Boont Amber Ale - Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Hopswagger

Oklahoma

1.4/5  rDev -63.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Reviewed from notes:

Color was a rich amber color. Smell of dirty dish towels and burnt sugar and malt. Taste was burnt wood and and a sweet unappealing malt combo. The aftertaste was worse. The initial taste was bad and stayed with me even the next day after brushing my teeth and eating. Cant help but wonder if its a bad bottle or just bad product. Too cautious to try again. Almost wrote off amber completely.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2011 22:39:31 | More by Hopswagger

thagr81us

South Carolina

2.13/5  rDev -44.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served from tap into a sampler tunbler. Poured red-orange with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was of sweet malt, jolly rancher, and hair salon. The flavor was of sweet malt, caramel, nutmeg, jolly rancher, and wet permed hair (WTF!?!?!?). It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall I was not a fan of this one. What the Hell was up with the hair characteristics in the aroma and flavor of this one? I should have known not to drink it by getting hair salon in the aroma, but nooo, I had to do it anyways. Blah. I won't be having this one again for sure. Still better than the one where I got burnt hair flavors in it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-05-2011 17:51:54 | More by thagr81us

lacqueredmouse

Australia

2.13/5  rDev -44.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a coppery orange amber colour, with a very good head of pale, off-white bubbles. Lacing is also good, forming in patchy circles. Clarity of the body is excellent—all up, in fact, it's an excellent looking beer.

Nose is slightly sharp and metallic, with an underlying cloying fruit sweetness, a little like green bananas. Hint of acidity to it as well, giving a whiff of slightly rank stomach acid. Ew. Is there something wrong with this bottle?

Taste is similar. Slightly rank unripe banana character with a mealy cereal mid-palate and a lingering melange of copper and sugar. Feel is grainy but persistent, with that sugar coating on the back sticking around for way too long.

Wow. I'm really suitably unimpressed with this. It's cloying, sugary and altogether rather unpleasant. Given how widespread this is, I was expecting something at least mild and inoffensive, but this genuinely not something I want to drink often, if at all.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 01:47:05 | More by lacqueredmouse

genog

Ohio

2.17/5  rDev -43.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a dark amber color with a slim amount of off white fluffy head. Very little lacing left behind on this one.
Smell is of sweet malt, some grapes and raisin in the aroma as well. Taste is of grapes, and prune juice. I had to taste again and yep, I really did not like the flavor. Mouthfeeling is crisp, but does not make up for the flavor. I have no idea what was going on with this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2007 03:43:26 | More by genog

Beaver13

Colorado

2.17/5  rDev -43.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

12oz can. Pours a clear light amber with a medium rocky off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet treacly caramel malts, maple and molasses with some toasted malt.

The flavor is the same as the nose - sweet treacly caramel and molasses with some maple and toasted malt and a little fruit. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with slightly sharp carbonation.

Overall, way too sweet for me. I didn't really care for the maple and toasted malts. I can see this as a solid amber, but it totally didn't work for me.

Serving type: can

09-27-2011 04:07:16 | More by Beaver13

OchMcKenzie

Washington

2.3/5  rDev -40.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into pint glass. Next to no head, no lacing. Good reddish-orange color. Smells of hops, pine, and citrus. My initial taste was almost orangy... further on, there's something that's faintly soapy. The mouthfeel is pretty standard, the carbonation is good though. Overall, I can't get over the soapy taste... I would try this again to see if maybe it was just me just this time.

Serving type: can

02-03-2012 03:49:42 | More by OchMcKenzie

Brunite

Illinois

2.45/5  rDev -36.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Hazy copper with off white foamy/soapy head. Decent 1 1/2 finger head that stuck around for a few minutes and left a nice bit of lacing before settling to a thin ring.

Smell - Not much more than caramel malts. Not much more.

Taste - Getting a sweet malt flavor. Started out pleasant but the lack of complexity got boring. No hop bitterness. I love malty beers but this became almost cloying and flat as the carbonation seemed to back off.

Mouthfeel - Started out medium with decent carbonation. After a few swirls to revive the head, the beer almost felt flat.

Drinkability - Not very good. Too sweet In my opinion. I wanted to like this one. Based on the reviews by others...it sounded great. It did not come off that way.

Overall - Not impressed. This was ranked highly and I enjoy ambers. I was looking for a staple to add to my rotation.I am glad I have such regional choices as Bell's, Founders, Goose Island, Sprechers, and New Glarus brewing nearby. I can rely on them for the majority of my sessionable stuff.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2011 01:23:15 | More by Brunite

bobhits

Kentucky

2.5/5  rDev -35.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Hazy orange amber, soft white head, some lacing.

Sweet red amber aroma. Cherry, caramel, slight hops in there that are a bit hard to place.

Hard to explain this one. Sweet, followed by hops and sour flavors. Very much a sour dough hop malt mix. Rather interesting. Alcohol in there but rather subdued. Very well balanced so nothing jumps out. Reminds me a lot of stone pale ale, a bit more sour but it has that same overly balanced flavor. It's odd...west coast IPAs get credit for being super hoppy. Well their pales seem to lack that kiss of hops to finish that I think makes many pale ales truly great.

A touch heavy especially at 5.8%. I was expecting it over 6% for sure. The carbonation really does make this a fun beer to drink. The body actually is fine in feel, but I don't feel like I'd want 3-4 of these and for a pale I that should be my desire.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2010 03:14:19 | More by bobhits

LPorter33

Massachusetts

2.55/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

On tap at the Linwood Grill.

Appearance is a deep amber, moderate head, very good lacing. Smell is very sour and rancid, like rotting fruit or the vacuum cleaner when you haven't changed the bag in years. I don't know if the tap line was dirty or the keg old - I'd expect a place like Linwood would keep extremely fresh beer. Taste was slightly sweet, malty and fruity. Pretty flavorful but not too complex. It was pretty average. Not the best amber I've had, I'd like to try it again in bottle form as the freshness of the beer might have been in doubt.

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2006 15:43:43 | More by LPorter33

tcfishler

Maryland

2.63/5  rDev -31.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Slightly hazy copper-amber, with a good-sized tan head.

Peppery, toasty aromas that are distinctive but inviting.

Somewhat thin mouthfeel, with malt that starts out caramel but then turns drier and roasted in character. The hops are faint but decidedly citrus in profile. A smidgen of oxidative notes lurk in the background. Finish is a little astringent.

This beer looks great and smells very good, but the drying astringency didn't leave such a good impression. I would bet that it would show better paired with food, however.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2006 19:24:17 | More by tcfishler

mikeborglum

Missouri

2.65/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle: Nothing distinctive about the aroma; Very cloudy dark amber beer with a thin off-white head and lots of retention. Good balance but not real tasty, dry finish. Did not really impress my taste or any other senses and probably will not buy another.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2010 20:22:31 | More by mikeborglum

tigg924

Massachusetts

2.65/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: orange/brown in color, 1/4 inch head, moderate carbonation, hazy

Smell: caramel and citrus hops, some perfume like smell as well. This almost smelled like a barleywine.

Taste: light caramel malt, some citrus and florals, light hops, and tea.

Mouthfeel: low carbonation, medium bodied, sweet with a slightly bitter backbone, slick

Drinkability: This was a disappointment for me from a brewery I like. This beer had a lot going in within it but it did not add up to the clean taste I expect from this style. The sweetness and the florals did not mesh the way I have seen in others in the style. I will pass.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 14:15:15 | More by tigg924

DirtyPenny

Massachusetts

2.68/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Day 7: It's over. It's all over. The world was dust, and I crouched there with a shotgun in the middle of the glassware aisle of the local Goodwill, looking up at a rather nice Guiness mug on the shelf. One of the radioactive corpses--a result of that damned radioactive meteor strike--was haunting the aisles somewhere, grunting and shuffling, but I was too starved to care. I cracked open a can of that beer I found in the parking lot, grabbed the mug down from the shelf and pour it out. Just because it's the apocalypse doesn't mean you have to drink from a can like a savage.

There's a grunt from the next aisle. Guess, he heard the hiss of the can opening.

(A:) Boont's Amber Ale, eh? It was a cloudy amber, and probably was that way before all the blood ended up in it. The grunting had come from what had one been a little old lady in a periwinkle coat. I put down the mug before I fired, and that almost cost me my life. As it was I only managed to find the trigger when she was right over me, and while I sent about 80% of her head (I'd guess) into housewares, a bit of the rest fell in the glass along with one off-white finger.

Day 11 (S): Looks like everyone in the Wal-Mart killed each other. Guess they had the same idea; stock up here and head for the hills. Just not enough for everyone. I spot a guy I used to golf with (Fred, I think) and pour out a Boont's in his honor. The place reeks. The beer has a faint floweryness to it, thank god. Sweet raisins/plums in a molasses-y base. Not enough to cut the stench, but it's better than nothing.

Day 18 (T:) I walked out into the desert, hoping that there'd be fewer zombies out here. Well, hell, it's pretty much all desert now, but still. Is this really all I'll be drinking for the rest of my life? Boont's Amber has kind of a caramel, molasses and raisin flavor to it. Raisin? Yeah, probably. Maybe plum. Sort of dark and fruity. But there's an odd dusty taste and it isn't just the desert dust. It's been in every can and I don't know what to make of it. There's even a faint hint of alcohol, which seems wrong in such a low ABV beer.

Just too strong. Nice at first but it gets cloying as you get to the bottom of the can.

Day 24 (M:) I got bitten. On the leg by what I thought was a corpse. Hardly seems to matter since the atmosphere is so irradiated that my lips were peeling off into my beer. It's too watery anyway; could use some thickening up. I like to think of it as Me Stew. Everything is so dry out here, and the Boont's has a bit of a dryness on the end that isn't helping. I wish I had something else to eat.

Day 27 (O:) Is this really the last beer I'll ever drink? I holed up in a garden shed, but there's a good ten or twelve of them out here, and I can't run with my leg half rotted away like it is. Damn you Boont's; even my shotgun says your name. Boont's! Boont's!

If it weren't the apocalypse, I don't think I'd have had a second.

Serving type: can

04-09-2012 23:39:15 | More by DirtyPenny

denver10

Colorado

2.7/5  rDev -30.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Amber in appearance with very little head. The aroma is sweet as you get the smell of the malt. Flavor starts off good with a nice malt intro but the sweetness just continues to develop and by the middle of the sip it is too overbearing for me, a liquified sugar candy type flavor. Sweet finish too, though the peak of that sweetness lies in the middle. Mouthfeel medium bodied with a little bit of carbonation. I tried this because it was one of my friend's favorite beers but I definitely felt differently towards it.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 17:55:06 | More by denver10

pasdachuri

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -28.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours hazy amber color with off-white head.

Very faint, some caramel malt and barley

Taste is thin and rather underwhelming. Mildly hoppy and bitter with most of the hop character coming in the form of floral and earthy hops

Very thin body and carbonation

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 21:16:09 | More by pasdachuri

dbalsock

Vermont

2.85/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This looks like a great beer, excellent head and head retention, deep amber body, but not too dark. The aroma is pretty standard for an amber ale, medium malt background with a jumble of american hop aromas, mostly floral. The taste has a malt background that is a little exaggerated by crystal malt, it reminds me a lot of one of my first homebrews in this way. There isn't so much depth in maltiness, but more of one layer of crystal malt underneath the pale malt base making the caramel seem a little unnatural. The hops lack distinction, but are nice if you like a thick bitterness in your drink. Its hard to make it through a hole pint of this, and I won't be ordering it again. For beer that's supposed to be fairly drinkable, I think there's a slight lack of balance.

Serving type: on-tap

08-29-2007 16:30:38 | More by dbalsock

kojevergas

California

2.9/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served on-draught into a mason jar at Villains in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a half-finger head of fair cream, decent thickness, and pretty good retention. Semitransparent amber colour.

Sm: Nuits, cream, caramel, and slight hops. Maybe toasted malt. A mild strength aroma.

T: Toasted malt, caramel, heavy butterscotch, and some nuts. Not horribly complex but tasty and balanced. Well built. A bit malt heavy.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Suits the flavours pretty well.

Dr: Very drinkable, but unremarkable. A fairly uninspired amber ale. I wouldn't have it again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-07-2011 01:52:10 | More by kojevergas

Hawksfan79

Washington

2.93/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Glass: Nonic pint glass

Appearance: Amber with a creamy mocha colored head.

Smell: Malty with a strong noble hops aroma.

Taste: Noble hops with mellow caramel notes in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a creamy texture, and a strong carbonation.

The noble hops give this brew a lager flavor that I find displeasing as it's really out of style and not at all what I was anticipating. The mouthfeel however was amazing and was what kept me wanting to drink the rest of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2013 22:47:42 | More by Hawksfan79

ybnorml

Rhode Island

2.95/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A clean copper/amber beer. Has a big thick beige head, that makes some lace. There is a very light sweetness to the aroma that hints at malt. There is a light earthy maltiness with hints of roasty malt in the background in the flavor followed by a light hop snap on the finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2005 22:19:43 | More by ybnorml

gfreed

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Looks great in the glass: rich copper color with a bit of fog. No head, but that's because the guy at the restaurant bar "forgot" to pour one (my standard complaint applies here). Minimal aroma (see above). Decent taste of apricots and cherries up front; malts dominate with very little sting at the end. In fact, I wanted more hops at the finish. It felt somewhat incomplete. Still, I managed to consume the entire pint with little difficulty. Would be worth trying again, but someplace where the beer could get a proper head.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2010 05:49:38 | More by gfreed

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12 oz can into a pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with 2 ½ big foamy fingers of shiny off-white head. This shrinks down pretty quickly, with a frothy ½ finger that leaves back a cascade of lacing which hangs in sticky clumps. The aroma is floral and leafy, with a faint metallic tinge to the proceedings. The rest of the nose is filled out with citrus, caramel, toast, and a light touch of diacetyl. Off-notes hurt this a bit.

The taste is caramel sweetness with a burnt roasty edge to it, which is decently balanced by some green earthy citrus flavors and bitterness. This finishes with some leftover hops but it's the roastiness of this that probably lingers the most. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with some crispness to it but mostly comes off as bit too much flat and lifeless as this spread out in the mouth.

I like the concept here of a more roasted feeling Amber Ale but the nose and feel (which I think could have saved this some had it stepped up more) really let this down. I wish that I could have overall liked this one some more.

Serving type: can

12-13-2010 17:42:17 | More by Kegatron

AwYeh

California

2.95/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz poured into Schlitz Light goblet; thanks to Jesse13713 for sharing this one with me. Can't interpret the Julian dating, I think the printing has been smudged a bit.

A: Cloudy red-amber color, half a finger of very bubbly white head with decent retention and lacing.

S: Musty, almost rotten aroma... not enjoyable at all. A hint of caramel malts pull through, but this beer's enjoyability is purely rooted in its taste, NOT aroma.

T: Lots of caramel malts here, a little of bit of an odd tanginess; not sure where there that's coming from, but it's alright. Nothing outstanding here, but a pleasant, sweet amber ale.

M: Light-medium body, moderate carbonation, smooth without much else discerning this one.

D: Decently enjoyable; the taste is good even if most of the rest of the beer falls short. Wouldn't mind trying this again if I knew it was fresh for sure, but otherwise I'm in no hurry to go for another glass.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2011 04:19:45 | More by AwYeh

blakelive784

Colorado

2.95/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 fl oz can served in a pint glass, reviewed live:

A - Pours a murky copper/amber color with a towering 3.5 finger head. Retention is very good, and the beer as a whole is rather inviting.

S - Heavy caramel, grassy hops, orange, and earthy notes. Pretty mild.

T - A strong dose of caramel and grass open, and play out to a slightly bitter finish. Rather simple, but balanced very well.

M - Strangely light, and coarse until a watery finish.

D - Doesn't really fit into the style all too well, but not a bad beer at all. Simple, but it's built well and easily drinkable.

Serving type: can

12-22-2011 00:24:13 | More by blakelive784

dsmcva00

Alaska

2.98/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Serving type: bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance – Poured in a brilliant copper color with a quarter-inch head, dropping quickly to lacing. Bubbles disappeared in about a minute, leaving very low carbonation.

Smell – Caramel and toasty malt.

Taste/mouthfeel – The mineral water used in the brewing process is quite dominant – think Perrier. The carbonation is also similar to Perrier (small strings of tiny bubbles make their way to the top quickly, eventually leaving the beer a bit flat after only a few minutes). It has a raw, oily hop flavor. The finish was quite dry leaving almost a cotton-mouth feel.

Overall – Perrier morphed into an ale. This one was a gold medal winner (according to the label), but the sour, mineral water taste really got in the way for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 06:46:32 | More by dsmcva00

karengarys

Indiana

3.03/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

this pours... ...amber... as the name would suggest - maybe a bit darker, slightly hazy and little head with my slow pour.

Taste is of beer, somewhat hoppy and buttery, but not too extreme in any character.

Mouthfeel is creamy - not bad - not great. The buttery flavor rides with an oily feel too.

Finish is mostly oily, with a creamy sweetness as it says goodbye.

I poured this cold (about 39), and started the review. I sipped it for a while. At room temperature, when I finished this review, it was a bit more creamy and sweet. I liked it much more at room temp.

Give this one a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2006 00:24:00 | More by karengarys