Concord Pale Ale - Concord Brewery

Longstaff

Massachusetts

1.15/5  rDev -66.9%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Re-review 4/14/05

I've tried the bottle version of this pale ale a couple of times since the brewery moved to Lowell in order to give it a chance. Unfortunately both times, the beer was so sour that I had to dump it after a sip. Both times, the drink by dates were at least two months in the future, so it wasn't out of code and I took the bottles from un-opened cases in a cooler. Sad that this once great beer and brewery has taken a turn for the worse. I feel bad for Mike since he is a nice guy and circumstances have ravaged a once great brewery that had so much potential. Hopefully one day this beer and brewery will return to its previous glory.

Original review 5/28/02
This is my "everyday" beer because its a great, easy drinking, and full flavored Pale Ale. Aggressively hopped but has enough biscuity tasting malt to back it up. Seems to be fuller in flavor and has a glassier shine in recent batches.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2005 19:46:14 | More by Longstaff

EvanWilliams

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%

12-23-2012 05:48:48 | More by EvanWilliams

BDIMike

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Incredibly bubbly with a huge head, which stays throughout the drink. Nice copper color.

The smell is very hoppy, slightly fruity.

Taste is hoppy, but subtle. It has fruity notes and is very taste.

The mouthfeel is thick, but slightly thin and crisp, like a good pale ale should be.

I could three or four of these.

Surprised by the very good taste of this beer. I would definitely drink one of these again.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2007 00:32:32 | More by BDIMike

dippy

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Copper in color with a short stack of head on top. Looks pretty well carbonated as there are alot of tiny bubbles rising to the top.

Smells hoppy and I can't wait to try it.

A healthy amount of hops up front. Very citrusy. The finish is fairly abrupt and a little watery. It starts off strong but has a weak follow through. I enjoyed this ale. Not my favorite pale, but it is refreshing and I would absolutley buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2006 15:24:38 | More by dippy

bjohnson

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours an orange amber color with a one finger head that evaporates to leaves a thin layer at the top. Lots of bubbles rising to the top.

S: Aromas of faint pine needles with a sweet citric fruit in there also. Slight bready malts.

T: Tastes of citrus hops with a slight malt, but very faint. Dry aftertaste that leaves you with refreshed and wanting more. A good tasting pale ale.

M & D: Mouthfeel is pretty good. Silky smooth going down with a good amount of carbonation. Well balanced with a tad more hops coming through than malts. Drinkability is high as this beer goes down smoothly. Good pale ale if you can try it.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2006 22:46:00 | More by bjohnson

Hibernator

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Concord Pale Ale
12 oz brown bottle
Best before 02/06
Served in a 20 oz tulip pint glass

Pours a light brown color. Looks like iced tea. Patterns of sticky lace decorate the glass.

Very nice whiffs of dried tea, apricots and light fruit with a background of hops.

Ultra soft mouthfeel with a nice carbonation level. Sweet malts, Earl Grey tea and hints of prunes. Slight vinegar and tart Macintosh apple flavor.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2006 00:26:10 | More by Hibernator

FLAbeergutinMASS

Massachusetts

1.9/5  rDev -45.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

WTF, this beer has a serious attitiude. Best flavor by ?? ??, dated totally smeared- actually I think the beer is to fresh. The carbonation on the pour is out of concrol. In fact, it's the only reprensation the beer offers. After a long wait, it finally settles. This beer is more of a EPA than a traditional pale ale. I am not sure where the beer is trying to go, it's a bordeline fruit beer, spicy grapefruit, and apples. M&D, terrible, mouthfeel is like alka-seltzer, drinakbility- forget about it....doesn't happen.

Avoid

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2006 22:27:50 | More by FLAbeergutinMASS

JasonCoop

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

pours a pretty clear amber. typical looking for pales.

smells very hoppy. a lot of citrus. herbs, a little apple.

taste has bitter citrus hops. quite carbonated and bubbly. very subtle malts are dominated by the hops. it's ok. i like their IPA better.

mouthfeel is light and very crisp. almost puckering. it's really good though. not as drinkable as other pales because of the aggressive hoppiness and high carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2006 09:30:18 | More by JasonCoop

LPorter33

Massachusetts

1.53/5  rDev -55.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Purchased single bottle from Martignetti's

Appearance = I dropped the bottle so it produced a massive 3 inch head The color is opaque light honey brown. Slightly above average.

Smell = Pretty average smelling APA. Nothing defining, just the normal sour hops presence.

Taste = Absolutely putrid. It's incredibly sour and caustic to the point of inducing vomit, tasted like apple cider left on the counter for 4 months. I took one sip and dumped it down the drain.

NOTE: Drink by date = 5/05. There is a possibility this vastly affected the taste of this beer. However, I believe 3 months should not turn a beer completely sour and rancid. I hope to try this beer sometime again in the near future and hope it leaves a better impression the second time, but I remain highly skeptical.

Overall = I can only hope it was due to the expiration date, but it seems that the reviewed below me had an extremely similar experience. This is easily once of the worst tasting beers I've ever tried. I've been extremely disappointed with Concord brewery.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2005 01:59:54 | More by LPorter33

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.03/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz brown bottle. Freshness date stamped on label.
It pours a pale brassy color with a firm snow-white head and some patchy lacing.
The first out of the bottle is a vinegar-like, yeasty cider smell, followed closely by a citrusy lemon aroma. A faint whiff of grain peeks through.
A lightly chalky malt taste holds flavors ranging from grain, to citrus, to clovey spice. I'm not crazy about the lasting vinegar cider taste.
A little astringent bitterness enters, then it begins to mellow and harmonize.
This brew closely resembles many Belgian Pale Ales.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2005 04:05:28 | More by BeerResearcher

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured slight gold in color. Decent sized head that created a stringy lace around the edges of the glass. The nose is slightly hoppy, but with a tad of bad veggie smell. The taste is slightly malty and sweet, with strong honey tones. There is a nice hop kick in the finish. May be a tad overcarbonated, but I find this beer very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2005 03:03:20 | More by MuddyFeet

blitheringidiot

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A rather plain 12 oz’er single label with a Colonial grog mug and feather pen motif. A freshness stamp of “Best by 7/04.”

Quite a peppy pour. Tons of huge carbonated head that filled ½ me Troegs Pint. Deep golden amber hues with an unending bubble bead rising up under a thick rich sticky cap that just refuses to quit. Now that’s a pour! Some tiny suspended particles float around amonst the bubbles.

Fresh cut orange slices and coriander perfume the nose quite potently. Also notes of lemon peel and hops spice.

First swigs: Slight lemony citrous hops blend to a slight malt backing with lasting lemony spice finish. Some yeasty notes are detectable. My hops guess is Centennial finishing? Some light doughiness.

Sizzly medium body that has unending sudsy foamy carbonation.

Last swigs: Hopefully this was not past its prime, despite the label lore. A citrousy sizzly sticky Pale. Reminded me a bit of a local favorite of mine: Barleycreek Superhop. I could have a few easily. Left some yeasty powder in me pint. A solid APA offering. Special thanks to my friend from millis MA, JBDubs for a sixer of this brew. Also, I looked up the hops on the website. They use Cascade and Nugget.

Beer is good. Happy beering.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2004 01:37:52 | More by blitheringidiot

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

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

Big burst of pent up carbonation, hyperactive head... this is a live one. Bright orangish amber with tiny suspended bits and slightly larger bits littering the floor of my pint glass. The creamyfirm, light beige head is craggy as it drops and leaves a few stray chunks of lace on the glass.

The nose is pretty unimpressive, both in terms of power and personality. It smells of muted earthy-herbal hops, as if I'm sniffing it with two cotton balls shoved up my nostrils. Concord Pale is supposed to be brewed with Cascade hops which have a rather distinctive aroma that I've smelled about, oh... several hundred times before. I'll be hanged if I can smell 'em in this beer though.

A little better on the palate, but not much. It's more heavily slanted toward malt than I prefer with a buttery, butterscotchy flavor that works in some beer, but doesn't work here. Diacetyl, I'm guessing. It also tastes and feels slightly lacquer-like (not liqueur-like), unusual in a beer that doesn't have a full body or a high ABV.

As in the nose, the hops are in the background. I'd swear that this beer is brewed with Fuggles or some related variety; I still don't get even the suggestion of Cascade. The body is light-medium in heft. It seems lighter because of the abundant carbonation and heavier because of the slightly slick oiliness of the finish.

Concord Pale Ale just doesn't appeal to me. I have a specific mental checklist for APAs and it doesn't meet any of the criteria. As always, your mileage may vary. My bottle was past the 'best by' date, but it's hard for me to believe that it was all that good even when fresh.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2004 23:42:10 | More by BuckeyeNation

mschofield

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear well carbonated medium gold, topped with a one finger white head.
Floral and citrus aroma, zesty with citrus rind and bread.
Citrus and pale malt taste, toast, toffee, floral, a bit oily, zesty with some grain and a light metallic touch.
Medium-full bodied, maybe some production errors with the metallic taste, but it's a nice locally brewed session beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2004 22:02:13 | More by mschofield

Stimack

New York

4.3/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This brew pours to a slightly cloudy deep golden color with a nice fluffy white head that sticks around and also has very nice lacing that sticks to the side of the glass through out the beer.

Has a very nice aroma to it, slight hop with citrus and spice. The taste is very smooth with a perfect amount of carbonation. Seems to start with a slight malt taste then turns to a real nice hop flavor of bitter and citrus. The citrus finish is very strong, goes well with this brew!

This is a real nice brew; hope to be able to track it down here in Albany during the hot summer months.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2004 16:21:47 | More by Stimack

taez555

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

tasted 10/16/03 drink by date 01 04

This beer poured a small pillowy white head with a crystal clear light orange/amber body.

The nose was very clean with a bready, malt, yeast, caramel, biscuit smell. Some very mellow light floral citrus hops were present but definitely in the background in this nose.

The taste totally catches you off guard. It starts very smooth and malty. Soft caramel and biscuit malt. Then a few seconds later it explodes with this citrus hop flavor and bitterness. Big tight citrus hops dominate the end. It lingers for quite sometime.

A classic New England Pale Ale. It actually smells a bit like Sam Adams, but... the hoppy ending is so unique and intense. It's almost like drinking a french bordeaux with the changing of flavors over the tongue.
A tasty and very unique beer. It's sad to know this beer may not be around very much longer since the brewery is going under.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2003 06:43:52 | More by taez555

UnionMade

Colorado

3.4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours a coppery amber color, topped with a thick, creamy ivory head. Great lacing and retention, leaving tons of clumpy lace all the way down the pint glass.
Hops definitely dominate the aroma. Meek malt presence takes the backseat to an agressive piney, citric hoppiness. A touch of grain, with some pineapple and grapefruit. Hoppier than a lot of IPAs I've tried.
The flavor starts with some pale malt, perhaps a bit of toastiness, but it's quickly engulfed by high alpha american hopping. Lots of citrus and pine, with a rindy sort of oily finish. To my standards, this is an IPA. Some light apple esteriness comes through in the middle. A big citric rindy aftertaste, like chewing on a hop cone. Lightish medium body, with moderate carbonation.
Definitely a pale ale for hop heads. I really wasn't in the mood for hops while drinking this, but I'm rarely in the mood for quite this much hops, especially in a pale ale. Very unbalanced, but i think some extra malt would make this a real winner.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2003 06:36:46 | More by UnionMade

PatandDavid

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap at Redbones. Poured a beautiful golden color. Aroma's main focus was on freshness, with a cool, mostly malty smell. Taste had a slight graininess, with a midly bitter hop finish. I found this nice and smooth, and a pretty decent beer. pat

Serving type: on-tap

10-11-2003 13:43:39 | More by PatandDavid

goz

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear light amber, just a shade above golden, medium white head, medium diminishing to a small lacing. Aroma of toasted malts, backed with a healthy amount of citric hops. Flavor mimics the aroma quite well. Medium body, easy drinking, an extremely nice american pale.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2003 02:01:00 | More by goz

edchicma

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Not bad for an American Pale Ale. Nice golden color, decent head and lacing and appropriate hoppy aroma. Taste had a slight bitterness and mouthfeel had a slightly astingent quality. Aftertaste was ok, but a bit of filmy quality remained, Drinkabaility was slightly above average.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2003 00:41:56 | More by edchicma

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz brown bottle, capped, "For best flavor, drink before 03 03".

This ale poured a clear, golden-amber color with tall, creamy, off-white foam that left lace on the glass. The smell was modest: malt, biscuit, a bit of yeast, and citrus. The taste was malt and bitter hops. The slight sweetness of the malt was overpowered by the hops. The mouthfeel was relatively dry and hoppy, though fairly smooth. The body was medium and the carbonation moderate. This pale ale was OK.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2003 14:02:03 | More by UncleJimbo

Greenlabel

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Although the IPA is my favorite Concord product, I'm also very impressed with the Pale Ale as a consistently enjoyable product. It's well hopped, which is of particular appeal to me, but that doesn't dominate the overall smooth taste of the product. Not a Sierra Nevada but a pretty solid New England version of a Pale Ale. I'm also impressed that, for a small brewer, they show a very clear freshness date on the label.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2003 14:59:21 | More by Greenlabel

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Color is a clear golden shade, head is large fluffy white. Aroma plays it very quietly, with barely a trace of citrus peeking through. On the palate, smooth and tasty, but dominated by a sharp, overpowering citric element.
Body is far too thin, malt is largely MIA in this one and I practically screamed for more balance. Oddly, their IPA had more body and balance. I hate to dis a beer got in a trade, but this didn't cut the old mustard, and I still thank UncleJimbo for the swap.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2003 20:22:24 | More by feloniousmonk

Admiraldinty

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not too bad. Pours a clear amber with a bubbly, foamy head that sticks to the glass fairly well. Nose is kind of an old-smelling hops, and citrus. Taste is pretty much the same. Very crisp, fairly bitter. Not much malt flavor. Has kind of an oily mouthfeel that is medium bodied. I don't know if I'd pick this one up again. Good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2003 15:00:50 | More by Admiraldinty

jeffboo

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to kunzbrew for this sample. A solid but not great pale that would go well with food esp. mexican food. It pours a slightly cloudy gold with a puffy white head.Floral and fruity is how I'd describe the aroma, with a bit of hop spice. It is a crisp beer with a nice lighter body that goes well with food, it finishes with a malt and bitter flavor that builds with each sip giving a nice long bitter flavor coating the tongue by the end of the pint.A clean pale ale but not very complex.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2003 15:42:24 | More by jeffboo