Daisy Cutter Pale Ale - Half Acre Beer Company

land724beer

Illinois

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

This is an incredible beer. I usually drink this in the pint cans, but also pick up a growler of it now and then. The initial pour is beautiful, from the amber/orange rich color and a full rich head to the opaque/cloudy appearance. A refreshing citrus, grapefruit flavor hits you first, a great hopness that is also balanced, with a clean/crisp finish. This is a great beer from a humble neighborhood brewery. Please all heed my review and find this beer.

Serving type: can

05-07-2011 02:25:30 | More by land724beer

dohm179

Illinois

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

A personal favorite of mine, either from the can or on-tap. Cloudy pale appearance, with a relatively mild but inviting smell. The taste combines multiple strong hops with its signature floral bite. Despite the relatively the strong bitterness, the mouthfeel is extremely smooth and mild, leaving the drinker with a smooth, balanced, palette-cleansing experience.

Serving type: on-tap

07-15-2012 21:11:07 | More by dohm179

antoines15

Indiana

4.95/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

The best pale ale that I have had to date so I feel that I owe it a proper review.

A: Fluffy head that lingers for a bit, then dissipates to a thin line with great lacing.

S: Just divine, grassy, citrusy, dope, all in one.

T: More of the same. The flavor is so nice and never gets old. You can literally drink eight 16 oz. cans while golfing and still not get tired of that flavor. No fatigue at all, even after playing 10 games of bags while still drinking The Cutter.

M: slightly creamy but still crisp, right on.

O: Again, the best pale ale I have had, and I have had quite a few. Even more awesome that it is brewed in Chicago. Truly deserving of a "5" in that this beer cannot be improved upon. Great job Half Acre.

Serving type: can

05-08-2012 00:10:02 | More by antoines15

paumase

4.95/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

My go to beer and in my opinion the best American pale on the market right now. Great floral citrusy nose with just the right amount of hops. At the same time this beer is balanced is not too alcoholic to drink more than one, at the end of the day this is a great beer that has great finish and mouth feel.

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2012 21:00:12 | More by paumase

stoptime

Illinois

4.93/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Aroma: "This is the best smelling beer ever!" Tons of floral and grassy hops. I could sniff this all day.

Appearance: Cloudy, golden-orange. One of the Half Acre employees simply refers to this beer as "orange juice."

Flavor: A flowery little hop bomb with a crisp, citrus finish.

Mouthfeel: Soft and smooth. Lightly coats your mouth.

We had a party with a keg of this back in September. There were approximately 40 people in attendance, and we had no problem killing it in one evening. It's an extremely easy drinking beer, and not too strong. Even the non-beer drinkers, and non-hop heads, were loving the Daisy Cutter. It just tied for 3rd place at the Chicago Beer Society's Fall Tasting. And most exciting is there's going to be a Daisy Cutter Hot Dog coming soon to Hot Doug's!! Needless to say, we'll be there.

Never pass up Daisy Cutter if you find it - this is a fantastic beer!

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2009 17:15:17 | More by stoptime

DovaliHops

California

4.93/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a gorgeous hazy golden color with a nice frothy head that is full and fluffy. As the head slowly diminishes, I take a sniff. I'm so blown away by this ale...Never had so much hops hit my nostrils in a pale ale. Even most IPAs don't have such a strong hop scent. Very impressive...this smell is out of this world. The taste is just as amazing. Very strong hop presence with very little malt characteristics. Absolutely breathtaking. Clean and crisp with lovely citrus fruits on the back of the tongue. Lemon, orange, grapefruit, and a tiny bit of melon. This is the most complex and flavorful pale ale I've ever had. Better than a handful of IPAs I've had (and I've had many.) Absolutely amazing beer. Great Job!

Serving type: can

06-23-2010 08:48:37 | More by DovaliHops

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.9/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Well hot damn I get my hands on this one! I had been dying to try it for months and thrilled when a fresh bottle hit my porch. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 01/06/2010.



The pour was outstanding and for pale ale the best I had ever scene. Nice and deep amber in color with a huge head of white that just towered over the top of the glass, sticking to everything in sight and really just immense. Never really settling it just hung there, boldly taunting me to take a sip, which I kindly obliged. Aroma of fresh grapefruit and ripe citrus just dominates nearly everything around me and really propelled this sticky, hop fueled monster to a whole new level. Such a full profile of flavor and aroma, it was almost unheard of for a pale. Just immeasurable grins coming across my face as I take sip after sip of rich citrus hops that coat the palate and make my lips stick to my teeth. Perfect carbonation and beyond drinkable.



Overall I do not how this really could have been improved on. It was just amazing. Straight forward hop bomb in a 5 percent package, just wow. Everything I wanted it to be and more. I would have this hooked up in my house every day. Seek it out, it's up there with any of the best I have had.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2010 01:18:13 | More by mikesgroove

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.9/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Rtrain12 shared his growler of this fine beer with me... Just getting around to typing my notes up.

I poured this into a standard pint glass.

Nice bright golden color with some reddish highlights. Very clear and bright with a beige head that fought its way to about 1 and half fingers. Respectable amount of lacing too.

Smells sweet with a nice fresh citrus hop note. Malt is mellow while the hops are bright and fresh. This is the pale ale equivalent of a huge Cali DIPA!! Floral and grassy notes lead into a lemony citrus bite with a slightly dry bitter finish. Very well made beer here. Big on flavor, but refreshing and light at the same time.

The body is a little light of medium, and the beer has loads of carbonation. This is a beer I will pick up every chance I get. Simply nothing bad to say about the flavor, nose, or finish.

My only complaint with this one is that Ryan didn't tape his growler up and much of the carbonation has run out of the bottle on me. I can live with that because even with less carbonation than it should have, the beer still tastes amazing.

Serving type: growler

08-17-2010 03:26:54 | More by AleWatcher

djdrdave

Ohio

4.9/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I lovw this beer. I cant say ive had an american pale ale that is as well balanced as this. Its my recent beer crush. I am fortunate to be living in chicago now and have ready access to it. This weekend i will be sure to introduce on on my friends from cincinnati to it when he visits!

Serving type: growler

07-11-2011 03:30:12 | More by djdrdave

eman1

4.9/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Wow they call this a pale ale but in all honesty this should be an IPA except that it is a little light on the body and mouth feel. The taste however is amazing for a top notch APA or IPA, beyond expectations. Grapefruite citrus, pine very slight lemon just superb. Another BIG plus is that you have this so well balanced true hop champion done right without too much ABV...amazing. One of the tops!

Serving type: can

07-13-2012 05:47:34 | More by eman1

Mavajo

Georgia

4.88/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a hazy golden color with a generous, fluffy white head. Great retention on the head, and beautiful sticky lacing down the glass.

Holy crap, am I smelling a beer here, or did someone slip me a bag of the sticky stuff? This smells exactly like some dank weed. Beyond that, there's also hints of some freshly cut grass with a note that reminds me a bit of mustiness. Seriously great smell. Dankest aroma I've ever experienced from a beer.

The taste is phenomenal. I've never had a hop kick this strong from a beer with an ABV this low. Great, fresh hop taste with layers of fresh cut grass, pine and cirtusy notes. They really blend well together. Behind that, there's a hint of bready, caramel malt - just a hint though, and it combines with the hops to form a perfect medley.

This is without a doubt the best APA I've ever had - I'd put it right there up against the big boys of the IPA and DIPA universe. Absolutely world class. I'm literally hurt right now that I can't buy this locally. Changed my life, man. Get this shit. The dankest beer ever.

Serving type: can

10-07-2010 22:20:05 | More by Mavajo

raly03

Illinois

4.88/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Picked up a 4-pack of their 16oz cans from the brewery, poured into tulip.

Looks pretty standard, about 1 1/2 finger head that stuck around for a while, leaving some nice lacing. Barely a hiss as I opened the can. Clear, copper color.

Aroma. I can't say enough about this. I just cut the grass, poured this beer, and it was like I was back outside with my nose under the lawn mower. I love it. Earthy, floral, grassy, hoppy, almost pot-like. Grapefruit, other citrus.

Good mouthfeel, not overly carbonated. Almost creamy.

Tastes almost as good as it smells. Hops, flowers, grass, man this is excellent. Grapefruit, more hops.

Overall perhaps my favorite APA so far. I live in Chicago south suburbs and wish it was more readily available.

Serving type: can

09-24-2011 21:23:28 | More by raly03

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a slightly chill-hazed gold with 1-2 fingers of creamy white head. Low carbonation and a nice thick clouds of lacing.

N: Tangerine, mango, navel orange, lemon and a light caramel maltiness. Hints of pineapple and papaya.

T: Tangerine, pineapple and mango are upfront. This is followed by clean sugary caramel, navel orange juice, papaya and lemon juice. Finishes with grapefruit pith and a hint of pine. Slightly drying with zests from grapefruit, lemon and orange.

M: Light-medium bodied, juicy, crisp, clean and dry.

O: Incredibly balanced, easy drinking and full of juicy hops. Tons of tropical and citrus fruitiness going on. This is easily one of, in not, THE BEST American Pale Ale I've ever had the pleasure of trying.

Serving type: can

06-02-2012 23:07:07 | More by justintcoons

RockyTopHeel

North Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I'll start this review with a confession: this is my favorite all-around, everyday drinking beer.

Pours a hazy golden color with an off-white, fizzy head. Aroma indicates that it's nicely dry-hopped, with pine needles and grapefruit coming through brightly. The taste is clean and slightly bitter, but more understated than the pungent nose.

I could (and have) drink this all day long. It's interesting enough to keep your taste buds happy, but not overpowering such that it kills them off. It's perfectly balanced and infinitely enjoyable. As a session beer, it has few peers -- but it's equally as enjoyable to just sip one.

An outstanding flagship beer that needs to make its way to NC, stat.

Serving type: can

08-14-2010 15:58:07 | More by RockyTopHeel

OddNotion

New Jersey

4.85/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Finally reviewing this beer after many many pints have been enjoyed in the past. Poured into my DFH Signatura Glass.

Appearance: Beautiful golden/orange color with a one finger white head that sticks around.

Smell: Well hello hops! Beautiful explosion of citrus flavor with some grainy scents in the way background. Very pleasant.

Taste: Possibly my favorite pale ale to date! Super citrusy with a nice bitterness up front. Extremely refreshing. Some slight grainy flavor at the end ot balance things out perfectly.

Mouthfeel: A touch thin but really nothing to detract from the style overall. Nice and dry finish leavign me wanting more.

Overall: I love this beer and if I had access to it, it would be a regular in my fridge! Perfect summer beer and a great beer overall. Always looking to get my hands on this one!

Serving type: can

08-09-2011 21:55:04 | More by OddNotion

Patrick

Massachusetts

4.83/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Pours a slightly hazy golden copper color. A fluffy and rocky off white head sits on top leaving some really chunky lacing behind. Moderately active carbonation.

S: Smells like someone just squeezed some grapefruit juice and spiked the drink with some pine needles and a tiny bit of mint. Fantastic aroma, all about the hops here.

T: Loads of pineapple, fresh grapefruit, mango, oranges, tangerines, and subtle peaches bombard your tongue. Holy shit. The middle continues on the fruity path but with a more bitter approach. The finish has mainly a grapefruit rind and orange peel flavor. Waaaay at the end some breadiness comes out, but this beer is all about the hops. This has to be the most hop forward beer I have had in a looong time. Delicious.

M: Dry, crisp, well carbonated, light bodied.

D: I could drink this all day, I will be acquiring more.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2009 01:50:12 | More by Patrick

cbros

North Carolina

4.83/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Serving type- 22 ounce bomber poured into a pint glass.

A- Pours a hazy orange with a nice two finger white lace that slowly dissipates into a nice ring around the glass. There is some nice cling to the glass and a fair amount carbonation activity after the pour.

S- Nice notes of citrus hops with a subtle piney undertone. Very reminiscent of an IPA.

T- Very nice and balanced hops flavor in the taste. I am picking up grapefruit and some piney hoppy flavor near the end. Good balance in the flavors. This is a little bitter for an APA and might turn off some, but I am quickly falling in love with this beer.

I received this as a christmas present from a friend of mine who lives in Chicago. He went to the beer store and asked the guy for some advice, he recommended this and said that it was one of the best APA's around. I must say that he is absolutley correct. This is a great tasting APA and I am very upset that I can't get this where I live. A very easy drinking beer that I could see myself having in all sorts of places. Thanks Brian!

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2010 03:14:33 | More by cbros

Monsone

Illinois

4.83/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had on tap at the Bad Apple

A - White head fades leaving good lace. Gold honey color. Looks the part.

S - Big citrus/pine/grass hop aroma

T - The aroma doesn't lie. Taste is citrus grapefruit with pine, and floral hops coming along for the ride. Just enough malt backbone to balance it out. Slightly biscuity. Lingering bitterness.

M - Medium body with some oily hops to it.

D - Drinkability is awesome. At 5.2% it packs a lot of punch while not so huge flavor wise that you can't drink quite a few.

Overall this is just a great APA. I don't know that I have had a better one ever.

Serving type: on-tap

02-24-2010 15:42:29 | More by Monsone

thedominator

New York

4.83/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

a big thanks to tjburgess for this one. A 16 oz tallboy can poured into a samuel adams perfect pint.

A: pours a clear golden straw color, with a 2 finger head. looks very good.

S: hops, light pine, flowery, light biscuit, and fresh melon. awesome

T: mild bitterness, fresh hops, biscuity malt, and a slight citrus zest. awesome again

M: a little thin, perfect carbonation

O: i think this is the best american pale ale i have ever tasted. i could easily crush 6 or 7 if these in a session.

Serving type: can

05-11-2011 00:15:59 | More by thedominator

jsulko

Illinois

4.8/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On-Tap at Yardhouse at the Glen.

Slighty hazy gold color. Fluffy white head.

Smell had the citrus along with hops.

Really enjoyed the grapefruit flavor without an overpowering bitterness. This is a brew that I could sit and drink all day.

Too bad I can't buy it in the northern suburbs, I think it would be my go to beer

Serving type: on-tap

01-07-2011 03:47:07 | More by jsulko

Bavarian325

Illinois

4.78/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Went on a little tour at their brewery today, had a lot of fun. Tried this on the tour and was very impressed so I picked up a 22oz on my way out. A little pricey at $9, but very worth it.

Appearance is atypical of a pale ale. A little more cloudy. Fat head of foam, about 2 fingers. Love that fat head.

Smell? Get ready for tons of grapefruit and pine. Bombarded.

Taste? Smell doesn't transfer to taste...tons of hops and a little malty taste. I love it.

Mouthfeel? Very smooth, slightly carbonated.

Drinkability? This is my new go to beer. I'm new to craft beers (go easy on me guys, haha) and normally drink SN Pale Ale. I think this will replace that.

It's just a great bear, I want to drink tons of it. Would be great with some chicken or turkey. Very drinkable. They need to get this stuff into sixers ASAP!

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2010 04:15:59 | More by Bavarian325

chicagobeerriot

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours deep gold with a medium veil (bordering on cloudy). A luxurious, rocky head leaves some tenacious lacing on the side of the glass. Not quite the look that you'd expect from an APA, but attractive in its own way.

The smell, on the other hand, is absolutely fantastic. The hops aren't overwhelmingly powerful, but the complexity on the nose is impressive: heavy grass and lemon peel take the lead, but there's a lot of mango and a bit of pine in there as well. The smell actually reminds me a lot of some of the complex wet hop beers that have been making the rounds over the past couple of months.

The mouthfeel is dead on: light bodied with vigorous carbonation.

The first sip reveals that Half Acre is taking this style as far as it can go before people just start calling your beer an IPA. If you find IPAs too hoppy, this beer will not provide you shelter. Vigorous and complex hop notes dominate. The grass and pine launch the opening salvo on your taste buds, followed by grapefruit and raw hop bitterness. Just when you think that the beer might fall into an inappropriately bitter finish, a light lemon tang, coupled with some biscuity malt notes, restores order and balance. With that slight detour, Daisy Cutter actually manages a refreshing finish. Truly a world-class APA.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2009 20:32:15 | More by chicagobeerriot

cswilliamson

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Hazy and straw-blonde with a two-finger eggshell head that has average retention. A visually pleasing specimen.

S: This is the best smelling, most fragrant beer I've encountered. Huge, huge nose is full of citrusy and piney hops. I want an air freshener made from this beer.

T: The hop character really comes through in this beer. It's not puckeringly bitter, but showcases the apparent quality and incredible flavor of the hops.

M: Crisp and refreshing. Pretty high carbonation, but it goes well with the character of the beer.

D: Just awesome. A delicious IPA that showcases bold hops with great flavor. It doesn't take the enamel off your teeth, so you can enjoy a few with people that may not dig IPA's as much. Either way, this makes a great summertime beer but can still be enjoyed year round. It's freaking good.

Half Acre has done it again. Having tried about five or six of their brews, this one takes the cake. It's a bit on the mild side compared to some of the hoppier IPA's out there. A (very) little bit of sweetness brings out some of the character of the hops including a tropical/citrus and pine flavor that are perfectly balanced with the bitterness. This is quite simply my IPA of choice.

Serving type: growler

02-14-2011 21:08:23 | More by cswilliamson

afksports

New York

4.75/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Yes yes yes. Perfect on so many accounts. Daisy Cutter. I need someone to drop a daisy cutter on my brain so I can forget about what a long day it was. And about finals. And then they can drop a daisy cutter on the hood. And then I'll find a nice half acre plot of land somewhere to sit on a porch in my suburban neighborhood and drink some more daisy cutter.

Sorry. Beer review.

It pours out the can smooth and heady, light but with lovely golden straw haze. Maybe amber straw. Dunno. It looks good but cloudy. Smells like citrus and bread. I want to drink it with a sandwich after I trade my first sandwich for a second daisy cutter. Then I want to enjoy every bite of my sandwich like it's this beer. Start water and touch of hops, move to a strong biscuit backbone, finish clean. Yeah that's right. Watery sandwiches. How else would I get someone to trade me a daisy cutter for one?

Good thing i'm only stockeD with one of these thanks to my man Brandon. I'd drink a case easy. It just feels so right.

And screw this glass. I'm finishing this out of the can.

Serving type: can

05-05-2011 00:16:19 | More by afksports

CaskBeerouac

Alabama

4.75/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is as solid and drinkable a pale ale as you will find. Crisp and refreshing, light-bodied, but packs enough hop punch to satisfy your humulus lupulus cravings.

Daisy Cutter is a tip of the cap to the hop's slightly more famous cousin. It smells like weed. And it's awesome.

Tastes kind of like weed too. Some other subtle floral and citrus notes round out the flavor.

This is one of the most refreshing beers I've ever tasted. It tastes like cutting the grass on a hot summer day.

Great beer.

Serving type: can

04-09-2012 14:01:34 | More by CaskBeerouac