Purist Pale Ale - Appalachian Brewing Company

kangarooAdam59

Maine

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

Into a pint glass:

A: light amber colored body that leaves no head, minimal lacing is left.

S: malts up front with a bit of floral/earthiness going on.

T: basically the same adding a bit of graininess.

M: light to medium leaving a dry feel on the tongue yet nothing harsh there either, sessionable

O: decent but nothing to go out of my way for again

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 19:08:23 | More by kangarooAdam59

DmanGTR

New York

3.4/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

It was a busy day that led to a lazy evening. A decent end to the day.

Poured brilliantly clear blonde/light maple with a frothy, white head that retained nicely, adorning my mini Duvel tulip with trails and webs of lace. The aroma is light and biscuity, with hints of herbs and lemon zest. The best way to describe it here is balanced. The flavor is somewhat more forward than the aroma, with a delicate malt profile of graininess and light toast, followed by a delicate bitterness that actually lets a lot of the sweet malt shine through. Again, balanced is probably the best way to describe it, as there really isn't too much else to describe. A thinnish body leaves me hanging, but carbonation is smooth. Not great, not bad.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 06:08:26 | More by DmanGTR

bigbluebeerguy

Kentucky

3.23/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into a pint glass. Clear amber/golden orange in color, one finger white head that dies down very quickly, no lacing to speak of.

Nose is very mild. A little grassy with a hint of bread crust/biscuit.

Taste is better than the nose. The grassiness is there, but I also get some lemon zest, just a touch of hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp. Fairly low carbonation, just a little linger to the bitterness.

Overall not a bad beer. Sometimes it's nice to have something like this to drink with a meal. Not in your face or overly complex at all, just a decent brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 02:13:45 | More by bigbluebeerguy

tkepx182

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The light amber color has a nice clearity to it. It was a nice looking Pale Ale

S: The predominate smell is that of the hops

M: A little rough on the tongue but had a nice finish to the beer

T: The hops flavoring is a little over powering. This is not surprising but is a good lager none the less

O: While ABC has some better beers this one is not bad, rather enjoyed it when compared to some of the other Pale Ales that I had haved

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2011 01:28:10 | More by tkepx182

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

golden amber with a smooth cap of white that graced the top for a few moments before settling back down. light aroma, citrus hops, lemon, orange, nice hints of tangerine peel and a wonerfully well balanced profile. smooth, clean and very light delivery lets the flavor explore the palate and really gives a cool and resfreshing taste. clean an concise

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2011 01:50:27 | More by mikesgroove

jifigz

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle poured into a Stone Brewing pint glass.

A: Very cloudy hazy orange color. The head appeared quickly and vanished just as fast leaving no lacing at all. No tiny head retention stayed on the beer either.

S: Smells mildly fruity and slightly hopped like a pale ale should. The hops pretty much dominate the aroma and not much grain is there to detect.

T: Mild hoppy/fruity tones like the aroma suggests. Leaves a very mild bitter flavor in mouth. There are also apricot and peach like flavors present in the forefront of the taste complex. There is something slightly stale and off about the flavor too.

M: Medium bodied with appropriate and non offensive carbonation levels. No ethanol warming since its a lower ABV brew.

O: Not a bad beer, but not one of my favorite pale ales either. It is okay, but I would prefer Troeg's or Victory products. This is pretty average, but much better than a macro lager.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 14:49:39 | More by jifigz

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

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

A deeper amber colored ale more akin to an amber ale color wise. It has a smallish white head that fades rather quickly leaving minimal lacing in it's wake.

Aroma is light or weak or faint. Hops have a slightly citrus aroma with a basic malt aroma.

A desent hop taste, not much though, of grapefruit and honey. Malt are sweet and toasted.

This ale has a medium mouthfeel crisp with some bitter aftertaste.

A desent beer no doubt but, has more of an amber
feel to it.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 10:47:45 | More by micromaniac129

KickbacksSteve

Florida

3.58/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle poured into a Unibroue tulip. Frothy, off-white head, lingers for a bit, moderate lacing, not too oily or resiny. Aroma is a nice grassy/citrusy flavor, slight malt sweetness. Taste is mildly bitter, mildly sweet, not the most exciting of pale ale flavors, but certainly not the most boring. Very sessionable and much to style.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2011 07:49:42 | More by KickbacksSteve

Beerbluesbiology

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark copper/ light brownish slightly translucent body with minimal head and some lacing. Smell: Slightly metallic with yeast light hops. Taste: First: Dry with a twang of hops, full yeast character and slight bitterness at the end. Overall, a nice pale ale, definately stands up to Sierra Nevada or other major Pale Ale producers. "Purely" an enjoyable beer!

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2010 01:42:26 | More by Beerbluesbiology

Brent

Kentucky

3.85/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Color was a deep amber and the hopping level a bit below what I would expect of an APA - my take on this beer is more of a well-hopped amber ale. Nicely roasted malt flavor with hops bittering taking center stage from the start - no particular hops varietal seemed pronounced but the bittering was well moderated. A very drinkable beer, and a good session candidate.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2010 13:09:59 | More by Brent

thecarster1

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a- bottle poured into a pint, half an inch of head that leaves some lacing behind, some bubbling, light amber color.

s- very mild nose, not any real major scents jumping out at me.

t- for having such a mild nose i'm glad the flavor is better, nice hop kick off the bat, some biscuit, slight grapefruit that leaves a bit of lingering bitterness.

m- light bodied.

d- nice drinkability, this goes down almost too easily, i could session this easily, i've had better apas but this was enjoyable and unoffensive.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 15:49:31 | More by thecarster1

Tone

Missouri

3.83/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy, copper color with a lighter gold along the bottom of the edge. 1/3 inch head of a white color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of hops, sweet malt, slight yeast, hint of alcohol, and slight citrus. Fits the style of an American Pale Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of floral hops, sweet malt, slight pine, and a hint of citrus. Overall, a rather average pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2010 02:39:42 | More by Tone

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.65/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A big "Thank You" to Jayli for getting this beer to me. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light golden brown color, with a thin off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, citrus and a decent amount of hops.

T: The taste starts with sweet flavors of caramel and citrus that are followed by a strong but not over-powering hops bitterness. The malt character is hearty and helps provide a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, although there are better beers in the style this is a pretty solid beer to drink for a while.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2009 02:36:02 | More by TheManiacalOne

Polifemo

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The aroma of this beer is very intense, with an emphasis on resiny hops alongside the usual grapefruit. That resiny aroma borders on harsh. The carbonation is gentle. There is a surprise at tasting: the mouthfeel is more rich than a usual APA and bitterness does not match the intense aroma. The emphasis must be on late hop additions in order to produce a beer that makes more of an aroma impact than a bitterness impact. The bitterness does not fully cut through the fairly candyish crystal malt thickness, making for a beer that many would consider unbalanced for the style. It is an unusual and interesting experience nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2009 12:06:44 | More by Polifemo

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a light brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smells of malts, some notes of hops. Taste is good, a bit on the hoppy side, pretty refreshing. Feels creamy in the mouth and has average drinkability. Overall this is a quality beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2009 23:11:44 | More by tone77

ZimZamZoom

West Virginia

3.53/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A very nice amber colored pale ale, with a small but pretty off-white head that leaves a touch of lace as it fades.

Piney and grassy hop notes in the aroma. Not the flowery APA aroma I was expecting but more of an earthy character. The background malt notes earthy as well. The taste also has some pine hop notes up front, a bit of a nice sweet middle with a surprise of alcohol and then a bitter hop bite that is even more of a surprise. Not what I expect at all for an APA, drinks more like an English Bitter or similar. Still a nice beer.

Medium bodied and smooth, just a bit of a tickle from carbonation. Nicely drinkable.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

10-20-2009 00:39:04 | More by ZimZamZoom

Jayli

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

consumed 10/15/09

A: This beer pours a deep, clear amber color with a one finger of off white creamy head. Head recedes at a moderate pace, leaving thin lacing along the glass.

S: Nose is relatively faint. Piney hops with a hearty dose of caramel malts.

T: Taste is an overload of sweet caramel malts up front. Middle has a touch of breadiness and grain. Finish has a hop bite of piney and floral hops.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, somewhat of a syrupy feel to the body with a lingering sweet aftertaste.

D: Nice to try from this brewery, but I have had better of the style.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

10-16-2009 14:50:47 | More by Jayli

adamette

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle purchased by my brother in Erie, PA and traded for by me for something else. "Bottled on" listing on label but no "month" was checked or marked. Oh well... Poured into my Great Lakes Brewing Company Christmas Ale goblet.

A Nice, generous off white (slightly brown) head that leaves modest lacing over a nice looking caramel opaque body. 3.5

S Light sweet malt to the nose, maybe some hops. Smells better and more inviting than other APA's that are more highly rated. 4.0

T/M/D Very nice in that there is some sweet light caramel malt and only muted hops, it is very smooth and drinks very easily. It is a very drinkable APA that is very on target with the style. Nothing more needs to be said, really. T/M4.0 but drinkability 5.0

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

09-17-2009 02:02:51 | More by adamette

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear amber with a nice creme head. Nose is pretty bland. There is such a minimal amount of citrus and hop tones that it might as well not even be there. Flavor is kind of the same way. A bit rusty really on the flavor. And that's all I have to say.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

08-15-2009 02:58:16 | More by RblWthACoz

AltBock

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle with a crude drawing of the ABC Brewhouse. Above the crude drawing is the brewery's symbol of a long bridge in Appalachia. To the right is a bottled on month. I have no idea when it was bottled because nothing was notched. The neck label has a mountain scene with a brown bear.

When poured into a DFH pint glass, this Pale Ale was a lightly hazy golden orange with streaks of lemon yellow along the sides. Sitting on top of this beer was a less than 1/4 of an inch skim of white foam. This head of foam had good retention that left behind a string of white rings and a few spots of lace.

The aroma was bready with a ton of bready malts. Hiding behind the bready malts was the scent of citrus hops, a subtle splash of lemon peel, a hint of coriander, and a drop of pine. Simple, but very good Pale Ale aroma.

The taste was a mix of malts and hops. It had one of those tastes where each flavor didn't come out one at a time, but they were all wrapped around each other pretty much like a ball. The ball of taste consisted of bready malts, a splash of caramel, a touch of grapefruit, a pinch of citrus hops, a hint of lemon peel, and a few pine needles. I liked this above average Pale Ale taste. There were enough flavors in the taste ball to keep my taste buds entertained.

This was a light bodied beer with loads of carbonation and a nice full flavored aftertaste of bready malts, tart grapefruit, citrus hops, and a splash of pine. This aftertaste lingered on in the back of my throat for quite a few minutes.

What a nice little Pale Ale! It was a light beer that wasn't light in flavor. It was crispy with malts and hoppy flavors like the lemon and grapefruit. "Purist Pale Ale" would make for a great summer time session beer.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

02-07-2009 21:25:44 | More by AltBock

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured a light ruby-gold with a moderate white head that quickly faded leaving no lacing behind.

S: a decent wiff of citrus and floral notes.

T: The initial flavor was caramel sweetness, nice british dry bread and biscuit notes before finishing with a light hoppy floral fade.

M: a light carbonation, with a light fullness. A little rough in texture with a light hop fade.

D: A moderately drinking pale, nothing spectacular, a good picnic beer at best.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

12-16-2008 23:58:51 | More by beerthulhu

bbothen

California

3.68/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a light orange/amber like color with a small skim of head across the top.

Smells of dry hopped citric hops, orange, grapefruit, tropical aromas, sweet bisquity maltiness.

Sweet caramel maltiness, sugar, citrus spectrum hops, bready maltiness.

Medium bodied, moderately carbonated, kinda syrupy, lingering bitterness.

A nice sessionable pale ale. Gimme some more. Would gladly have again.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

12-16-2008 05:21:26 | More by bbothen

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.9/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this brew from Miamifan1354, Thanks Jay!

12oz bottle served in a standard pint glass.

L - hazy gold/amber color with a thin off-white head that left some lacing.

S - faint floral hop and somewhat earthy aroma.

T - a touch of bitterness upfront balanced out with malt sweetness finishing with light bitterness.

F - medium bodied with mild carbonation.

D - easy to drink with tame abv.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

12-06-2008 22:47:39 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

treehugger02010

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this from a variety pack the a friend of mine got from the brewery.
Appearance: The body was a transparent amber with a light tan large head which had thin lacing and good lacing.
Smell: The aroma was piney and earthy and spicy hops.
Taste: The taste was piney and earthy hops.
Mouthfeel: Rigid.
Drinkability: Great.
Don't drink and review.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 401 Buford Avenue, Gettysburg

11-20-2008 21:57:06 | More by treehugger02010

maddogruss

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Got this in a variety pack.

A: Pours a hazy, orange-amber body with a one-finger, white head with nice retention and decent lacing until the finish.

S: A nice, hoppy smell that was quite floral. There was some malty, citrus undertones.

T: A faint, cascade hop taste with a slight citrus and sweet malt undertones. There was a slight, grapefruit aftertaste. I felt that there could have been a bit more of a malty balance to the hopm taste (which is ironic, because I felt that the draft version could hae used some more hops to balance).

M: A pretty light bodied beer with ok retention that was ok for the style.

D: A pretty decent mouthfeel and taste combination. The relatively light mouthfeel makes this beer more drinkable.

Serving type: bottle
@ Appalachian Brewing Company, 50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg

10-30-2008 02:09:29 | More by maddogruss