Sweet Action - Sixpoint Brewery

BeerHonky

New York

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Sixpoint's Sweet Action can be found on tap sporadically throughout NYC, Brooklyn and Queens so I've had the chance to taste it quite a few times. It seems to pop up every few bars or so that I seem to go to.

Pours a nice coppery orange with a fluffy, pillowy white head that has decent retention. Aroma is not real big here, but there's a slight hop presence with a bit of sweetness behind it. Light to light-medium body with a nice prickly, refreshing carbonation. The predominant flavor is a pleasant sweet malt with a decent bit of bitterness. The flavor finishes with a nice breaded dryness that keeps the palate clean and ready for another bug gulp. You can easily drink a lot of this. This is definitely what I fall back on it if its the only thing available among the usual suspects.

I also must note that I really enjoy the fact that the ABV is low. Cream ales were always intended, in my mind, to be highly drinkable. A beer you drink when you commiserate with buddies. I wish I was drinking this six years ago instead of Genesee Cream Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2007 06:06:24 | More by BeerHonky

miskatonic

New York

2.75/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Glad that someone finally created a separate listing for this beer, now that it is being advertised as 'Sweet Action Cream Ale' on many of the tap handles across NYC. I had this beer back in April of 2005 when it was still a +7% Belgian/German hybrid - something that I think the brewer described at a local bar as a 'German Heffewiezen and a Belgian strong ale getting together and having a bastard child" - I liked that beer a lot, and I miss it now that it's gone. The beer that was Sweet Action then and the beers that have come and gone using the same name over the almost two years since I first tried it are almost all a far cry from the Cream Ale that is touted as Sweet Action today. The beer pours a light caramel color with a frothy head. Good head retention, nice lacing (both on my glass and my moustache) and strong sweetness in the aroma. The taste is balanced, but has very little hop character at all (I understand that this is a cream ale, but slightly more bitterness would be a nice touch). The sweetness that is present on the nose falls a little flat in the taste; in fact the taste itself is a bit flat, not so much with a lack of carbonation, but just in complexity. Overall this beer is drinkable, just not as flavorful as I would like in a Cream Ale, and just because it's not a Pale Ale doesn't mean hop bitterness or bite should be so subdued. I've shared my feelings on this beer and it's many, many incarnations with friends and we all agree that these last few months have shown a consistent product for the first time in a year. Assuming then that this is the final version of this beer (and maybe it's not) I find it to be an unsuitable replacement to the original beer that bore the name Sweet Action, and a pale comparison to other more notable Craft Brewed Cream Ales. Next time I'm given the choice of a Sixpoint beer, I'll stick with the Brownstone.

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2006 18:18:22 | More by miskatonic

DocBrass

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

ok...this is my first review and I thought I'd attempt this one since there weren't any comments. I had this on vacation and had to review it to remember it for future reference.

I had this at the "world famous" Lombardi's Pizzeria in NYC. the tables had flyers for the Cream Ale as a perfect compantion. I have to agree, both go well together.

The Cream Ale lived up to its name..creamy head, amber/red color, a little sweet, not too heavy. I can see this as a good companion to italian foods with tomatoes and sausage.

Serving type: on-tap

10-04-2006 04:43:09 | More by DocBrass

Franchise

Oregon

3.73/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a creamy dark caramel body that is foggy leaving a thin lace that is sudsy. The aroma is citrus, hoppy, sweet hard candy, very nice. The taste is slightly watery, but makes up for it with a malty caramel mouthfeel, followed by a massaging of hops to bring the taste to life. This is very drinkable, but overall not much going on in terms of complexity but that is what is meant of this style IMO.

Serving type: on-tap

06-22-2006 18:45:13 | More by Franchise

bklynbeerbaron

New York

4.28/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap at Boat Bar in Brooklyn.

Appearance: Not really blonde, more like a blondish amber. A nice half-inch head that stuck around halfway down and the lace held up all the way down the glass.

Smell: A nice - but mild, I thought - aroma of citrus hops.

Taste and mouthfeel: Lots of different flavors here: a honeyish sweetness, a powerful hop hit, and a fruity finish. But the flavors meshed beautifully, no one flavor overpowered the others. And this beer was so smooth, rich without tasting syrupy.

Drinkability: Dangerously easy to drink.

Notes: Wow, I think I may have found my ideal session beer, and mere blocks from where I grew up. Makes me eager to try this brewery's other offerings.

Serving type: on-tap

06-19-2006 06:10:40 | More by bklynbeerbaron

EPICAC

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Hazy orange-amber with a thin creamy white head that leaves nice lace.

Smell: Sweet and peppery, with fruitiness and citric hops.

Taste: Mild malts upfront, with a peppery finish with citric hops. Nicely balanced in the finish. bu the malts could be more pronounced upfront.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, slightly oily and a little watery.

Drinkability: Easy to drink with a nice refreshing hoppiness.

Overall: Very drinkable, the only thing holding this beer back is the lack of malt character upfront.

Serving type: on-tap

05-30-2006 04:11:34 | More by EPICAC

ommegangpbr

New York

3.63/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at the Spring Lounge.
If someone just handed me a glass of this and said "so what do you think?" I'd say this is pretty good and pretty drinkable, if a tad bit boring.
I never would have suspected this as being 6.9% strong; very deceptive.
The over all profile reminded me of a not so bitter amber ale, or a decent pale ale. Light and smooth.
Nothing struck me as particularly striking or offensive... well balanced all around... just nothing very special. I may need to try this again given the relatively high praise thus far but I was not wowed.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2006 06:00:59 | More by ommegangpbr

whartontallboy

New York

4.22/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this at a restaurant somewhere in Manhattan.

Came with a thin ring of white cream that held on pretty well and left a nice lace.

Smell is only slightly sweet, with floral hops and toasted grain notes coming through pretty clearly as well.

Flavor is hoppier than I expected, but it's a bitterness that's nicely countered by the fullness of the malt presence. Slightly yeasty, tinged with light fruitiness.

Overall: A very drinkable ale for its ABV, and worth trying.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2006 02:23:12 | More by whartontallboy

Jason

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pint @ Sunset Grill.

A- Pale golden and hazy, good lacing and excellent retention.

S- Spicy twang of hops and yeast, clean but semi-pungent.

T- Rounded bitterness with more has enough hop flavor to go around. Sweet peachy maltiness mixes with a clean herbal bitterness, faint phenols brush against a wavering fruity ester in the finish.

M- Extremely smooth with a moderate body.

D&N- Reminds me a little of De Ranke XX Bitter but better, easy to quaff and the alcohol is a tad hidden IMO ... which is not a bad thing. By far one of my favorite beers ... I'd love to see this more often.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2005 23:56:48 | More by Jason

mntlover

Tennessee

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Want to thank B&G BIF and goodbyeohio who sent me this bottle of a beer that is not normally bottled.

Pours a hazy peach color with a nice creamy loking off white head that does leave some lace. Lots of yeast floating around in this one, nice.

Aroma is fruity and yeasty strawberries coming out on top of melon, orange ect, some buttery flavor . What gives this is a Blonde Ale hell yes.

Taste is good fruity malt good carbonation adds to the flavor notes of diacetyl, they usuing ringwood yeast? But its good and adds to the flavor. Lots of yeast noted in this one good earthy tone enjoyable flavors everywhere. Finishes with some hops and light spice you sure its not a Belgian Pale with ringwood yeast?

Mouthfeel is nice rich around medium but seems bigger, good carbonation aides the flavor.

Drinkability is good enjoyable not true to style but who cares different and good is what matters.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2005 19:04:03 | More by mntlover

kaimcm

California

3.85/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Publik House-cheers Matt!

A hybrid style not easily definable. The dominant character is yeast. Appearance is fine, nice color, a little hard to check out in the dark bar, good head, nice retention. But again, this story is about yeast, supposedly from Westvleteren. Smells like yeast. Trying to pinpoint some specific yeast/bread product, but can not. Tastes like yeast, again, cant put my finger on it. A little dry and a little sweet at the same time. Good mouthfeel, pretty light. Drinkabitlity? Was ready to move on when the glass was empty. Did I mention the yeast? Want to know how important yeast is in a brew? Have this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-27-2005 05:25:12 | More by kaimcm

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Very interesting. Not sure this is exactly an American Blonde Ale. Thought it was more of an amber. I really liked the mouthfeel on this beer. It had some heft and was thick when rolling on the tongue. Nose was malts and juice. Flavor was some nice sticky malts. Very sweet with some apples and pears in there too. Hops were present but a second thought to the malts. Poured a light amber in color without any head.

Serving type: on-tap

09-21-2005 20:47:19 | More by MuddyFeet

GreatPondBrewer

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Quite an interesting beer. According the the menu at Half it is a cross between a pilsner, hefe, and pale ale and I think that is a dead on description. It started out being poured a nice golden yellow beer with a small white head. The smell was quite fruity and a bit juicey in character with just a faint whiff of hops. I was in no way prepared for the taste. It started off with the cleaness of a pilsner with just a slight hint of crisp hops lying underneath. Then therewas a twin assult of pale ale and hefe vying for my tastebud's attention. The hefe came at me with sweet honey like flavorswith just a slight bit of banana and much more sweet berry fruit flavors. The pale had a malty edge with some hops just adding a bit of bite at the end. Was very easy going down after getting over the initial shock of the flavor. Definitely worth the taste if just to see how different a seemingly simple beer can be.

Serving type: on-tap

09-17-2005 02:58:34 | More by GreatPondBrewer

goodbyeohio

Oregon

4.3/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz homebrew-looking bottle "i handbottled all them shits"

first off, a great name for a beer. gimme some sweet action!

a light and clear peachy color with sporadic thin bubblings on the surface. smells oddly like a belgian white despite the classification here (and what are these classifications anyway? restrictions! bah!) aroma reeks of buttery wheat and mild strawberry, perhaps some lemony citrus.. pineapple and alcohol. even comes dangerously close to a belgian tripel. confused, i taste it anyway. wow.. yeasty and wheaty, lots of diacetyl and springy fruit notes. alcohol is no stranger to the mix and erupts with a pronounced presence. belgian influenced thru and thru with lots of flavor.. albeit somewhat muddled and unsure of itself. enjoyable beer and a great treat for summer. drinkability is limited by its potent flavor but one bottle (glass) is just as enjoyable as any of the previously sampled sixpoint offerings

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2005 07:44:42 | More by goodbyeohio

Billolick

New York

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I sampled a pint of this pale brew, from Brooklyn's newest brewery, after work at the Collins bar in the city. It pours a typical yellowish amber , slight haze and lifts a white puffy and loose head. This one leaves better then average, scattered and light lacing. Nice. Malty nose. Medium bodied, dry and crisp ale. I picked up a note of rye in this pleasant sessioner. More quality/quaffable brew from sixpoint.

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2005 03:26:53 | More by Billolick

TheGipper

New York

4.13/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was my first taste of the newest brewery in Brooklyn. Sweet Action is a hearty blonde ale with a golden maltiness that is full but not overwhelming, along with a sturdy body. The finish leans toward sweetness, but only for a moment, preceeded by shades of fruit and dabs of crispness. This murky gilded ale is as pleasant to look at in the glass as it is to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2005 19:37:07 | More by TheGipper