Flat Earth Belgian-Style Pale Ale - Flat Earth Brewing Company

Monkeyknife

Missouri

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

Wow, this beer was a gusher. The bottle foamed at the top even with half of it's contents poured into a glass.

Anyway...poured into a glass a slightly hazy tea color with a frothy beige head.

Aroma of sweet malts, Belgian yeast, flowers, spices, and something slightly medicinal.

The taste has a bitter hoppiness upfront followed by dark ripe fruit, caramel, toasted malts and yeast. Finish lingers with a cocoa tinge.

Medium bodied, dry and chewy, and considerably carbonated.

A pretty good Belgian Pale from Flat Earth. Not one of my favorites but enjoyed and worthy of the experience.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2008 23:08:55 | More by Monkeyknife

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Got this one from FeloniousMonk, cheers Al!

Poured a little foamy, but no beer was wasted!Pours an effervescent orange/caramel with 2+ fingers of cream colored head. A bot of floaties, at the bottom of the bottle, good head retention & lacing

S: Orchard fruits, a bit of phenolic must

T: Grapefruitty hops hit the roof of the mouth along with apple peels & along with cloves, & white pepper up front. Pears, a touch of lemony hops, dryness as this warms. finishes crisp, with apple peels, a touch of grapefruit & fairly dry

MF: Medium bodied, crisp, great balance, nice fruittyness

Drinks pretty darn easy, a nice low end of the ABV spectrum Belgian PA

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 23:48:06 | More by russpowell

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

2.68/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - pours similar to the previously sampled 115 but without as much foam. A light orange amber color, the head is a light beige and laces spotty trails around the glass.

Aroma - a light fruitiness but again, there is a sour acridness to go with. Not as strong as the 115.

Taste - lightly floral and fruity, turning rapidly bitter with grapefruit rind. A sharp and severe flavor at the back, I'm not convinced that is the intent. Almost undrinkable at the outset here. Definitely a beer with promise but I'm thinking this may be slightly off as well.

Mouthfeel - explodes in the mouth with carbonation, yet maintaining a noteworthy smoothness afterwards. The body is sturdy but not overly big.

Drinkability - I ended up getting through this and even partially enjoying it despite the defects. Thanks again to Ben for the bottle. I haven't kept up with the QA situation at Flat Earth other than knowing there were issues. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try this again.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2008 21:22:00 | More by brewdlyhooked13

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a hazy copper/ orange-ish color with a light tan head. In the aroma, big fruitiness, cherry and raisons. In the taste, cherry, dark fruit, primarily raison, and a toasty malt. A smooth and medium mouthfeel, with a dry, dark fruit, cherry aftertaste. Big fruit presence, nice session ale. I liked it alot.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2008 14:11:05 | More by OWSLEY069

lightindarkness

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle with a picture of a dog holding a waffle on the label.

A hard pour reveals a smooth full body with swirling carbonation slowly rising to the surface. Not highly carbonated by any stretch, with only a briefly appearing elusive head that leaves traces of bubbles on the surface. The beer itself is nicely colored, with a deep caramel somewhere between amber and copper.

Smell has hints of belgian yeast, a little light fruit estery sweetness and very faint background funk, with lots of grainy bready notes in the middle. I was not at first overly impressed with the nose on this, but as it sits it seems to become a little more complex.

Taste has a lot of dry grainy notes, with an overtone of bitterness throughout. A little biscuity, with some dry spicy toast toward the finish. Bitterness swells at the end and has a lightly burnt flavor to it.

Feel is of a fuller medium consistency, with some carbonation notable on the tongue, but not too much to speak of overall. A bit of a mouthcoating film hangs around for a while after the swallow, but doesn't do much to enhance this one.

An overall decent beer. It's easy to drink, but lacks a lot of appeal to drink more. Could be an okay session beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2008 20:50:20 | More by lightindarkness

TurdFurgison

Ohio

2.33/5  rDev -38%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I see that previous reviewers liked this beer, I guess I'm gonna cut my own path. This beer was awful. It pains me to say it, because last night I had Angry Planet and it was sublime. This stuff, however, is a different plotline. Every measure I employed came up with substandard to average scores. The beer appeared to be undercarbonated, very little fizz and absolutely no head over the clear copper colored liquid. The aroma doesn't seem BPA at all, maybe ESB or English bitter, I really couldn't tell. It was toasted malts mostly, a little burnt too. The taste was the same, with a bitterness in the aftertaste which I found unapealling. Difficult to drink, I just did not like it.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2008 23:34:06 | More by TurdFurgison

shroompod

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy orange, small head , no lacing.

Aroma is almost absent, maybe some slight caramel sweetness.

I pretty good balance of fruitiness with a small amount of bittering hops.

Mouthfeel is thin , a little under-carbonated.

Overall a pretty easy drinking brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2008 00:50:24 | More by shroompod

tpd975

Florida

3.65/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Cigar City Brew for this one.

A: Pours a murky golden hue with a huge thunderous bubbling head. The retention is almost too much as it takes forever for the head to die down enough to drink it.

S: Light malt aromas with some sweet fruit and a hint of spice.

T: Same as aroma with hints of orange hops in the finish.

M: Nice bold carbonation.

D: Not bad much better than the other Flat Earth beer I have tried.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2008 12:08:49 | More by tpd975

marcpal

New Jersey

3.1/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottled poured into oversized DFH wine glass.

A: Amber colored pour with a substantial cloudy white head. Darker than I had expected.

N: Dried fruits- cranberries and raisins. Funky citrus and orange peel. Belgian yeast.

T: Didnt catch any of the hops up front but was hit with the caramel malts, the dried fruits over and over. Some banana and some belgian candy as it warmed. Seemed somewhat 'off'.

M: Considerably chewy from the yeast laden body. Thickened some as it warmed.

D: Not overly drinkable, had a tough time working through the bomber. Interested in trying FE's other offerings but this wanted didnt hit the mark.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2008 15:12:28 | More by marcpal

Larrytown

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It pours a deep golden-orange with a decent head and lots of lacing. There appear to be some hops on the nose, but not much else.

We've got some sweetness here, but it's really nicely offset by the presence of hops. Supremely balanced and pleasant. It feels crisp on the tongue, but also rich. I could definitely have one or two, but then might have to move on. Nice stuff.

Serving type: on-tap

06-21-2008 22:37:16 | More by Larrytown

maximum12

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Great name for a brewery & since it's in my hometown, one I want to support!

Opened this Pale Ale since it's been sitting, unexploded, in my fridge for a couple of months, & figured I could release some tension amongst the beers by removing it. Sure enough I heard a sigh of relief (I swear!) as the fridge door swung closed.

Pretty clear yellow for a Belgian with almost no evident carbonation. Smell is flowery & light & makes me think this'll be a good sipper when the roses start to bloom in the back yard. Yes, I have roses. And yes, they've gone back into their wild state.

Tasty beer. Not oh-my-god tasty, but it has that candied Belgian sweetness to it, along with a surprising stroke of malt on the back of the tongue.

As visually noted, there's almost no carbonation. How could something that flat go C4 on you? A smooth & easy drinker, with no discerbable alcohol kick. Nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2008 03:00:19 | More by maximum12

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bomber opened carefully and poured gently into my Duvel tulip. After the talk of bottle bombs, i was a little apprehensive

A: Orange with a frothy 4-finger thick off-white head. Tons of carbonation

S: Mildly fruity with peaches and persimmon with a mild sugary sweetness. Hint of spice. Light and appealing on this 80+degree day.

T: Light fruitiness with a faint hint of spice - pepper? Notes of lightly toasted malts are present too. The finish is spicy and dry

M: Very well carbonated and a pleasant finish

D: This is going down very easy. Thanks to wankerweasel for the chance to try this!

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2008 17:52:32 | More by DefenCorps

nrbw23

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Pours a copper color with a ton of bubbles streaming up to the top. A huge white colored head that had good retention and left spotty lacing. Looks pretty good.

S- Yeasty, spicey and fruity.

T- Bready, with a nice fruity taste (maybe like cherries) and then finishes off with a nice spice note at the end.

M- A little dry. Overall light to medium in body.

D- Not bad at all. Pretty easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2008 16:48:41 | More by nrbw23

demcorhip

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A good brew, looks nice too, although this is the first time i ever deducted marks for too much head! Quite finely and vigorously carbonated, multiple pours required to get 22oz into my 30oz mug. First time that ever happened. Hazy coppery amber body capped by an insanely huge chunky off white head that just wants to stick around. Big sticky clumps of lace that also just want to stick around.

Hints of cherry and clove accentuate a solid malt body with bready notes as well as toasted biscuit character. Slightly cheesy finkiness also present, along with a kiss of lemon and herbal hops.

An interesting brew. Nuances of cherry and toffee accentuate the dry malt backbone made up of mostly toasted biscuit flavour. Slightly vinous in character. Mildly funky and phenolic yeastiness with the touch of clove is replaced by the clean, mild hops with their essence of lemon and green herbs, as well as a mild floral character.

Light bodied and insanely effervescent, with an almost pronounced fruity character. Also surprisingly dry, and somewhat powdery or even chalky in feel.

Quite complex for something so light bodied, and quite tasty. Almost session fare, although in this brew's case the complexity limits the drinkablility more than the ABV. Only criticism would be to tone down the carbonation and to clean up the funk slightly. Definitely worth trying, and will be drinking this one again soon.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2008 20:46:52 | More by demcorhip

KeefD

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bought a few of these 22oz bottles tonight. And for good reason. It's great beer!

This is not the first time I've had this offering, but it finally deserves a review.

Pours a very dark amber color with a generous, rocky, off-white, three-finger head into a snifter. Lacing is everywhere down the glass. Smells slightly fruity, with apples, and spice, malty sweetness. Taste is very much the same. Citrusy, spicy, a bit of hop bitterness in the background. Nice balance of malts and hops and a fantastic yeast strain that imparts the same flavors of many Belgians. Mouthfeel is light and crisp, nice amount of carbonation that tingles the tongue and leaves you wanting more.

This is a great offering from a Micro that's only been around for a year or so. Flat Earth is a wonderful up-and-comer in the world of craft beers and a great asset to the world of brews here in Minnesota.

Edit 8-11-08: Had this one again, and I must say that I enjoyed this brew much more when there was the whole refermentation problem going on (i.e. exploding bottles). This re-released version is a bit undercarbonated, a bit thin on the flavor and body, and just not as good. I'll keep the same scores, as I did really like this beer the first 3 times I had it.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2008 00:30:33 | More by KeefD

shadow1961

Minnesota

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Flat Earth Brewing's Belgian-Style Pale Ale pours a finger of
foam over a slightly cloudy copper colored brew. The nose is
slightly fruity with crisp herbal Noble hops. The flavor is delicate-
barley malt, grain, with mild fruity notes and those herbal hops for
balance. Actually, that flavor reminds me a lot of Saison Dupont-
drinking this puts me in mind of summer and meadows. A very
nice take on a Belgian style, and at a modest 5.2% alcohol by
volume, sessionable as well. Luckily, I picked this one up just
before Flat Earth had their bottle recall- hopefully this doesn't
spook my local liquor store and it'll be back in stock...

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2008 06:12:16 | More by shadow1961

Deuane

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-Light copper with a medium white head with good retention and decent lacing.

S-Light teases of apricot and citrusy hops. Nothing stands out but melds nicely.

T-Good Belgian yeast zing of sweet fruit giving in the a pleasant bitter hop bite in the finish.

M-Medium-light body with good zip from the carbonation.

D-Easy to drink, period. A nice twist to the "typical" pale ale...props to Flat Earth for establishing something a bit different as their flagship. A solid brew I wouldnt mind having as my fall back beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2008 08:15:19 | More by Deuane

DarkerTheBetter

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This beer pours a crisp clear copper with a thin random film of head.

Smells of nectarines and wheat bread with a rich creamy dinner roll and white flour. Sharp zips of CO2 bring out a latent sting of pineapple.

Tastes of sweet and creamy bread dolls and a sharp adn clean ambiguous fruitiness along with a slight under-ripe apple and fig. This is backed up by a crisp snap of green pepper corn and rounds off with a thin creamy hefe yeast.

Feels glassy clean with a hidden carbonation that sneaks out, complimenting the pepperiness of the flavor. This is however just a little bit sticky.

Well done! An easy to handle and refreshing brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2008 01:17:42 | More by DarkerTheBetter

Greggy

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: Poured from the 22oz bomber into a pint glass. A nice color with a 2 fingerhead.

Smell: A little toasted malt smell, light hops

Taste: A was a little let down with this one. The taste seemed a bit austere. Some hops came through as well as a bit of toasted malt but there just wasn't a lot of body

Mouthfeel: A nice finish but nothing to wild

Drinkability: This might be good once in a while but it isn't a staple in my book.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2008 18:31:03 | More by Greggy

Tolann

Colorado

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Very copper/orange in color. White head. Clear, not hazy

S- Floral scent that is there, but doesn't smack you in the face. Some sweet, not too sweet.

T- Malty with bitterness. Sweet too and not piney hops.

M- Medium-light mouth feel. Smooth and not too carbonated. Taste doesn't stick to you with an after taste. No boozy taste.

D- Very drinkable, but not my first choice. This style is not my normal type to drink, but it's still a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2008 00:38:41 | More by Tolann

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A well carbonated beer, a careful pour fills up my glass with four-fingers of light tan colored froth. The beer is a brilliantly clear, copper color. The head leaves quite a bit of lacing on the sides of my glass and even forms a rocky surface as it slowly recedes. The aroma is hoppy and spicy with notes of clove, lemon zest, a touch of ginger, some pepper-like notes. This finishes with a solid malt character reminiscent of toasted grain, biscuit like malt notes, dry soda cracker aromas and perhaps a bit of caramelized malt up front that accents the sweeter spice notes. The aroma is definitely dominated by the spicy yeast character and it is quite nice.

Still well carbonated as the beer completely foams up as it hits my tongue. The carbonation combines with some of the hop notes to give this a flavor of something like lemon pepper. Light and easy drinking, especially if you swirl out the excess carbonation. Lightly tart notes definite accent a lemon zest sort of flavor, but also induces fruity hints of pears, tart apples and a plum note that becomes more noticeable as the beer warms up. This is fairly dry, though there is a touch of caramelized malt sugars towards the middle that provide a touch of raisins. This finishes bone dry with a nice bitterness and peppery yeast character that begs you to take another sip. The finish also has quite a bit of malt flavors in it, all dry though, but with notes of biscuits, soda crackers and cracked grain. Substantial spice notes of clove are joined by softer notes reminiscent of ginger, white pepper, and perhaps a touch of somthing like nutmeg. As the beer warms I am able to pick up a light, herbal hop character that adds an extra dimension to this brew.

Light and easy drinking, yet it has a ton of character from the Belgian yeast. I am always a sucker for these interesting, lower alcohol, Belgian-styled beers. Certainly not a beer to knock one over, but I really like the interesting mix of flavors between fermentation character, substantial malt and light hop notes.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2008 00:18:04 | More by Gueuzedude

BarleyPopMan

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +26.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

My second beer from Flat Earth. 22 Oz Bomber from Rum River Liquor.

Smell: Awesome fragerance. Smells nutty, bready, and fruity. Very inviting

Taste: Rich but not overpowering. Not alcoholy. Flavors of fruit like you should get from belguim yeast, sweet, perfect amount of bitterness for style (more prevelant as it warms) IBU 25. Starts mellow, then with a slight zing on the tong, and then finishes with a smooth mellowness.

Mouthfeel: could use more carbonation. Seems thin.

Appearance: Somewhat thin with little carbonation; Leaves a thin delicate lace on my glass as it dissapears. Mostly clear amber coloration.

Drinability: Smooth and enjoyable, not very high alcohol at 5.2% ABV.

Impression: too little alcohol, yeast, hops, and carbonation for the styles it is supposed to represent...but I do not care because the beer is highly enjoyable and also drinable at the same time. I started this one when it was really cold and I wasn't very impressed at first....but as it warmed the true flovars came out and I really enjoyed drinking it. I'll be picking up more in the future.

Impressed with what I've seen from Flat Earth so far and the product seems to be priced relatively well compared to similar, especially when considering the quality of the products.

-BarleyPopMan

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2008 04:37:00 | More by BarleyPopMan

erwin08

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: pours a clear copper/reddish color.

S: smells sweet and fruity with a hint of spice as well.

T: bold malty taste with a spicy fruity finish.

M: crisp and refreshing. medium body and well-rounded beer.

D: very drinkable version of the belgian pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2008 18:17:30 | More by erwin08

oakbluff

Manitoba (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a lovley amber peach with great clarity and good head. Nose- definitely pick up pale malt and biscuit breadiness. Taste- strong belgian yeast flavour imparts lots of fruity esters. Biscuit and munich malts are strong in the profile of this beer. Beer finishes quickly in the mouth leaving a dry spicy finish from the hallertau hops. Very flavouful brew and reminds me of a slightly less biscuity version of my local micro's (half pints) version of the style (the Son). First brew from this Twin City brewery and I am impressed. Nice stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2008 02:47:00 | More by oakbluff

slyke

Minnesota

4.05/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This was my first taste of Flat Earth Pale Ale. The brewery has been getting some positive buzz in the Twin Cities and recently became available in my local stores.

A: Clear, copper-colored with a finger of off-white head.

S: There must be a Belgian yeast strain at work here. Aroma includes dark fruit, sweetness, and woodiness.

T: Biscuit, raisins, and a touch of cherry are present. Quite a nice brew.

M: Seemed a bit thin for the style, but not a deal-breaker.

D: Overall an excellent beer. I look forward to trying other beers from Flat Earth.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2007 19:21:20 | More by slyke