Newcastle Founders' Ale - The Caledonian Brewery Company Limited

Newcastle Founders' AleNewcastle Founders' Ale

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BA SCORE
75
average
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306 Ratings
THE BROS
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rAvg: 3.26
pDev: 15.03%
Reviews: 118
Hads: 188

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Brewed by:
The Caledonian Brewery Company Limited visit their website
United Kingdom (Scotland)

Style | ABV
English Pale Ale |  4.80% ABV

Availability: Spring. bottle (110), on-tap (8)

Notes:
No notes at this time.
View:  Beers  (22) |  Events  (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by Cbrazbox:
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Cbrazbox


3.5/5  rDev +7.4%

06-02-2012 05:50:37 | More by Cbrazbox
More User Reviews:
Photo of kylehay2004
kylehay2004

Florida

3/5  rDev -8%

05-23-2013 00:13:00 | More by kylehay2004
Photo of Darkmagus82
Darkmagus82

Montana

3.25/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Served on tap in a pint glass

Appearance – Served a medium amber colored brew with a one finger white head. The head fades relatively quickly leaving only a lighter level of lace on the sides of the glass

Smell - The aroma is mainly of a malty and bready aroma. Mixed with these are some sweeter caramel as well as some lighter fruit notes of apple.

Taste – The taste begins with a bready and biscuit malt flavor mixed with a sweet caramel flavor upfront. Some light roasted malt flavors develop more toward the middle, only to fade more toward the end. As the light roasted flavors come and go so too comes some fruity flavor of an apple and pear taste. These stay very light and only aid in enhancing the bready and biscuit flavors and serve as a backdrop to the caramel. In the end a light herbal hop flavor comes to the tongue, leaving a rather crisp and smooth flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is rather crisp and on thinner side with a medium to slightly lower level of carbonation. A bit more carbonation may have been slightly better for accentuating the crisp taste of the brew, but overall it was a decent feel as the thinner body made it quite refreshing.

Overall – Rather crisp and refreshing. Quite easy to drink but nothing too exceptional.

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2013 00:20:54 | More by Darkmagus82
Photo of RandyBoBandy
RandyBoBandy

Florida

2.75/5  rDev -15.6%

05-21-2013 22:30:53 | More by RandyBoBandy
Photo of flagmantho
flagmantho

Washington

3.78/5  rDev +16%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: rich golden hue with a haze-free body and a pretty strong effervescence. Head is a half-finger of creamy ivory foam. Not bad!

Smell: subdued malty aroma with a fair helping of caramel character. A bit light, but nice.

Taste: nice caramel-malt flavor with a light but present bitterness; it's definitely tipped more to the malty side of the spectrum. This beer is almost a caramel mild in its lightness and balance. Still, the overall effect is working for me.

Mouthfeel: light body with a big carbonation and a unexpectedly robust and satisfying creaminess. I'm quite pleasantly surprised!

Overall: this beer just rubs me the right way. It's light but balanced, sweet but not cloying, and really quite satisfying. I would be glad to quaff gobs of it.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 19:03:57 | More by flagmantho
Photo of yodagruv
yodagruv

Texas

3.1/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: coppery amber, pretty clear, head was less than 1/4", don't know if it was a little old or if that's just its style.

S: biscuity, malty, less intense than Newkie Brown.

T: malty, earthy, simple, drinkable, biscuity at the end, slightly dry finish.

M: A little heavier than a tea, slippery

O: May be a bit easier on the American drinker than the Brown offering. I read that the original Newcastle Brown was considered a failure by the formulator because he he'd been attempting to recreate Bass Pale Ale. This is much closer to Bass but I'd say a smidge mellower.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 04:38:59 | More by yodagruv
Photo of gregu2
gregu2

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-19-2013 00:33:44 | More by gregu2
Photo of hackmann
hackmann

Michigan

2.9/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

On the bottle: “Founders’ is a pale ale with a dry hoppy flavour and aroma. It is sweet rather than bitter, with a clean short finish.”

Appearance: shiny crystal copper body with a thin eggshell colored head that leaves very little lacing

Aroma: clean aroma, dry white toast, not much else

Flavors: okay, I’ll buy their description ‘dry hoppy flavour’ – a light grassy dry hops, light caramel, toasted white bread

Mouthfeel: Yes it is clean and short on the aftertaste, moderate carbonation,

To the Point: they are correct and honest in their description. How many times a company says, ‘full bodied, big time hops or malts, triple hopped’ … sure, sure, sure … you buy it and try it and it tastes light bodied and thin on the flavor side.

If you want simple, fairly clean, light on the flavors, easy to drink, and personally it is not that bad tasting.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 20:59:37 | More by hackmann
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Slay40

Michigan

2.75/5  rDev -15.6%

05-17-2013 00:26:39 | More by Slay40
Photo of Omnium
Omnium

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Bottle > Winter Lager Glass

A - Pours a dark gold/light amber color, with half a finger of head, medium lacing.
S - Some baking flour, lager yeast, floral hops, and a little fresh cut grass.
T - This tastes and drinks much more like a lager than a pale ale, with just a few more hops, and some light fresh baked bread kinda malt.
M - Clean and smooth, nice finish for refreshment.
O - While not the worst, this is decently sessionable with some moderate flavors that make for a good hoppy lager, but its far off from a pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 22:10:54 | More by Omnium
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Fatehunter

Oregon

3.13/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a half finger of head on a clear, dark copper colored body.
The aroma is a good, if faint, grain and malt smell.
The taste is fairly bland. A touch of sweetness.
The texture is too fizzy with a crisp texture.
At 4.8% and no real flavor you could go to town on these and not be offended.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 06:17:45 | More by Fatehunter
Photo of thecheapies
thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.44/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Light copper color. Beautifully crystal. Hefty bone collar of a finger and a half. Laces with oily foam stick.

Lightly toasty and very floral. Some harvest fruit and an ester reminiscent of tutti frutti. Fresh and minty nose. The hops that carry that are of that disposition.

Weaker in the flavor, after a very mild aroma. Steeped grains gather some sweeter notes alongside that light toast. A little soapy, too. Herbal hops have a spearmint freshness. Almost a note of cilantro. Somewhat grassy. Faint artificial peach.

Lightly carbonated. Hard to conjure up a burp. Reasonably easy to take down. The body is not particularly smooth, but it's at the right viscosity.

Newcastle is not where to turn for an authentic and delicious session pale. Look elsewhere. This one misses the mark.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 13:33:52 | More by thecheapies
Photo of Bill235
Bill235

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -0.3%

05-09-2013 13:56:07 | More by Bill235
Photo of Kpitevl
Kpitevl

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-09-2013 02:50:54 | More by Kpitevl
Photo of Tavo2311
Tavo2311

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-08-2013 00:47:38 | More by Tavo2311
Photo of dalepryor
dalepryor

Kentucky

2.75/5  rDev -15.6%

05-07-2013 21:12:08 | More by dalepryor
Photo of dbrauneis
dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.36/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Served on-tap at The Tap in Boston, MA

A: Pours a crystal clear medium copper in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation and some light amber highlights. The beer has a finger tall frothy off-white head that reduces to a thin film covering the entire surface of the beer with a slightly thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of pale and biscuit malts along with a lightly fruity yeast and just a touch teas leaves.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of biscuit malts with just a hint of the pale malts. Light notes of fruity yeasts and hints of tea leaves (likely from an herbal/earthy hop). Light amounts of bitterness which fades quickly.

M: Just heavier than light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin/watery.

O: Very easy to drink and definitely one that could be a session beer - reminds me of afternoons in pubs when visiting London. Not one I would go out of my way to find again but certainly one I would enjoy if I came across it in a bar again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2013 18:06:07 | More by dbrauneis
Photo of h4ger
h4ger

Connecticut

3/5  rDev -8%

05-05-2013 00:05:15 | More by h4ger
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RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +15%

05-03-2013 20:14:24 | More by RedneckBeerz
Photo of gshackles
gshackles

New York

3.25/5  rDev -0.3%

05-02-2013 02:07:42 | More by gshackles
Photo of uno99
uno99

Ontario (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

A blighty good brew the bottle says... Well its certainly an "ok" one...

Appearance: Quite bright, almost florescent straw color with a hint of caramel. Not much head going on but there seems to be some nice lacing an a halo of foam around the meniscus.

Smell: Straight forward, simple and understated. Gently hopped with what I presume is traditional English bittering hops. Good malt balance. Slight metallic note but nothing truly off putting.

Taste: Pretty well balanced but unremarkable. No off flavours really. This would be very drinkable stuff.

Mouthfeel: Nicely carbonated, and nice bitter finish

Overall: Not great, but decent. A good addition to their excellent and world famous brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 01:37:11 | More by uno99
Photo of MarshMan71
MarshMan71

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -0.3%

04-28-2013 20:22:56 | More by MarshMan71
Photo of Damian74Shensky
Damian74Shensky

South Carolina

3/5  rDev -8%

04-27-2013 18:53:35 | More by Damian74Shensky
Photo of DirtyPenny
DirtyPenny

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -0.3%

04-25-2013 22:49:15 | More by DirtyPenny
Photo of russpowell
russpowell

Oklahoma

3.24/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25

Not expecting much from this one... indiscernible dating code on it

Pours an effervescent amber with a thumb+ of cream colored head. Good lacing & head retention

S: Pears & jammy notes,

T: Follows the nose,a touch of diacetyl & faint leafy hops. Slight sulphuric notes mix in with ever so faint leafy & mineral hoppyness, plus cardboard & a wisp of pear flavor as this warms. Finishes dry, fruitty & sulphury; finished stronger than it started

MF: Light bodied, fairly firm carbonation, gets even thinner as this warms

An average example of the style, muted hop profile, alright drinkability. Got better as it warmed past cellar temp, but not enough to redeem it

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 02:32:14 | More by russpowell
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Newcastle Founders' Ale from The Caledonian Brewery Company Limited
75 out of 100 based on 306 user ratings.