Pandora - Idle Hands Craft Ales

portia99

Massachusetts

4.06/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle (bottled 2/15/13) poured into an Allagash stemmed glass.

A - Pours a super clear medium amber color trending towards orange in the glass. A big three fingers of cream colored pillowy foam shows excellent staying power lasting for several minutes...slowly fades leaving behind a thick coating of foamy lace.

S - Very spicy Belgian notes on the nose. Lots of citrus - a blend of lemon-lime, orange and some grapefruit...quite juicy in the aroma. Grassy and spicy...this really smells great.

T - Sharply bitter hops up front, a touch medicinal. Turns spicy and citrusy over some biscuity dry maltiness. Lots of grassy flavors too. This is almost more of a hoppy saison with a touch of Belgain funkiness in here too.

M - Lighter side of medium bodied with strong carbonation that is tingly and slightly foamy. Medicinal hop bitterness persists from start to finish.

O - Overall, a rather refreshing late spring beverage on a beautiful sunny day. Complex with fruity, grassy and hoppy flavors over light malt. Seems perfect for warmer weather quaffing outside. Will have to sample again when the weather is even better and warmer.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 23:36:51 | More by portia99

malthegal

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the 750ml bottle into my Belgian tulip glass with a nice golden amber color and big frothy off-white head. The yeast and hops dominate the aroma, with neither necessarily taking center stage. Both contribute earthy spice notes with the hops adding citrus and some floral as well. The malts play a bigger role in the taste, adding a nice bit of graham cracker sweetness to balance out the bitterness of the hops. The floral and spice notes of the hops do well to tie in the more grapefruit/citrus notes with the Belgian yeast, preventing the two from clashing like many beers of the style are prone to do. The result is a complex, but well balanced flavor. It's medium bodied and finishes quite refreshingly dry with no lingering sweetness. A very solid beer I'm sure I'll be picking up again!

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 19:52:11 | More by malthegal

gfreed

Massachusetts

1.83/5  rDev -51.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

There's a lot of mediocre beer available these days, and you can toss this bottle onto the growing slag pile. The aroma is thin, although if you jam your nose way into the glass and inhale deeply enough to almost suck the beer into your nostrils you *will* be able to detect some lemons and a bit of yeast. And if you let the beer sit in your mouth for a minute or two it will take on the flavors of whatever you're eating at the moment. Otherwise it has no flavor of its own except for a flat-Pepsi, ropey twang. There's very little reason to give this one a try unless you just want to be able to say you've bought beer from a brewer in Everett, MA.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 15:20:22 | More by gfreed

larryi86

Delaware

4.1/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you DrewShal9 for this!
750 mL bottle, dated 11/28/11, poured into a tulip glass

A- A clear amber with a huge white fluffy head.

S- Citrus and floral hops, yeast, nice earthy spices.

T- Bright citrus hops, hint of tart apples, floral notes, nice black pepper in the finish. Good complexity, good balance, finish is a little to strong.

M- Medium body, smooth, good carbonation.

O- A really nice beer that I am very happy that I got to try. Worth seeking out and trying.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 00:57:56 | More by larryi86

Jason

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750ml brown bottle, corked and caged. Bottled on date on the label.

LOOK: Hazed pale amber with a chunky dense head that has no intention of moving.

SMELL: Dusty yeast, faint mace, red bell peppers, crackers, green apple taffy, chocolate mint

TASTE: Crisp snap, smooth, spicy, yeasty, dried grass, slight alcoholic ester, mild medicinal herb, bready, dried apples, dry finish

Just enough depth to keep me thinking and wanting another sip, seems like a new adventure with each sip as well. The dryness draws me in as well and the after taste is something to admire.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 02:07:32 | More by Jason

dday1231

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Nice white foamy head and golden color ale. Strong aroma of hops. The head is really nice. Each sip contains a little head along with the wonderful pale ale. The initial taste is smooth, and the finish is sweet, hoppy, and a pinch of spice. They are 100% correct, this is a Belgian inspired pale ale--I love it! The cork was almost impossible to remove from the bottle, but the effort was worth it. We love this beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 00:06:54 | More by dday1231

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to celticfightclub for providing this in a trade.

This is a nice looking beer. The structure of the head is quite impressive. Retention is insane. Rises well above the top of the glass. The beer is darker in color than I would have guessed. Straight amber color with orange tones. Tons of sticky lace

Nice light malt, some perfumey hop notes and a touch of yeast. Smells fresh.

Fruit up front, some yeast spice notes next. Back to fruit and then a bitter hop finish. The aftertaste is laced with yeast and spice notes again. Pretty refreshing actually. A slight plastic flavor from the yeast.

Light body which feels bigger at first due to the aftertaste.

Decent little beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 22:38:00 | More by Reagan1984

mlazzaro

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very cloudy and foamy. In terms of presentation and how it looks in the glass, this beer is pretty exceptional. I don't mind a cloudy beer though. Smells a lot like Saison Yeast and has a solid carbonation to push out the aromatics. Taste wasn't what I expected but it's nice. Kind of bitter and tastes like Kent or some English hops. Especially considering the thin body. Yeast comes off as very peppery. I feel like hoppiness is a bit distracting for the subtle grain and yeast flavors. Simple flavors don't really come through . Unique and interesting but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 22:45:39 | More by mlazzaro

rinhaak

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap Vee Vee in Jamaica Plain, MA

Pours a golden copper, surprisingly red. The light is dim which may be affecting the hue. Nice one finger of head, fades fast, but clings to the side of the glass.

Nose is biscuity, a little hpppy, cloves, and white pepper.

Very spicy mouth. Lots of bitter hops, pepper, clove, very dry. As it sits, a little bit of strawberry starts to come through. The finish is bitter and dry.

Unusual for the style, very American. Well made, but it's a little imbalanced.

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2011 01:44:11 | More by rinhaak

SunDevilBeer

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Had on tap @ Atwood's after their initial tasting party.

A - Looks a bit dark for a BPA. Very foamy too.

S - Smoke???? Huh??? Why does that belong here....overpowers anything else.

T - That smoke flavor again, and pretty dirty/earthy too. This tastes off. Was hoping some hops would clean it up on the back end but no luck.

M - Chewy. Difficult to put down, a bit unpleasant.

O - Not really impressed with the 1st offering. They are local & I'd like to support them, but I need to see some improvement. Will try again some time (tho not in a hurry right now).

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2011 01:54:21 | More by SunDevilBeer

Stockfan42

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Fresh Growler poured from the brewer. Mmmm, very good stuff!

Pours a golden orange body with a foamy white head that quickly decipitates to almost nothing.

The aroma is very fruity. Grapefruit and mandarin oranges dominate along with some floral hops. Hints of lemon and maybe even grape linger in the back. Smells very good.

Taste just about goes hand in hand with the smell. Very fruity and citrusy, and just as hoppy in balance. Grapefruit and orange balance out with the hops, hints of lemon and lemon zest. Needs a little more carbonation.

Mouthfeel is pretty light, almost a bit tangy from all the citrus and hops clashing. Goes down pretty easy but is under carbonated.

If this beer had better carbonation it would probably be one of my favorite pale ales, but none the less its still a very tasty beer. I recommend to anyone in the boston area, come check this place out.

*UPDATE*

I have had a few of they're bottled pandora 's and they are much improved. Well carbonated and still very tasty,

Serving type: growler

10-16-2011 19:29:50 | More by Stockfan42