ACME California Pale Ale - North Coast Brewing Co.

StevieW

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +30.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Clear copperish to brown color. A very impressive foamy beige head, falls over the edge of the glass and settles very slowly. Nice balanced smell of a west coast hop variety,and malty biscuit bite. Taste was balanced, and very good. Big malty biscuit taste, matched with a slow bitter hop taste transition. Sublte finish, great balanced taste lingers on your taste buds. Medium bodied, very good rendition of an American Pale Ale. Love the name, and label. If you see it, and are not sure, buy it, you won't be dissapointed.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2002 14:24:09 | More by StevieW

thekanna

Maryland

4.45/5  rDev +29%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a gorgeous orange-gold with what looks like a pretty hefty body and 2 fingers of thick, white froth at the top; this leaves patchy lacing down the side.

S: Fresh; A bit of sourness with hints of peaches and oranges.

T/M: Effervescence tingles the palate to begin with, followed by an slightly slick, juicy body with notes of apricot and citrus. Effervescence tingles the tongue at the end, with an aftertaste of subdued herbal, hop bitterness.

D: Incredibly drinkable and enjoyable. Would work as a fantastic session beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 05:21:59 | More by thekanna

BeerManDan

California

4.4/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Deep golden in color. The there is a strong smell of hops with a slight hint of barley. This beer is clean tasting and well balanced in it hops and barley. Avery smooth and pleasant after taste. Another great beer from North Coast!

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2002 06:14:51 | More by BeerManDan

DarthMalt

Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +25.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Why, this is just a lovely beer!

I was expecting (actually looking forward to, in a voyeuristic sort of way lately) to getting knocked on my ass with the typical 1-2 hop-punch of what is found in many APAs, but instead, what I found is this sweet little beer (with the buxom beer wench on the cover) just wanting to be loved.

There is all this sort of honey/malty/caramely aroma and flavor about this beer, but it comes completely devoid of any of the cloying aspects of those sickening-sweet characteristics, and instead displays with a very stout and manly balance of hops and malt and water profile.

It is reserved like a good bitter or English ale, but it is distincly not of those genres. It takes what is best of those styles, and incorporates them into this seriously ssssssscrumptious quaffing machine that makes me want to dye my hair blonde and buy a surfboard.

.
.
.
dude!

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2002 18:16:04 | More by DarthMalt

enfield249

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +25.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Mid amber color. 1 finger of head when poured, no lacing.

S - When I first opened the bottle I had a strong fruity smell. Apples a little, or pears. I don't taste any of that in the beer however.

T - Really good taste. Crisp, clean, not overly hoppy. Nice amount of carbonation, just enough that you know it's there but not to much to make it sharp.

M - Sharp, not too much body, a good mix of "light" and dark"

D - Very drinkable. Good flavor, great looks. I very much enjoyed this beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2007 00:44:21 | More by enfield249

teejay76

Utah

4.33/5  rDev +25.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a cloudy copper color with a fluffy off-white head that rapidly dissipated.

Smell: Wonderful malty citrus aroma

Taste: Delicious! Tastes how it smells with great aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Great balance between hops and carbonation.

Drinkability: I really like this beer. It will definitely enter the rotation.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2009 03:37:37 | More by teejay76

DV8HARD

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +25.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I served a bottle into a Pilsener glass. The head was frothy and large with a hint of amber. The most prominant smell is that of honey.

The appearance is cloudy and an amber color.

I'm very impressed with the taste. It's clean, which I like. I can taste honey, hops, and an above average alcohol taste. It's not very carbonated.

I would recommend this beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 01:04:33 | More by DV8HARD

RedwoodGeorge

California

4.25/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

North Coast Brewing's "Acme California Pale Ale" was an unexpected surprise; more like an amber ale than a typical PA it's certainly a beer I want to revisit.

The pour was rather typical, slightly cloudy and a dark orange-amber color. The head was a bit on the thin side and it disappeared quickly.

The smell was quite inviting - lots of fruit and malt notes with only the slightest hint of grassy hops. Taste was even more of a surprise; this was a rather sweet Pale Ale with some very strong fruit notes of apricot, peaches and raisins. Overall well balanced and quite complex with enough of a dry hop finish to keep you coming back for more.

As is often the sign of a new brew that I'm trying for the first time, if my reaction is "I need to get back to the store to get more of these!" then it rates high on drinkability. While I might be tempted to deduct points for deviating from the style (this is much more like a typical Northern California Amber Ale) it's just so tasty that I'm going to let it slide...

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2004 20:16:32 | More by RedwoodGeorge

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Pours a hazy, orangey-copper body with a full, bubbly white head.

Smell: Pleasant aroma of toasted grains, caramel, biscuits, and some light citrus.

Taste: Sweet, smooth caramel malts with a bit of toasted grains. Hops are fairly light and provide a bit of citrus as well as some floral notes. Ends with a softened finish that's both lightly sweet and bitter.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Mild carbonation.

Drinkability: A nice, light APA. I can drink this all day along (and do).

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2007 03:21:03 | More by ChainGangGuy

chocosushi

Oklahoma

4.22/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Revisiting this one.

12oz->Hoegaarden Hexagon-style

A ~ Pours a toffee/honey color. Moderate lacing with some retention.

S ~ Pale malt, Caramel malt, medley of citrus & berry

T ~ Significant amount of complex & doughy malt flavors. Breadstick, dinner roll, crusty bread come to mind. Honeysuckle mid-palette. The hops lend a grassy yet spicy quality, finishing with pleasant graham cracker-like malt. No bottle date, but I believe this one is very fresh.

M ~ Really good flavor for a lower-abv Pale. Very toasty. This is the kind of Pale I would buy again & again for it's classic flavor & low-abv. I'm loving the finish.

D ~ At 5% this is easily drinkable after a hard day of work. Definitely seek out. I've been on a Pale-kick & this one shines out many others (besides the Schlafly). Complex yet simplistic.
It's a joy that it is Northcoast.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2011 22:51:05 | More by chocosushi

twelvsies

Maine

4.15/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a pale orange amber, actively bubbling and a smooth finger of head. Great representation of grains in the nose - lightly sweet and toasty malt, doughey, milk and honey, and a faint hint of herbal tea hops. Really inviting. Nice malt profile to this one - lots of flavor coming through, grainy and fresh, warm biscuit, cream soda, subtle but tasty. Very restrained on the hops, interesting. Excellent, smooth soft and creamy on the palate and the winning bright malt profile here make this beer a real session beer and quite the nice change from the normally hoppy west coast pale.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2010 18:53:21 | More by twelvsies

oelergud

Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Golden copper transparent body, low carbonation, big fluffy white head of tiny to large bubbles, great retention and clumpy lace.
Light scent of bread and mild hay, just abit of honey.
Nice and relaxed malts just gliding along with hops scattered here and there. Good balance. An aftertaste so mild and gentle it's barely there.
Nice mouthfeel, full yet light, abit of coating.
Perfect summer session brew, mild but still with enough flavor and low abv.

-Oelergud

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2007 22:36:34 | More by oelergud

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.13/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Acme Pale Ale has a medium, off-white head and a cloudy, orange-golden appearance. Lacing is decent. The aroma is of citrus and wood, with a sharp sweetness to it. Taste is a fine balance of barley, spicy hops, and other subdued flavors. Mouth-feel is surprisingly light and watery. Acme Pale Ale finishes refreshing. This was quite enjoyable to drink. Another winner from North Coast Brewing Company.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2010 23:56:27 | More by RonaldTheriot

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.1/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours with a fantastic, lovely looking deep white head, the consistency reminds of a deep bubble bath covering. The head settles to about ½” - ¼” eventually, but it still looks great set atop the light almost clear golden body of the beer, for it has a very feint milky haze. Tilting my beer glass to 45 degrees and quickly returning it to its upright position, a cloudy myriad of small bubbles quickly rush to rejoin the underside of the head, this is a sign of good carbonation and hence fresh Cask beer in the UK. This is a bottled beer though, but it still goes to show high inherent carbonation nevertheless. This contributes to the beers mouthfeel and gives a lively mouth tingling experience as you down this beer. And it is “downed”, very quickly as it happens.
Aromas are quite malty, the initial taste is of sweet pale malt, the middle has some mild honey sweetness, and the finish slowly fades away with a mild bitterness and some biscuit residues. A highly drinkable, easy going, very smooth, clean and crisp tasting beer.
Not the usual American Pale Ale, in fact as some other US reviewers have stated, and as an Englishman I will reiterate it - this is very English in character for a Pale Ale.
That said, regardless of style conformity – which I ignore, this is a highly quaffable, reasonably priced beer nonetheless. Good stuff.
Oh, and I am in deeply in love with the “Woman in Red” on the label. LOL.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2003 20:27:10 | More by TheLongBeachBum

Zorro

California

4.1/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark gold almost orange clear beer.

Smell is very malty with a nice dry hay and tea aroma from the hops.

Taste is quite nice, a bit complex malt and caramelized sugar flavor. It's not as sweet as it sounds in the first sentence. Grain tastes like biscuit are here too. Very tasty brew.

Mouthfeel is very good.

Super drinkable brew. Tasty and has no over the top dimension, a good beer to lure Budweiser fans with.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2004 03:53:58 | More by Zorro

mempath

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

different (later?) label on the bottle (black with the same trapeze femme...)

nice foamy head with excellent lacing...light amber/red look

very malty, barely hoppy smell...same for the taste...though wanting the hop punch in the face, loving the maltiness today. my second favorite beer flavor component.

very similar to (am i repeating myself today?) anchor steam and yuengling lager...

a quite drinkable, fairly distinctive brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2009 00:50:39 | More by mempath

NODAK

Tennessee

4.08/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The aroma here is quite malty and creamy...some caramel there...certainly a bit sweet. Surprising for style.

For an APA, this is pretty unique. There isn't much of a hop profile on this one at all. In fact, it reminds me more of an English Pale Ale. Taste is a malty combination of some caramel with a bit of biscuit...a good deal of creaminess. Tastes a lot like some red ales I've had. Finishes very clean, with basically nothing lingering on the palate.

This beer is light in body, and somewhat light on taste, but is very drinkable because the flavors present are tasty. I can imagine some people may wonder what the heck hoppened to any semblence of hoppiness here, and I wouldn't blame them, but I am just fine with it.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2010 01:08:49 | More by NODAK

sacfly

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Lightly cloudy, dark golden color. Head dissipates rapidly. Malty, faintly sweet smell. Light, slightly bitter flavor. No malt to speak of. Clean finish.

Nothing special, but a nice, pleasant, easy drinking brew. If you are looking for complexity, you will not find it here. But a refreshing brew to drink while cutting the grass on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2004 15:19:59 | More by sacfly

putnam

Michigan

4.05/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This label, like the other two Acmes in my posession, bears an image of a redhead exhuberantly swinging on a rope with a full glass of beer in her free hand.
This is the first time I've seen this brand, though have been curious since learning of its existence on the North Coast Brewery's website.

Pale for a Pale, though high-chroma orange colors draw attention to its radiant clarity. The aromas are bronzed, glazed orange blossoms underlain with sticky, sour fruit sugars and spices. Analog aroma pairing: buttermilk squash fritters, touched with nutmeg.
I served 1/2 of this beer quite warm and let it sit for 30 minutes before drinking. I expected a sugary mess yet that has not been the case. Its texture is silky and aethletic. Sooty tannins and light body effect a bright, cleansing mood : pleasant, even if a bit like scouring powder. The fruit is jellied lemon and purple grapes -- mashed seeds and all. Sweet pastries and butterscotch nourish the fruit.
Cold, and the bite is tougher. It's kind of a rustic he-man beer now, nice and dry for drinking in the desert. A steely fizz squeaks tunefully now. It's finished now.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2004 22:30:10 | More by putnam

nighthawk

Nova Scotia (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle with no freshness date, poured into mug.

Appearance: Bright, clear straw body turning to gold in the middle, with a good-sized white head that leaves some lacing as it settles. Good retention.

Aroma: Mild honey and caramel backbone with a nice overlay of floral hops.

Taste: Fairly sweet honey and biscuit with a nice mix of floral, citrus and spicy hops. Light bittersweetness on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, clean, and light in the mouth. Carbonation is perfectly light.

Drinkability: Tasty and refreshing. Goes down quite nicely. A bit pricy in my neck of the woods, but would definitely recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2009 18:58:46 | More by nighthawk

Mark

California

4.03/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A good solid, smooth ale from North Coast. Like a another reviewer said, it has an English feel to it. That makes it allright in my book as Englsh Ale is tops. I liked the mellow bitterness and smooth taste. Good head retention and my glass was sheeted in lace, a good ale all around. I feel this is an excellent beer to start someone out on the road to becoming an advocate. It's smooth taste and subtle hopping will not put off newbies or swill lovers.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2002 21:47:58 | More by Mark

BCMan

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Beer is deep honey in color. White, frothy head that faded fast. Mild hop nose with hints of citrus. Light and refreshing flavor with mild hints of hop. Taste doesn't linger. Very wet on the palet, mouth watering. I think this beer was very good...perhaps one of the best I've had. I would definetly recomend it.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2005 01:31:18 | More by BCMan

ctdfalconer

California

4.03/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I was pleasantly surprised byt his beer. I was expecting the usual west coast pale ale Sierra Nevada clone, but this was only similar in color (a tad darker) and not much else. It did not have the overt, assertive hop character that one generally comes to expect in west coast pales, but rather it was a very malt--oriented brew. I quite enjoyed the lightly toasty-bready character that dominated the palate. It carries just enough hoppiness to dry out the finish so it doesn't remain cloying. If I lived near this brewery, I would seek out and frequent tap houses that carried it.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2005 04:37:56 | More by ctdfalconer

henrysunset

Washington

4.03/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

clear, visibly carbonated yellow beer with white head. pretty unspectacular.

sweet and florally hoppy. "crisp", bit of citrus; oranges.

taste is sweet and citrusy. clean, very mild citrus and malt finish. very nice. sweeter and less hoppy than most pale's i've had lately.

smooth enough for a 4.5 mouthfeel. exceptionally drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2007 03:39:27 | More by henrysunset

Offa

California

4.03/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This is a pretty good, refreshing, light beer, but it seems to me more like a pilsner or pale lager than typical American pal ale.

It is light, golden amber with a medium off-white head steadily shrinking to a thin top and no real lace.

The aroma is bread, honey, apples, like a good pale lager.

The taste is very mild with light bread, apple, grass, honey and lemon, with a mineral hint. It's light, crisp, easy to drink, and goes well with food. It has a light honey sweetness and a very light bready-hoppy finish kind of like a Czech lager.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2008 18:24:05 | More by Offa