Karl Strauss Amber - Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Armand

California

3.03/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Not that bad for a 'just to chill' beer, but it is too average. Nothing to talk good about here. You can actually put this in a catogory of common craft beers and it would fit in. Not awful, but...
A: Light brown.
S: Bland. Serving it in chilled mugs is stupid. And that's what most bars do. At least the ones who don't know anything about beer do.
T: Light brown...???
M: Again, it just goes down as a common beer. Dapness almost.
O: I'd order it maybe if I needed a beer, but I don't really need a beer most times.

Serving type: on-tap

06-27-2011 22:28:34 | More by Armand

Braz

Washington

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%

04-24-2013 19:04:53 | More by Braz

InlandTaipan

California

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%

04-18-2013 02:40:49 | More by InlandTaipan

dwtyler

California

2.5/5  rDev -24.5%

04-04-2013 07:24:44 | More by dwtyler

bumchilly25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +5.7%

03-22-2013 02:55:15 | More by bumchilly25

magictacosinus

California

3.24/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass from a 12oz bottle. Not sure if there's a freshness date on the bottle, as the only stamped looking info is smudged. All things considered, this beer should be consumed fresh.

Pours a decent, yet not too showy clear amber color with an initial burst of tons of carbonation and a half finger of head, only to slowly die down into a thinnish ring that seems to last for quite some time at the top of the glass. A half hour later, there's still lots of bubbles rising up. However, just like Red Trolley Ale, the nice little foam eventually disappears. Pretty simple, but on style as well.

The aroma is a combination of biscuit-infused mals with light caramel notes and little bit of citrusy zest. I'm glad those hops come out here, because otherwise the grainy backdrop would really overpower the flavor here. Everything is lightly toasted and not too showy, but I do get the impression that the flavor is going to be the highlight here.

While the caramel malts are definitely more prominent here, combined with slight yeasty notes and lightly tinged hops, there's a rather unpleasant grainy finish, loaded with little astringent notes that really could have made this more pleasant to drink. Syrupy, sweetened texture overall. However, despite the slightly unbalanced finish, it is pretty drinkable, and surprisingly not too watery overall by amber lager standards.

The flavor is pretty simple, and while there's not too much to write about here, this goes pretty well with food, especially greasy bar food, which I gladly paired this with tonight. On it's own, it doesn't ask for much, which is why whoever drinks it wouldn't have to as well. After being a fan of Karl Strauss's Tower 10 IPA, and being spoiled with Anchor Steam beer, this slightly underwhelms overall - especially if this is their flagship beer. Easy to drink, but it definitely is simple. At $1.30 a bottle, can't really complain though!

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 06:05:43 | More by magictacosinus

gatornation

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%

02-05-2013 23:49:37 | More by gatornation

ssimpson89

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +5.7%

01-27-2013 03:22:09 | More by ssimpson89

ralphw56

Nevada

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%

12-06-2012 00:25:14 | More by ralphw56

Joeyd138

4/5  rDev +20.8%

11-25-2012 01:41:42 | More by Joeyd138

KhangGarrett

California

3.5/5  rDev +5.7%

11-24-2012 04:21:39 | More by KhangGarrett

TheSixthRing

California

3.63/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours a crystal clear, bright amber with a white, 2 finger head. Decent retention. Spotty lacing with little stick.

Smell - Notes of honey hit first, backed by a strong caramel undertone.

Taste - Follows the nose with sweet, malt forward honey and caramel character. Hints at bread mid-taste and into the finish. No noticeable hops present, but the beer isn't cloyingly sweet. Simple, clean finish.

Mouthfeel - Light to medium bodied with light, tingly carbonation. Smooth, goes down with exceptional ease.

Overall - A fairly good, though simple, lager from Karl Strauss. Drinks close to an Oktoberfest / Marzen brew. Drinkable, and somewhat enjoyable, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it. Would make for a decent session brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 02:33:33 | More by TheSixthRing

xgoodyx

4/5  rDev +20.8%

10-29-2012 21:09:07 | More by xgoodyx

CousinSuzy

California

4.25/5  rDev +28.4%

10-25-2012 04:47:59 | More by CousinSuzy

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -9.4%

10-17-2012 02:42:21 | More by t0rin0

sevenshubby

California

4.5/5  rDev +36%

10-14-2012 03:55:31 | More by sevenshubby

BucannonXC5

California

3.33/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12-oz. bottle into a pint glass at my house on Oct. 5, 2012 (purchased at BevMo in La Mesa (San Diego, Calif.) for $1.29 (with card) on Oct. 5, 2012). Less than a finger of head. Light honey caramel with iced tea head. Bad retention all-around.

Smelled caramel, toffee, nutty and a very slight whiff of chocolate. Malty.

Tasted a bit different than I was expecting. Got caramel and toffee up front with a decent amount of malts. Reminded me a bit of an Oktoberfest. Lots of carbonation on the tongue late, giving way to a slightly nutty finish.

Light body. Thinner texture. Above average carbonation. Abrupt finish.

I was hoping for a bit more, but an OK amber overall.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 04:13:24 | More by BucannonXC5

MichaelBuck

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +13.3%

09-20-2012 23:51:56 | More by MichaelBuck

samturner

California

4.75/5  rDev +43.5%

09-18-2012 16:33:35 | More by samturner

rawfish

California

3.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a amber honey hue with a nice frothy off white 2 finger head. Poor retention and doesn't leave alot of lacing on the glass.

Picking up alot of processed clover honey, mild nuttiness and some pale malt and adjunct grain. Lager yeast and a hint of hay and lemon.

Honey and pale malt dominant perhaps a bit sweet but nothing offensive no adjunct grains or anything. Hop profile is lemon zest, hay and mildly spicy. Quite different in a good way. Finishes rather crisp and drying. Could use more flavor overall.

Light body for the color as well and active carbonation which I enjoyed. Slick on the palate and dries well.

Pretty decent, I think that it's on par with a Boston Lager, flavor is a bit on the lighter side and the honey sweetness is probably what drops down the score for alot of ppl but the hop profile is refreshing and different in a lager. For what it is, it's very nice.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 08:08:40 | More by rawfish

a_sh0pping_cart

3.75/5  rDev +13.3%

08-05-2012 22:10:42 | More by a_sh0pping_cart

shade13

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%

07-25-2012 21:32:26 | More by shade13

barley

California

3/5  rDev -9.4%

06-29-2012 01:06:26 | More by barley

Naterobsnyk4

New York

2.5/5  rDev -24.5%

06-24-2012 05:21:43 | More by Naterobsnyk4

Paddy_Bear

4/5  rDev +20.8%

06-22-2012 21:00:43 | More by Paddy_Bear