Cascade Amber - Tied House Cafe & Brewery

BeerManDan

California

4/5  rDev +30.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer had a nice clear golden color with very little foam. The smell was of malts with a hint of hops and a touch of citrus. The taste was smooth and kind of creamy with a nice malt flavor with a hint of hops. Well balanced and not bitter at all.

Serving type: on-tap

12-12-2002 21:43:38 | More by BeerManDan

t0rin0

California

3.75/5  rDev +22.5%

03-03-2013 15:29:39 | More by t0rin0

Hien

California

4/5  rDev +30.7%

01-06-2013 09:55:26 | More by Hien

Offa

California

2.33/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

This seems to be about par for the Tied House - a decidely unimpressive beer with some unpleasant qualities.

Orangish amber-copper, slightly hazy, it has a medium pale tan head steadily shrinking to foamy ring.

Aroma is sweet pine, pineapple, dust (like the Napa Smith Amber - a benchmark for own reference mostly - but better and milder), some green grass and old, moldy sponge. It's not good but it's ok.

Taste is slightly sour plums up front, then dry toasty crackers or white bread in the finish. It has light, thin carbonated mineral-water character, faint caramel hint. The initial bready finish soon fizzles out to be replaced by a thin, vague juice quality and vague smokiness. It is not very enjoyable or drinkable, but is better than quite a few.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 23:55:21 | More by Offa

Acoma

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%

08-12-2012 21:54:09 | More by Acoma

rowmine

California

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%

04-14-2012 17:04:20 | More by rowmine

nwatson

Virginia

4/5  rDev +30.7%

02-25-2012 12:36:37 | More by nwatson

Exiled

Texas

3/5  rDev -2%

11-25-2011 19:26:41 | More by Exiled

westcoastbeerlvr

California

1.75/5  rDev -42.8%

11-15-2011 19:51:05 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

Zorro

California

3.2/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Clear amber colored ale with a small tan colored head.

Smell is sweet and nicely malty with a toasted grain and wheat toast aroma. Little bit of bittersweet scent here that smells a bit like English Hop.

Starts out a little sweet and malty with a slight bittersweet aftertaste. Nice toasted grain with a little acid and butter and a light grassy hop flavor. Quite tasty and mild.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a surprisingly tasty ale. Mild yet tasty and interesting, a beer I could drink all night.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2011 01:25:24 | More by Zorro

codfeast

California

2.78/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

bottle to pint.

A: Hazy amber, big off white head. Some lacing.

S: Malt, caramel, hints of flowers, tea leaves, dairy.

T: Malty start, followed by some floral notes, that quickly disolves to water. A funny bitter and soapy aftertaste.

M: Light body, light carbination.

O: Easy drinking but so is water. Everything about this beer seems diluted. at $1.99 for 22oz. I say I got what I paid for.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 18:37:55 | More by codfeast

DaveHS

California

2.73/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A-Pours clear chestnut amber, with a thin, fizzy khaki head. Stringy lacing.

S-Fairly nondescript. A trace of floral sweetness,some sweet iced tea aromas, barely anything else.

T/M-Thin and watery, with fizzy carbonation. Mediocre hop profile gets lost in the grainy mess of malts. Can't tell what this beer is going for. Not assertive in its maltiness or its hoppiness. Just kind of bland and unimpressive.

O-Skip it.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2011 00:49:54 | More by DaveHS

DarthKostrizer

California

2.68/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Look: Nice reddish orange color with 1/4 head and no retention

Smell: Slight floral notes from the hops and a bit of toffee but both are very faint

Taste: Pretty much the same as the smell. Hints of toffee a touch of sweetness from the malt and not much else

Mouthfeel: Medium body and slightly carbonated.

Overall: This was kind of a boring beer. It did not have much flavor or aroma to it and was not very appetizing.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2011 20:55:16 | More by DarthKostrizer

DoubleJ

California

2.38/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

It was a product I never seen, and at an affordable price ($2.99 for the bomber) at my local BevMo. "...it was amber. SHe was aglow." Um, that label looks more like scarlet to me, but maybe the beer is amber. I'll pop the cap and find out:

The beer does look amber in color. A darker amber. There's some creamy lacing kicked up by the head, which is about a ½ inch thick. Oh, if only the nose were like the look. Overall, the nose is light in firepower, bringing to the table toasted toffee, a squirt of Cascade hop(?) juice, and a trickle of cardboard.

Upfront there's hope that the flavor will be more intense. It doesn't happen, but it does have it moments. I'm getting this cured meat flavor, the kind that you would get in a rauchbier, as the beer settles in my mouth. Toasted biscuity malt is flashed, especially in the aftertaste. Vague fruitiness wiggle around. The carbonation seems to "jump" the beer's taste, which by itself (the taste) is weak. As it warms, the beer acquires a "chemically" character. The aftertaste of biscuity malt alone lingering in the aftertaste brings the taste score up one notch.

The overall package is okay at best. Meh. I'll need to remember to lower my expectations should there be another meeting.

Quick update - the flavor is getting worse and worse the more I go along. Battery acid anyone? What started as decent is now in drainpour territory.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2011 05:52:24 | More by DoubleJ

BaronRogue

California

3.33/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this one on special, let's see if it's anything special.

Deep bronze color, a soft pour resulted in little to no head. Bottle filled all the way to the top.

Smelled hoppy, spicy, grassy... not expecting that at all after reading some of the reviews on here.

Tastes strange, but not bad. I get a lot of grassy hops and a smokey backbone. Peculiar.

Mouthfeel was crisp, but that smoky undertone gives it a medium body.

Overall, not terrible, but not really my taste. The grassiness and smokiness kind of grows on you as you progress down the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 03:15:43 | More by BaronRogue

RoyalT

Ohio

3.05/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance - This is a nice bronze in color with a pretty good head that left some film on the inside of my glass.

Smell - There's a big, harsh malt base to this aroma that's more like an English extra bitter. It's a bit yeasty with some light toffee notes. The hops are all grass and I don't get a whiff of Cascade so don't know what that's all about.

Taste - This tastes like it smells except a little on the stale side. The toffee sweetness seems a tad overdone like it's slightly burnt which gives this ale an off smoky character.

Mouthfeel - This is maybe just medium-bodied with some uncomfortable bitterness and decent but somewhat boring carbonation.

Drinkability - This ale first off failed to deliver on the promise of Cascade hopping and second, what it did have in spades which was the big malt backbone of the style, it did quite sloppily. That being said, it wasn't a bad beer just nothing that I'd buy again.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2010 00:09:43 | More by RoyalT

Mora2000

Texas

3.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to ericandersnavy for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a yellow-amber color with a white head. The aroma is sweet toffee and not too much else. The flavor is toffee and grassy hops, with some earthyness/dirt components mixed in as well. The beer tastes slightly chalky, but I am not sure why. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 22:37:16 | More by Mora2000

niibuyaa

California

2.33/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A = Very appropriate coloring for the name. Not much head though, and little if no lacing.

S = It smells like a mixture of what you get at the end of the night in the overflow catch on a tap mixed with some cleaning solvents.

T = Oddly better than it smells. It has all the elements a good Amber should, just poorly executed across the board. The taste is quite muted an altogether unimpressive. But it shows potential.

M = It feels a bit sludgy, or perhaps chalky.

D = Below average for my tastes. I will not purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2010 18:22:03 | More by niibuyaa

jdense

Oregon

3.05/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Oasis, Menlo Park, CA. 8.13.2010.

Less than a half finger of head, fast dissipation with little if any lacing. Amber clear body, no visible carbonation. Nose predominated by caramel malts, a bit of breadiness, but very little if any hops, perhaps a bit of floral notes. Taste mirrors nose, not a lot going on here. Medium mouthfeel, minimal effervescence. Not too bad drinkability, but given the lack of flavor, I'll pass next time.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2010 15:00:14 | More by jdense

lacqueredmouse

Australia

2.98/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Mountain View location.

Pours a very clear amber colour, quite light, and thin in the body. Again, there's no head to it, but they fill the glass right to the top so it's perhaps an intentional thing. Looks pretty tame overall.

Nose is pretty weak. A little sweet grain, and a dash of honey. Jenny says strawberry jam, and I can maybe believe it. There's certainly sweetness to it. Very little hop character.

Taste is also pretty weak, but on the palate it comes across as slightly more clean and refreshing. Certainly not a lot to recommend it in terms of flavour, but it's smooth enough, and the mouthfeel is crisp.

Not impressive, but pretty drinkable. I've had far better Amber ales, including some pretty mainstream examples in Australia, but it's not bad. Just pretty lame for such a niche market.

Serving type: on-tap

11-24-2009 05:06:02 | More by lacqueredmouse

yesyouam

New York

2.45/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

On tap at the Tied House in San Jose. Cascade Amber is clear and amber without much head. The aroma is very muted and of medicinal hops. In the mouth, it's light and slightly chalky. The flavor carries the lightest detectable bitterness. There's really not much flavor at all.
(rated May 18, 2007)

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2008 06:03:33 | More by yesyouam

Durge

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

An iced tea color brew with decent off-white head and solid lacing. Grassy malt aroma is the best I can pick up here, a bit weak. Tart and smokey flavor blend with some nutty tobacco-like suggestions. Interesting. Finely carbonated with a fairly dry hop bitterness in the back. Mild malty undertones with a slight creaminess. Good and worth a try. Shouldn't be a disappointment to anyone but nothing toomemorable. An easy beer to drink or have with a sandwich, etc.

Serving type: on-tap

02-21-2008 02:33:54 | More by Durge