North Peak Siren Amber - North Peak Brewing Company

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

2.63/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a clean amber color with a white head. In the aroma, a light caramel like presence. In the taste, a light caramel like roast. A small bite and a medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry caramel like aftertaste. Bland and pretty basic, nothing really that good, nor bad, eh!

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 18:32:13 | More by OWSLEY069

atomicbeer

New Mexico

3.38/5  rDev +6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear gold-orange with only a small off white head after an aggressive pour. Aroma is toasty malt, grass and herbal hops with a slight bitterness. Taste follows the aroma with a bit more bitterness and a slight sourness. Mouthfeel starts off juicy then a bit prickly and finishes slightly drying. A good beer to have a few of in the fridge, nothing special but a solid amber ale. Stubby 12 oz bottle is cute too.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 01:23:42 | More by atomicbeer

StoutHunter

Michigan

2.6/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I picked up a six pack of North Peak's Siren Amber a couple days ago for $8.99 at Meijers. It's been a while since I've had an Amber Ale and North Peak is pretty solid, so I decided to take a chance on this beer, so lets see how it goes. Bottled September 4th 2012. Poured from a stubby brown 12oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks ok, it's got the typical North Peak Label with a little Siren on it. It poured a slightly golden amber color that took on more of a brighter amber color when held to the light with two and a half fingers worth of fluffy off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and and left a little bit of patchy lacing. This was an ok looking beer, not bad, but not great looking.

S- The aroma starts off with some medium sweet malts that imparted a bread, dough, and light caramel malts aroma. Towards the end I get some yeast aromas and some grassy aromas along with a little more sweetness. The aroma is pretty dull with not much going on, It think it's a little below average..

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it's just as boring. It starts off with some malts that have a higher amount of medium sweetness to it and impart some mild grain, bread, dough, and caramel malts flavors. Up next comes some yeast flavors followed by some grassy flavors with a sweet finish with hardly any bitterness and a sweet and grainy aftertaste. The taste is pretty dull, I think it's a below average tasting beer.

M- Smooth, slightly creamy, a little prickly, medium bodied, with a slight higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel wasn't bad, but the prickly carbonation made it pretty average,

Overall I was pretty unimpressed with this beer and I thought it was a below average example of an Amber ale, it just didn't have much flavor or aroma and that really hurt this beer, overall it was just too one dimensional. This beer had ok drinkability, it went down pretty smooth, but the flavor was too boring to hold my attention, one is enough for me, I want something with much more flavor. What I liked most about this beer was the appearance, it didn't look half bad and the head really stayed around for a while. What I liked least about this beer was the lack of flavor and aroma, it was just too dull and one dimensional for my liking. I wouldn't buy this beer again, there's way too many good tasting Amber Ales for me to waste my time with this beer, wish I just would have bought a single instead of a six pack, I can't say I recommend this beer, it's just too dull. All in all I was not a fan of this beer, North Peak is a pretty solid Brewery but this beer turned out to be a let down, with how hoppy a lot of their beers are I was expecting a nice balance of malts and hops, but that wasn't to be found in this beer. Better luck next time North Peak, this beer was a miss.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 03:39:16 | More by StoutHunter

andrewjraab

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Solid two inch off white head. Quarter of an inch of head remained throughout the drink. Good lacing and stick. Amber brown - good clarity.

S - Malty, faint hop characteristics.

T - Well crafted amber brew. Excellent balance and easily drinkable. Sweet an malty up front with a crisp finish with a distant hop offering.

O - I would definitely keep this in the rotation. Easily drinkable / sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 18:09:48 | More by andrewjraab

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

2.65/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Eh. I declare this a miss. Strikes me as too much like a cider and not like an amber. I mean, sure, it's drinkable. But this is nowhere near where an amber should be. A disappointing offering. Especially from a brewery I now like, based on their other beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 17:46:57 | More by RblWthACoz

ribby

Michigan

3.15/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a medium-dark brown, very clear. A lot of carbonation, but the head dissipates quickly. The aroma is mostly sweet malt, with a hint of yeastiness. The taste is predominately malt. This would get a better rating, but for just a little too much bitterness. I do not know if this is a lack of freshness in the hops, or a little bit of overcooked malt.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2012 01:24:24 | More by ribby

madeofsteel

Michigan

3.38/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Duvel tulip.

A - Pours a clear mahogany with a sturdy-looking off white head of about a finger. Decent retention, sparse lacing.

S - Modest mixed citrus, with some bread dough and caramel.

T - Yep, it's an amber alright. Caramel malts, with a balancing, yet slightly understated hop presence. Citrus, and faint dark fruit.

M - Almost as though it's confused as to which way to run with it. Prickly carbonation, but very fine creamy foam about halfway through the drink. Light bodied, albeit kind of messy.

O - This is a pretty average amber, but I do like that it isn't as sweet as the style usually is. Far more balanced.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 22:29:32 | More by madeofsteel

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.1/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with a couple fingers of foamy off-white head. This maintains a frothy ½ finger, which leaves back a heavy cascade of foamy lace. This eventually peters out though, with a head retention that maybe only lasts half way through the glass. The aroma smells leafy and citric, which is mixes in with notes of caramel and soft doughy character to impart a ripe earthy tang in the nostrils.

The taste has a green citric bitterness, which is set against that same tangy mix of caramel and buttered toast from the nose. The finish is dry and bitter with a little too much of a lingering rawness on the tongue. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a soft crispness on the tongue and then more of a creamy presence on the edges. This is a drinkable feel.

This was a pretty run-of-the-mill Amber Ale with decent enough flavors and drinkability but not really enough to set it apart from the pack in any way. I doubt I would pick this up again.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2012 16:42:11 | More by Kegatron

bigkingken

Virginia

3.23/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours perfectly amber with a nice head that lingers around a good while. Slight haze. Not a lot of aroma coming from the brew, and what little there is speaks to the malt bill more than the hops. First taste is crisp, light and refreshing. Not overly sweet, just a little bit up front before mellowing into notes of biscuit and brown sugar. Straight forward beer that serves well for its purpose, but nothing to write home about.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 18:35:14 | More by bigkingken

Blueribbon666

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from notes.
North Peak's packaging and squatty retro bottle caught my eye and I grabbed a couple singles to try. I'm a sucker for the old school brown squatty bottles.
Poured into dimpled mug with little to no head retention at all. A light amber honey colored hew.
Smells grassy, light and biscuit-like not much else.
Taste/Mouthfeel clean, very smooth feel with a back end bit of hops to dry the initial taste of malt.
Overall better than expected flavor is original enough to recommend especially in the summer time; flavor and drinkability did not disappoint.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 22:55:54 | More by Blueribbon666

nukem5

Pennsylvania

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

Never heard of North Peak before we dont get it in Western Pa so when I saw it said yep another new brewery for me to try!

Upon pouring this I noticed a great amber color a bit cloudy and hardly any foam or head retention.Very little in the way of smell, light malts and that's sadly it.Taste has a light malty grassy feel about it with a slight hop taste mostly of floral but also some citrus in there.The mouth feel is a bit watery with very little carbonation.While not exactly a drain pour this is a week example of the style, would try it again but probably would never be a regular seeker of. Overall an OK beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 00:47:51 | More by nukem5

CogSciBierNut

Pennsylvania

2.38/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served from bottle into Bell's pint glass.

Appearance is a dark caramel tone, a little bit of bubbles, and a half finger head.

Smell - Probably turned me off the most about this beer. Doesn't really smell like anything, except maybe an old shoe. No depth to the smell.

Taste - Bits of caramel, citrus, and a woody aftertaste that doesn't linger for long. Overall, I found the taste lacking for its decent appearance.

Mouthfeel - Not much going on here either. The bubbly I saw in the beer dissipated once it hit my tongue. Doesn't have a kick to it, and is neither smooth nor hoppy.

Overall, I was very disappointed in North Peak's Siren Amber, despite having other good beers from this brewery that measured up to expectations. Sorry, North Peak. Not a fan.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 23:53:11 | More by CogSciBierNut

Jesse13713

Ohio

2.08/5  rDev -34.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Two full fingers of soapy head. A clouded orange/amber color. A slight caramel brown.

Smell - Light spice and malt but not much else.

Taste - Very malty for sure. Full of autumn notes and light spices. Slight lemon in the front with a bit of a sweet-tart taste. Smooths out into malts in the finish.

Mouthfeel / Drinkability - Easily drinkable. Tangy on the tongue and slightly bittersweet. Sort of flat and forgettable. Nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 21:20:34 | More by Jesse13713

Trystero

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Picked up a single of these at Market District for 1.50. Good price to try something new from a brewery I've been reading about.

A - Rich amber, ruby color. Pours with almost no head, a quick white foam whisp that vanishes. Looks slightly thin.

S - Crisp, clean caramel malt with grassy sweet hops in the background. A pleasant, refreshing nose.

T - Clean caramel malt followed by juicy sweet hops with a twist of grass. Dies on the finish leaving a slight heat in the back of the mouth.

M - Thin, with very little carbonation.

O - Despiste it's faults it's a very drinkable amber ale particularly suited for hot summer afternoons due to the refreshing, clean sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2011 19:46:23 | More by Trystero

wvsabbath

West Virginia

3.15/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Serving Type - Bottle

Appearance - Copper/tan dark brown. 1/2 creamy head. Lots of lacing.

Smell - Floral hops, malts, some carmal, not much more

Taste - FIrst taste is very malty, with a grassy, bland yeast flavor. SOme grapefruit and sugars are present but overpowered by the yeast flavor. Not much going on for it otherwise. Rather one dimentional and light on amber qualites like spices, pungent malts and hops.

Mouthfeel - Thin, bland, coats tounge with malts, not much bittering and certainly easy to recover from.

Overall - Not impressed, too bland, not enough flavors. Hops are weak, malts are overpowered and nothing about this is worth a repeat drink. ALot better ambers out there.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 23:09:54 | More by wvsabbath

Natural510

Ohio

3.43/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle, dated May 6 2011.

Nice, darker amber color, but with very little head which quickly dissipates to zero foam or lacing.

Scent is malty and fruity with a tart overtone.

Malt-bath flavor, with toffee and sour apple notes. Bitterness balances out the malt, leaving a mix of sweet, sour and bitter in the finish.

Body is full, but overall mouthfeel suffers from lack of carbonation (though the brew is not completely flat).

Unique offering, like everything else I've tried from this little brewery. Perhaps the flavor would be off-putting to some, but I liked it; only criticism is the aforementioned lack of head & carbonation to go with it.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 02:26:27 | More by Natural510

McNealc31

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +39.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice, crisp amber color. Not much of a head. Just one smell has you knowing you're going to be in for something different. There is a ton of flavor in this Siren. Lots of malt, caramel, toasted bread, some hops in the finish. Big, round mouthfeel. There's a bit of a dry, bitter finish.

Tons of flavor, well balanced, and a bigger feel than you'd expect. A very good amber ale.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 02:08:40 | More by McNealc31

wagenvolks

Texas

3.15/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into a pint glass. Bottled May 6, 2011.

Siren's color is good--caramel core with amber highlights and bursting with carbonation, but unfortunately the crackling head disappears so quickly I can't even remember what color it was. Decent aroma with a flash of juicy, tropical hops amidst sweet amber malt. A bit of vegetal (dare I say, adjunct-y?) notes in the background keeps this from being a really special Red Ale aromatically speaking.

Nutty flavor is backed by a touch of bitter and floral-tasting hops. Again, adjunct flavors in the finish are husky and grainy with a bit of metallic twang. Mouthfeel detects a nicely carbonated, medium-thin body with a crisp finish. Overall, a decent amber ale, but the corn/rice adjunct flavors (even if they came from barley husks) are a little too strong for my liking.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2011 02:29:01 | More by wagenvolks

DamaDeBeer

Michigan

2.83/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The Siren Amber Ale, as to be expected, is perfectly amber in color. This amber has a real faint smell to it, maybe a hint of molasses. Flavor-wise, she's pretty drinkable with only a medium to light body and a malty flavor, but the faint effervescence gives her a little bit of a stale presence. There wasn't a lot of head to speak of and because of that little lace as well. Overall she was pretty boring and didn't keep my attention, but the bottle was brilliant with a silhouette of a farm girl with love from Traverse City.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 23:22:37 | More by DamaDeBeer

jkrich

Indiana

3.35/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Oddly shaped bottle with a stamped date on label - as another reviewer noted, it is unknown if this is best by or bottled on date. Poured a clear, brownish copper with no head or lacing.

The aroma was malty and slightly syrupy; just a hint of hop.

The flavor was rather light with some refreshing maltiness this is detracted by a slight, stale-like cardboard taste. This could use more malt and certainly more hops.

The body was thin and the mouthfeel watery. The lack of complexity and watery body made the ale feel overcarbonated.

This was a decent enough offering, but when compared to so many other ambers I have tried, it falls short.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 23:01:47 | More by jkrich

alexgash

Connecticut

2.95/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

11.5 oz. stubbie bottle. Jan. 04 11 on the label (I assume the bottled on date).

Amberish dark copper. Clear. Small, fizzy off-white head. Not much retention. Lightly toasted, caramelly malts on the nose. Maybe a whiff of herbal hops, but mostly the caramel and cereal malts.

Starts with some faint toasted malt notes. Becomes more caramelly, with light herbal bitterness around the edges. Caramel malt turns more fruity and even a touch cidery. Some singed malts and lingering faint hop bitterness in the finish. Moderate body with a slightly watery feel. Not terrible, but definitely the weakest North Peak offering I've had to date.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 21:49:49 | More by alexgash

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear dull copper amber hue with a khakie colored head forming thick bands of speckled lacing. Aroma has a faint nuttiness/bready malts with a faint citrus/herbal hop quality. Flavor wise this one isn't my dream Amber, much like a Yuengling amber with a bit more maltiness and underlying citrus/herbal hops. It's filling the void of a new beer in a stubby bottle from a quirky craft producer from Michigan. As it warms a bit more caramel/biscuit malts with some assertive bitterness for an amber, solid and much more flavorful as it warms up. Mouthfeel is lighter bodied evenly carbonated, nothing heavy or too filling here. Overall thoughts are decent but not as creative as the other two offerings I had from them, so far. I liked the Diabolical IPA and the American Wheat IPA they put out, for the style it's batting just above average.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 03:13:41 | More by WVbeergeek

Lauthaha

Michigan

2.8/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12-ounce bottle into a beer taster (4 oz.) for premium enjoyment.

Appearance: Beer pours a light-golden color with just a pinch of amber thrown in for good measure. Head is fizzy, and immediately shrinks from about 1.5 fingers to a thin layer of foam on the surface of the drink. Heavy lacing is left as it recedes; some gentle carbonation visible through the glass.

Smell: Pretty good! Hops here are mostly floral; also detectable at first sniff is a grapefruit-like sweetness. It appears to have a thin malt base, and not much else going on; I suspect it's supposed to be that way.

Taste: Oooh...wow. Primarily grapefruit. The malt base is fairly light as was suspected. Ugly bitterness (like bark of a tree bitterness) pervades this brew. Not entirely undrinkable, but way too pungent for my tastes (and for the style).

Mouthfeel: Creamy, rich...beer quickly bubbles forth into a foamy cavalcade of carbonation...and then, nothing. No further development...beer slides down the throat uneventfully and leaves behind almost no aftertaste (except for a mild pungent bitterness).

Overall: If it weren't for the taste, this wouldn't be a bad beer; but then, isn't beer enjoyment all about taste?

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 23:26:24 | More by Lauthaha

boyfromthenorth

Michigan

4.8/5  rDev +50.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Really perfect for the style. A light refreshing malty red or amber beer. NP seems to really focus on IPAs so I was questioning this beer. I had Siren when they first opened and it was not very good. Overcarbonated and even slightly sour. Possible dirty bottle or bad batch. I can see that other people in the past had similar experience. They seem to have figured it out. I thoroughly enjoy this beer. For a amber, I actually think the hopping is a bit high but it is balanced by the carmel sweetness. Easy drinking - could have a bunch of these at once. Nice transition beer that is perfect for what the style is. Well done. Glad I gave you the time to figure it out. Bottle was Dated in December of 2010 and very fresh.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2011 19:06:20 | More by boyfromthenorth

Brenden

Ohio

3.23/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

More of a copper color on the edge of red, this beer forms a head about one finger high that holds itself up for a while before fading to a strong foam that leaves very little lacing behind. There are a few small spots here and there, but it's odd considering that the head was good.
The aroma consists of grains, a light malt with a caramel tone to it, and maybe a yeast component up front. It's too soft and a bit underscored, and a funky caramel/yeast mix is what composes it. The character is there, but it doesn't rise above average.
This isn't exactly what I'm expecting. It has the feel of an amber, with caramel and biscuit from a malt backbone and a balance of hops. The hops really get taken over by the malts, though, and don't do enough. Also underneath what's an otherwise pleasant enough flavor is a slight metallic note and a vegetal funk that picks up as it warms.
The mouthfeel isn't as light as some say, getting a bit of heft from the malt backing, and it's an appropriate light-medium. Carbonation is light and this beer is crisp up front with a smoothness that comes through as well. Mouthfeel isn't a problem here.
I want to like this beer more than I do, but the vegetal thing going on here is too much. It's not bad, but I don't recommend it. I'm still trying more from this brewery in the hopes that others are more like Vicious and less like this.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2011 17:25:49 | More by Brenden