last minute.

Only weird thing for me is that they don’t list their beers anywhere on their site that I can find, plus they didn’t have any description of the Catcher in the Rye Pale Ale except for a sheet hanging above the urinals. When I asked the waitress if they had any extras she looked really confused. I warned her that my other option was snagging one from the bathroom.

Lemony, but not a shandy

jwilliams731 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:21:09 +0000

Brau Brother’s Whirly Bird was not at Surdyk’s as of June 16th, so Becca got a 6-pack of the Pale Ale. Never before have I had a beer with such a strong lemon flavor, unless I overdid it lemon-ing on a Hefe. The website calls it a session beer, but I don’t know. If there is a hops bitterness, I miss it because it gets slammed by lemon tanginess.

Sessionable English ale, from Duluth

al — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:32:19 +0000

Haven’t had one of these in a while. Let’s crack a crown and jump right in… Cloudy coppery color, slim off -white head…nice…Aromatic bitterness greets the nose…classic English-style hopping. Green apple tinge to it, with a bit of the pine thing from American hops, mixed with caramel malt.Tastin’ it…bitter hop smack on the palate, then the apple and a bit of butterscotch,…bitterness reigns, though isn’t overpowering, just right for an English style pale ale. I’m no expert, I can’t say if it’s Fuggles or East Kent Goldings, I just know it tastes British, and fits right in for the style.Though I favor American style pale ales and IPAs these days, I can drink this down without a problem. Just enough hops and flavor to keep my tastebuds occupied. Haiku #9 (for week 10)…”Lake Superior/ Northern-most of the Great Lakes/ not bad beer, either.”

Where can I find a barrel and a waterfall?

Joe Lunchpail — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:02:09 +0000

The mildly hoppy aroma complements the hints of clove flavoring quite well. The taste lingers on your tongue long enough to be enjoyable without being overdone. Not overly hoppy, just enough to let you know they’re present, but not enough to have to do the roof of the mouth/tongue smack thing. It’s not a beer that I would typically buy, but I’m glad that I joined Brew 52, otherwise I would probably have never just picked one up.

By the end of the bottle, the spice-y aftertaste begins to take hold. I wonder how my breath smells to other people after drinking this? By the way, the guy on the bottle reminds me of a lot of the empty suits I see walking in the skyway during lunch hour. Classic. Re: the bottles being too big? I disagree. Just better for sharing the wealth, though my girlfriend didn’t like it much. Oh well, more for me I guess. Things could be far worse.

Special? More like dependable.

brendan — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:35:36 +0000

This is a nice friendly pale ale with floral hop aroma and taste and a good malt backbone. I really like a good sessionable beer. Sometimes I do not need to have a taste experience, or have my assumptions about beer challenged. I need a beer that has a good solid malt and hop flavor, and not too much ABV so I can have another.

The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest medicine

Rett — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:13:14 +0000

This weekend I’ve been testing the theory that you can beat a cold by drinking alcohol. Despite a valiant effort, I’m still sick, and the worst of it is that I didn’t enjoy a single beer I drank. That is until the sweet nectar of Lake Superior Special Ale made contact with my tongue just minutes ago. Despite my taste buds being all out of whack, I’m enjoying this beer very much. Kinda reminds me of a Summit Pale Ale but a little sweeter. As Ange mentioned, and I’m sure Chuck will be pointing out, the only bummer is the labels. They’re lacking the personality that the beer has.

Party at Herkimer, and in my mouth

Josh — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:34:19 +0000

The Herkimer Alt is aptly named as a great alternative to standard pale ale. It has the hops and smoothness of pale ale with an extra German kick that makes it stand apart. I’m not sophisticated enough to know what it is but I like it.

It was great to meet many of the Brew52 reviewers, thanks for setting it up Rett. Also, thanks to the staff at The Herkimer for their hospitality!

Herkimer Alt

moe — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:39:00 +0000

Very nice pale ale with just enough hops to make it smooth. Something about the beers at Herkimer that I’ve never enjoyed before, but this one was very different, must be why it won an award at the GABF.

Good Beer, Bad Bottle

KaseC — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:34:37 +0000

I liked it, honestly, and have a few more in my fridge to enjoy. I love the pale ales, and this one will now be on my ‘to buy’ list; a real pleasure to drink. Only one criticism: the ‘Big Bottle’. I can’t figure out why it’s cooler to have your beer in a ‘Big Bottle’. I like beer, and more usually = better. But let’s say I would like to share this great beer with a friend and so buy four bottles. How should I carry these four bottles to my friend’s house? Awkward. Six packs were invented just for this reason. For me, Big Bottle = More Awkward

It’s not you, it’s me

Alyssa — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:10:44 +0000

Despite the fact that this brew seems to be a crowd pleaser, I didn’t enjoy it much. I’m not a fan of pale ales so all I could taste were the bitter hops. After reading how much people enjoyed this one, I was sad I can’t appreciate what is considered a quality beer. I disappoint myself.