Rat Tail Ale - Cellar Rats Brewery

CaptCleveland

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz single purchased at Warehouse Beverage poured into DFH glass.
Ruby red-orange, opaque without precipitant. One-finger tan head settles to foam ring with plenty of lacing.
Aroma is mostly caramel malt with subtle hop citrus.
This has a nice balance. Hop forward bitterness on the end of the tongue, malt takes over and clears the deck. Nice mix of sweet and tart lingers.
Medium body well carbonated, pleasant.
The bottle label does not contain much information and I didn't realize this is an APA until I searched for the brew on BA. Certainly the color does not look like a typical APA and the taste is more of an amber ale. Overall a nice brew, but one that seems mislabeled.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2011 00:17:13 | More by CaptCleveland

Nunya

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev +12.5%

06-09-2013 13:13:49 | More by Nunya

thehappybelgian

Ohio

2.75/5  rDev -4.8%

06-08-2013 04:16:13 | More by thehappybelgian

Polarslag

Kentucky

2/5  rDev -30.8%

06-03-2013 02:18:40 | More by Polarslag

IPAescotch

Ohio

2.4/5  rDev -17%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: bronze and way too f'ing carbonated. Looked good for two seconds and then overwhelmed the glass.

S: Fair and a little bit pungent. Something different

T: Not too great kinda stale and fishy.

M: Fine if it wasn't so overcarbonated

O: I think this is a bad bottle, or i hope it is. I poured slowly from the bottle to a glass and there was far too much head. Even drinking from the bottle (while i waited for the head to dissipate) proved a challenge. Either the brewers grossly overcarbonated or american ale is not a style i understand.

EDIT: after reading other reviews it seems this beers most potent flaw is the blatant overcarbonation. What might be acceptable or desirable is a pain in the lower back and unfit for the market. I think a simple change in the carbonation process would greatly improve the chance of this brewer infiltrating more markets.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2013 02:19:52 | More by IPAescotch

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

1.75/5  rDev -39.4%

05-07-2013 14:41:53 | More by tommyguz

BillBabbitt

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +36.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I bought a single bottle of this to try. What I tasted was very good, unfortunately, I only got about 3 ounces out of a 12 ounce bottle. This beer continually foamed out of the bottle as soon as it was opened. When I tried to pour it into a pint glass, it foamed so badly there was only a few ounces of beer to enjoy. The little I had was good, I just wish I could have enjoyed the full bottle.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 22:58:58 | More by BillBabbitt

ItsBeer4Me

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -4.8%

04-29-2013 19:39:26 | More by ItsBeer4Me

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

I am not sure what the goal was here. I figured out that it was an amber after assuming it was going to be a pale ale. The oddity is that it strikes me as almost a Belgian amber ale. Which would be fine, but much about it seems Flemish, which makes me wonder if it's infected. (The very mild plastic tone suggests it as well.) Regardless, it's a nice drinker, but certainly not typical. I'll be having their IPA next; hopefully it's more solid than this.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 03:26:17 | More by RblWthACoz

sixerofelixir

Ohio

2/5  rDev -30.8%

02-27-2013 19:44:45 | More by sixerofelixir

Blueribbon666

Ohio

4/5  rDev +38.4%

01-26-2013 21:57:12 | More by Blueribbon666

Jenessa

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev +12.5%

01-19-2013 18:30:56 | More by Jenessa

TaylorK

West Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +47.1%

01-13-2013 11:27:00 | More by TaylorK

AC-Mivsek

Ohio

2.5/5  rDev -13.5%

12-15-2012 23:32:11 | More by AC-Mivsek

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A - Purchased this thinking it was a pale ale. Poured like an old ale (murky amber brown with a 1/2 inch of opaque colored head) Really too dark and murky to be a red ale.

S - Muddled hops, slight caramel, and a touch of biscuit.

T - Really off like old hops yet it's fresh (since its a new brewery) Don't get me wrong it was drinkable just not very sweet balanced with the biscuit or even caramel hops. It was below average at best.

M - Kind of smooth more medium bodied and chewy but I don't think a red ale should be...

Overall I expected great things from this guy but was glad I drank this hammered since it wasn't very flavorful and it went down rather easy with dead taste buds. Avoid if you can.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2012 06:59:03 | More by DrDemento456

baconman91

Ohio

3/5  rDev +3.8%

10-29-2012 10:16:49 | More by baconman91

TequilaTom

Ohio

2.75/5  rDev -4.8%

10-14-2012 12:23:52 | More by TequilaTom

pogoowner

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +29.8%

10-09-2012 01:12:40 | More by pogoowner

Eastside151

Ohio

2.75/5  rDev -4.8%

10-01-2012 00:49:05 | More by Eastside151

PDXHops

South Carolina

1.33/5  rDev -54%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

12 oz bottle from Ryan011235 poured into a Maudite.  Particularly noteworthy about the appearance is the enormous soapy head; even with an exceedingly slow pour, I had to stop 2/3 of the way through the bottle.  Nice lacing after it settles down a bit, although it certainly takes its sweet time.  Murky brownish amber down below. 

The malt end of things smells of lightly toasted squishy "wheat" grocery store bread with metallic, nutty and vaguely fruity notes. The hops lend a modest grassy presence that fades under a sneaky doughiness that creeps into things. 

Oof, this is not pleasant.  Cardboard, tinfoil, leafy hops, baking soda and medicinal notes are prominent; actual normal malt flavor seems to have been more of player at some point in the timeline of Rat Tail Ale, but that time has long passed.  As that crazy head advertised, the carbonation is out of control. PSA: Let this stuff warm at your peril. Doesn't measure up to a beginner homebrew.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 23:47:38 | More by PDXHops

Ryan011235

Ohio

1.45/5  rDev -49.8%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Poured into a Delirium snifter on 9/5/12

Dark crimson and rust color; very dark for a pale ale. The head foams in such a way that I quickly find myself looking at what could very well be three fingers of uh-oh.

The aroma has notes of grassy and herbal hops, caramel, watery candy, toasted bread and, you guessed it, some metallic smelling uh-oh. After the head recedes a blurred dust and dough aroma emerges. The taste is a dismal concoction of fake fruits, herbal leaves, caramel, toasted bread, dust and cooked veggies. The feel is a medium-full body riddled with massive over-carbonation. The unpleasant flavors linger far too long.

I have no clue what Cellar Rats was trying to do with this one, but the result is just not good at all. Part of me thinks this is an off bottle, but the color is far too dark, the feel much to thick and the flavor much to dubious for a pale ale, regardless of the condition of this particular bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 06:19:16 | More by Ryan011235

pistola

Ohio

2.1/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Expected much more from this rather expensive ale. But, why should I? there all getting to be around the same price.

Bitter and way to carbonated for me.

Nothing special. I expect alot more for a PA.

I drank one and probably won't ever have another. Not that its "that" bad, but there are many others I would chose first.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2012 20:13:10 | More by pistola

jaxray8

Ohio

2.75/5  rDev -4.8%

07-20-2012 19:12:22 | More by jaxray8

AwYeh

California

2.05/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Undated 12oz bottle poured into pint glass. From their website it looks like they classify this as an American Amber rather than the APA that it is currently listed as here, so I'm rating with the amber style in mind.

A: Cloudy amber reddish-brown color with a finger or so of off-white head. Fairly high quantity of mostly small suspended sediment. Not particularly good or bad looking.

S: Really faint aroma, all I'm picking up is a bit of sour apple.

T: There's a caramel malt backbone which makes itself initially known, and it's most of what sticks around before a metallic, slightly medicinal bitterness comes in near the finish. This bitterness eventually wins out over the malty sweet flavors. A bit strange in that I'm not tasting any hop flavors, just getting the bitterness out of it. Totally not seeing the advertised "west coast" angle here without any discernible citrus or pine hop flavors.

M: Medium-bodied with lively carbonation; fairly creamy. The creaminess probably helps the flavorless bitterness stick around for a bit, which doesn't help the beer overall, but it's hard to take off points when the alternative would be a more watery body.

O: Not a big fan of this one, but it wasn't too hard to drink despite the metallic and medicinal flavors. I can't imagine that those are intended to be there, and this could be a solid beer if they were replaced by the hoppy flavors that I associate with the west coast terminology.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2012 04:30:47 | More by AwYeh

dazdave

Ohio

1.88/5  rDev -34.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured this slowly into a pint glass. Incredibly foamy and carbonated. Overall not a bad color but if they were going for an apa then they added way too much malt. Color for an apa i feel should be more golden than the hazy brown I see.
The smell of the beer is more of sweet raisins and green apples. That isn't what i'd expect of an apa either.
After trying to tell myself that this is an apa and disregarding my nose, i sipped and realized this is def not an apa. It is more a malty mess with some drying noble hops perhaps to finish.
I suppose mouthfeel was ok. Too bad the rest of the beer wasn't. Won't be having another.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 03:31:37 | More by dazdave