Alligator Ale - Hops Grillhouse & Brewery

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Clear, almost black, ruby ale with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head. Good retention. Subtle milk chocolate aroma. Malty flavor with moderate sweetness, but thin and easily balanced by the minerally, moderately bitter hops. Medium-bodied and lightly creamy with restrained carbonation. Short, watery, mild chocolate finish. A bit too thin but nicely constructed nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2011 21:41:46 | More by CuriousMonk

mdfb79

New York

3/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From notes. Had on tap at Hops in Alexandria, VA on 3/19/10.

a - Poured a dark brown with no head of lacing. Little carbonation evident.

s - Smelled of roasted malts, and a hint of caramel.

t - Followed nose...roasted malts mostly. Kind of bland, not much going on.

m - Smooth and easy to drink. Light bodied and low carbonation.

d - An ok brown ale, but nothing special. They say it has caramel and chocolate in the beer, but I smelled/tasted no chocolate at all, and only a hint of caramel. Very easy to drink, but not great. Wouldn't look to have again.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2010 17:16:37 | More by mdfb79

clayrock81

Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Received a dark brownish stout with good head that stayed around with the beer. Very minimal coffee/toffee malt smell and no hops real noticeable. An extremely smooth beer with a little bit of caramel or honey that makes it so. The malts are slighlty noticeable, so it is a rather thin beer that goes down easy.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2008 21:32:52 | More by clayrock81

hardy008

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had this beer at the Maple Grove location which has since closed down. The beer had a reddish color without a lot of aroma but had a pleasant, somewhat bitter taste with a medium mouthfeel. I found this to be quite drinkable and had it on several ocassions.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2008 18:34:37 | More by hardy008

nriech

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is the best of the regular beers at Hops. Smells are ok with hops and a little caramel. Taste also has good hop body with a little malt and caramel. Carbonation is a little high but overlookable. Overall I could drink this one without complaint if it were happy hour but at full price there are other better bottled beers I would enjoy more.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2007 13:39:49 | More by nriech

cubedbee

Maryland

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Served on tap in a pint glass, dark brown, a little reddish on the bottom, with a thin beige head, pretty nice lacing. Nose is pretty weak and hardly there--a light sort of toffee scent. Taste is a very buttery malt, slightly roasted, lingering caramel flavor, no real hops detectable, overall a pretty tasty if simple beer. Body is on the thin side as all their brews were. Overall, this was a little better than expected, probably the easiest drinking regular beer they had on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

04-12-2006 19:42:40 | More by cubedbee

jimbotrost

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was sampled as part of a 5 beer tasting flite.

This was the darkest beer available on this visit.

The pour was of a deep red to amber, not truly brown, but attractive enough. Medium fizziness seemed appropriate for style. The aroma of roasted malt filled the nose. The flavor was both sweet and roasty, a nice balancing act. The body dried out at the finish.

This was the best beer available on this visit, and very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2005 17:17:00 | More by jimbotrost