Holyoke Dam Ale - Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Paper City- Holyoke Dam Ale

A- Light amber reddish copper with a small filmy head.
S- Sweet grains, brown sugar, and caramel. Light cooked vege and a slight earthy twang.
T- Sweet caramel and brown sugar malt with a wet earthy hop flavor.
M- Sweet malt with a tangy hop feel and finish.

Overall- Not impressed with this 1 from the bottle. I recall this was better on tap when I was in Holyoke for the Ct. River Beerfest.
Just doesn't seem like a Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2010 13:19:41 | More by NJpadreFan

blknikon

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -42.7%

05-07-2013 23:30:22 | More by blknikon

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -14%

05-05-2013 22:50:49 | More by ejimhof

Duhast500

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -6.9%

04-14-2013 04:17:58 | More by Duhast500

Ecxeeder616

3.75/5  rDev +7.4%

01-08-2013 20:55:09 | More by Ecxeeder616

sendbeer

Georgia

2.5/5  rDev -28.4%

12-09-2012 19:29:10 | More by sendbeer

ms11781

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -21.2%

07-13-2012 00:16:52 | More by ms11781

horshack7

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Copper to dark amber with a white frothy head and inch thick.

Aroma: Wisps of grape, honey, light citrus hop, grainy malt.

Taste: Grapefruit notes in the begining and some piney bits as well. Hop bite on the palate. Caramel malts with good bready texture with some sweetness in the end.

Notes: Good drinking beer start to finish. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2012 02:49:08 | More by horshack7

s35keith

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -21.2%

04-24-2012 02:34:14 | More by s35keith

Gregwa

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -6.9%

03-31-2012 15:49:35 | More by Gregwa

B967ierhunter177

Pennsylvania

1.13/5  rDev -67.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Pours a brilliant copper color with a huge head. It's aroma starts malty with a hint of citrus. The taste is semi-malty but other wise just plain bad. Maybe a bit medicinal but very stale tasting. The mouthfeel is light. Paper City Holyoke Dam Ale is a bad beer, not recommended!

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 01:16:20 | More by B967ierhunter177

iohann

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -14%

02-28-2012 06:27:54 | More by iohann

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +14.6%

12-05-2011 02:10:50 | More by tclapper

PDXHops

South Carolina

2.68/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

On tap in a shaker pint. See-thru copperish amber with a modest head and a bit of scattered lacing. Mild citric and pine among sweet and nutty malt aromas. Decent little punch of bitterness, but the hop flavors are modest at best, and are no match for the toasty and somewhat nutty malt profile. Blind tasting, I'd have guessed ESB or maybe brown ale. A hint of cardboard suggests possible oxidation, but it's not really enough to affect my overall opinion, which is that this a slightly below average pale ale.

Serving type: on-tap

08-27-2011 14:00:47 | More by PDXHops

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Holyoke Dam Ale smells, on the one hand, quite hoppy, with lovely grapefruit and citrus aromas drifting from the bottle, and on the other hand, like a good, nutty brown ale, replete with caramelized brown sugars, apricots, oranges, and figs.

On the tongue, the brew begins with a hard and fast shot of hoppy bitterness, which is quickly matched in intensity by the sugars present in the malts, which add the orange, apricot, and caramelized brown sugar flavors noted in the aroma. The sugars combat the hops for some time, but when they eventually peel back, they reveal not the expected layer of bitter hops, but a huge, malty nuttiness, akin to toasted pecans, that dominates the last third of the mouthful, and continues to peck at the tastebuds long into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is medium-light, and carbonation is medium to medium-heavy.

Overall, this is an excellent brew, and well worth trying; Paper City is quickly becoming one of my top-rated Massachusetts-area microbreweries.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 03:11:54 | More by jondeelee

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap 6/17/2011 at Yard House in Dedham, MA, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains caramelized malts, citrus and some hops.

T: The taste starts out bready with a hearty malt character followed by a decent earthy hops bitterness. There is some mild caramel and citrus sweetness but not much balance. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it isn’t too bad but it’s not the first beer I would pick in the style.

Serving type: on-tap

06-18-2011 16:31:45 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.68/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer poured out as a rich amber color with a yellowish colored head on it. The head last for a minute or so till it melted down to just a little ring around the glass. The aroma was a little sweet with some hops in the background. The taste was pretty typical of the style is had a subtle sweetness that finished up with a hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2011 00:40:44 | More by Knapp85

Brad007

Vermont

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

First example from this brewery that I've had.

Pours a mild amber color with a two-finger head into my glass. It fades quickly.

Aroma is a mix of sweet, "gummy" malt with only an inkling of hop presence.

Taste echoes the aroma with a decent emphasis on the malt (where it should be). Sweet, chewy and buttery.

Ditto on the mouthfeel. All of these flavors mingle/linger at the back of the throat.

Basic and delicious. You can't really go wrong. I would have preferred slightly more hops but otherwise, a solid offering.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2011 23:02:26 | More by Brad007

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Daddy's in Hull.
It pours a deep ruby-hued amber (too dark for the style) with a fast-fading off-white head. Some sticky and trailing lacing.
The smell is for the most part, malt driven. Whiffs of dry grain and damp basement stand out. A light smell of prunes and citrus are in the background.
Flavors of sweet caramel malt and dextrose are upfront. Citrusy and tea-like hop bitterness are hidden under the layers of malt.
The style of this brew more closely resembles a mild Scottish Ale. In fact, with a little boost in abv, it would be a very nice Scottish ale.
This is a very drinkable brew. Just a bit off the mark if this is to be classified as an APA.

Serving type: on-tap

09-01-2010 13:15:19 | More by BeerResearcher

jbertsch

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I enjoyed this one. I'm a fan of a solid amber and like using it as an all-around beer - and this one delivers.

Poured into a normal pint glass, it's solid dark amber in color with a red hue. The head is slightly off white and fairly frothy. Lacing was average.

Sweet malts and a little spicy hopiness come through on the nose. I get the sense of autumn (which I half expect with this style).

The sweet malt definitely comes through in the taste with brown sugar notes. I also get a bit of banana and leafy tea-spice which was unexpected. I think noticed some cherry esters as well.

Mouthfeel was smooth with a body between medium and bold/medium, as it should have. And drinkability was just great given that I was drinking this on a hot day and, even though this has some body to it, it was still thirst quenching. Bravo.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2010 03:01:50 | More by jbertsch

badenglishihave

Massachusetts

2.65/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Murky red-brown. Not very appealing but it does have a slight amber look and I'm a fan of that. Head is slightly off white, moderate retention and minimal lacing.
S: Meh. Citrus, fruit. Didn't make me want to taste it.
T: Not a very flavorful beer, slightly fruity with a strange aftertaste (as was noted in another review)
M: Good feel but not anything spectacular. Normal for an amber beer of this type.
D: I feel like I could put back a few of these fairly easily.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2009 23:23:10 | More by badenglishihave

zeff80

Missouri

2.9/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Poured out a cloudy, dark copper color with a tan, one-finger head of foam. It left minimal lacing.

S - It smelled of citrus, biscuity malt and grasses.

T - It tasted very malty sweet and grassy. There was an odd hop bitterness that was not appealing.

M - It was relatively crisp and somewhat soft. A light to medium-bodied ale.

D - An okay ale, but it didn't taste like a pale ale. It just tasted like a malty ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2009 01:51:31 | More by zeff80

Ranbot

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into glass. Nice amber color with a slight haze. A small ring of sediment was left at the bottom of the bottle. Approximately 3/4 inch of foam that settled into a thin layer after a couple minutes. Some slight lacing. Taste is very malty - biscuit, slightly nutty. Malt flavors are quickly followed by a mild to average crisp hop bitterness. I think the hops have a slight piney flavor, but nothing in the hops really stand out against the malts. Good carbonation.

I would describe the Holyoke Dam Ale as a mild pale ale or hoppier amber ale. It's tasty and drinkable, but it's not going to be turning any heads either. It's probably the best offering in the mix case that I picked up on my recent trip to Boston. I don't see Paper City near me regularly, but if this was brewed in my local area, I would probably buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2009 22:40:31 | More by Ranbot

albern

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is one of the better offerings from Paper City brewery, since most of my other reviews of their selections were in the C range. The beer pours a nice coppery brown color with not much head, lacing, or retention. The nose on the beer isn't particularly pronounced, but there are you typical caramel and crystal malts, some vague florals emerge when things settle, and there is just faint hop or two that are difficult to pin down. There is a slightly musty smell to the beer as well.

The taste isn't overly complex, but it is a nice beer. There are some biscuity malts, lots of caramel and crystal malts flavors, there are some bittering leafy type hops to balance things out a bit. The beer isn't particularly carbonated, and it does have that vague cola syrup taste, albeit with some hops in the finish. This is a nice malty beer, probably more of an amber than an APA with its touch of roasted and smoky qualities, but it is a decent beer nevertheless.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 18:18:04 | More by albern

marlinsfan4

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I agree with a previous who says that this is definitely more of an amber than a pale ale.. not hoppy enough for a pale ale. Pours a reddish orange color, nice consistent head all the way down with some moderate lacing. Light body to to it and decent mouthfeel, taste is of light malts and I get a nice cherry taste to it. Didn't really expect it but it really adds some nice flavor to the beer. Nothing great, much better than the Radler Brau Ive had from this brewery.. nice, drinkable brewski.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 21:43:47 | More by marlinsfan4