Drifter Pale Ale - Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Widmer The Drifter Pale Ale, 22 oz. bomber.

Clear and coppery colored, snowy white head, nice lace leaving.

Aroma: floral/herbal hop nose, slightly soapy, too...

Taste: soft, pleasant, delicate malts, ...very mild, did i say soft? yeah...delicate? should I go to the thesaurus?
Also, ho-hum. I said, "mild".right?

I can't find a lot to say about this pale ale, it's drinkable, passable, tastes...well, boring. If they were shooting for innocuous, that's what they got. There's no spark, no hoppy kick, no forward flavor at all.

Pretty blah. Can't recommend much at all. It passes the lips credulously enough. More than that? Not.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2010 06:15:05 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours a dark gold/amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a solid malt scent that boasts of pale, Carapils, and bisquit malts along with a piney hop aroma. The taste is decent. It has a very malty flavor that really focuses on the bisquit malts. It's smooth with a mild hop finish. The mouthfeel is decent as well. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinker. It's nice to see a different take on the APA.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2009 00:02:12 | More by WesWes

zeff80

Missouri

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear, copper color with a one-finger, tan head of bubbly foam. It left minimal lacing.

S - It smelled of grass, orange, floral notes and roasted malt.

T - It tasted of tons of citrusy hops, lots of orange. The was a touch of pine and a good roasted malt backbone.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A light to medium-bodied beer with a dry finish.

D - This is a great tasting APA. Great citrus flavor from the hops.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2010 02:29:26 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

3.85/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is slightly hazy amber in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high dense beige head that died down but consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are pleasant light aromas of passionfruit in the nose.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell but is a bit stronger with subtle flavors of passionfruit and pale malts along with a slight amount of bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a very drinkable pale ale that has interesting aromas and flavors imparted by the Nelson Sauvin hops. There is a good balance between the malt and hops because you can taste the hop flavors but these aren’t accompanied by a strong bitterness like an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 01:04:40 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap 7/10/09 at Doherty's East Ave Irish Pub in Pawtucket, RI, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light coppery brown color, with a thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, hops and fruity citrus.

T: The taste starts with a strong fruity citrus sweetness that remains dominant the whole time. There's a decent hops presence that comes in but the sweetness continues with a caramel flavor in the background. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The after-taste is also sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, the sweetness kind of over-powers everything else in the beer, but overall it's a fairly good beer that is worth drinking for a while.

Serving type: on-tap

07-11-2009 03:25:52 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.05/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up as part of a mixed sixer, bottled 12/06/10.

Pours an effervescent amber/copper with a finger of cream colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Citrus hops, light breadyness, pineapple & lemon grass

T: Follows the nose, nice grapefruit snap, slight breadyness & some woody/herbal hops hiding in the background up front. Grapefruit, a touch of pineapple & grainy apricot as this warms. Finishes crisp with slight caramel sweetness & a kiss of grapefruit

MF: Light/medium bodied, lively but working for me carbonation level. Thins out a touch as this warms

Drinks very easy, wish I'd popped the top on this 3 or so weeks ago when I got this, although I may have found it too hoppy! Well done Widmer, will revisit this one again

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2011 03:33:01 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

4.15/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a dark amber, with a soft white head, solid lacing.

S: Pink grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, a nice pungent aroma.

T: Rather strong bittersweet malt note, lemon/orange zest, good balance of flavours.

M: Soft body, light carbonation, resiny.

D: A real nice surprise from Widmer, I think I like this one better than Sierra Nevada, well done, certainly worth a purchase at a $7.99 six-pack.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2009 17:22:24 | More by Halcyondays

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a hazy medium orange-amber colour, with one finger of sudsy light beige head, which leaves some sparse specks of lace around the glass as it quickly abates. It smells of tropical fruits - grapefruit, pineapple, and kiwi, and bready malt. The taste is sweet caramel/toffee malt, some orange and pineapple fruitiness held over from the aroma, and herbal, floral hops. The carbonation is below average, the body medium weight, smooth, a bit gritty, but mostly creamy. It finishes off-dry, the sweet bready grain getting a run for its money from the herbal, earthy hops.

I like very much the exotic fruitiness, but the hops don't quite keep up in the end. I could see the herbal sweetness becoming tiring after a few rounds.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 23:26:16 | More by biboergosum

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.22/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a deepish orange color with a small white head. Nose is on the mellow side of citrus notes. Taste is a little hop forward with some citrus and floral notes. Mouthfeel is nice, bubbly and pretty good. Nice ABV makes it a good session brew. Very drinkable indeed. Surpsise by Widmer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-11-2009 00:08:19 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Starts with a two-finger head, settles quickly, but leaves ample lace. The brew is solidly copper-amber in color and appears quite clear.

Strong pine aroma from the fresh hop. It's not harsh, but it has a distinct grapefruit element. I can't detect the malt base. It's very good, but unbalanced.

The flavor mirrors the aroma. Again, predominate hop covers up most of the malt. It leaves a long lasting aftertaste of citrusy bitterness. Relatively thin for the style. Certainly a pleasant, if hoppy, brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2010 00:48:25 | More by smcolw

Billolick

New York

4.1/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle with bottled on dating on the lower front label. (040609) Pours clear darker amber, fluffydarker tan head, that sticks around for ever, leaving more then respectable lace on the glass. The sniff reveals more then typical wiffs of citric hops. Nice, drinkable pale. Pineapple tinged hops, with hints of lime and mango with floral/fruity flourishes. Dry, yet still fruity finish. A pleasant suprise. Well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2009 22:53:32 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From 05/14/11 notes. Thanks to my brother Tom for giving me this. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

a - Pours a clear reddish amber color with one inch of tan head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of citrus hops, bready malts, grains, fruity malts, and tropical fruits.

t - Tastes of citrus hops, light fruity malts, and bready malts. A little less fruit than the nose; a slight step down.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation.

o - Overall a little bland but easy to drink. A pretty average pale ale with some ncie fruit in the nose. Would give another shot.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 00:50:57 | More by mdfb79

Zorro

California

4.18/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark amber colored ale with a small tan colored head. This is a shade of amber I could call Bronze.

Smell is strongly of northwest style hops, very much a pine and grapefruit scent. Very strong hop resins, the malt is just a honeysuckle trace this is very much a hop beer.

The taste starts out neutral in sweetness and very hoppy, grapefruit in the first taste. Tropical fruit flavors and pine, just like the scent this is a hop beer. Little bit of lemon shows up after a while, wonder how many IBUs this is.

Mouthfeel is good.

Quite a bit better than expected. Website says 32 IBUs seems stronger than that.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2009 03:20:19 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with a finger of bright-white head. This retains with a foamy ½ finger, leaving back a good bit of spotty froth that dots the sides of the glass. The aroma is an even mix of grass and spice in the nose, with an underlying mix of fresh leafiness, sweet fruit, and toasted grains.

The taste has a bitter and leafy feeling citric bitterness to it that spreads out into the mouth. This is buffered by notes of softer fruit and some grains, which lend this a sweeter character. The hops give this the most push though, coming through the finish with a dry pithiness that lingers. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a lively sharpness to the carbonation that dances around in the mouth. The feel smoothes out a bit as things lessen in the mouth, giving this an overall creamy crispness.

This was a decent APA from Widmer that drank very nicely for close to 6% ABV. I had no idea that they used Nelson Sauvin in this and I liked what it brought over; giving this a soft fruitiness that helped balanced the more aggressive aspects of those bittering hops. Nothing mind blowing here but this was crisp and flavorful enough to keep me happy.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2011 17:06:54 | More by Kegatron

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tarnished copper body. Thin beige head. Spotty lace. Very pleasant aroma of vibrant aromatic hops and carmelized malts. As with the nose, there's a nice balance on the palate between hops and malt. Bright citric hop notes meld with caramel malts to create an agreeable flavor. Medium to medium-full body. Moderately carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2009 04:13:06 | More by Bighuge

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a little dark for a pale, approaching brown territory. Lovely Amarillo hop aroma on these.

Taste, good hop crispness, it does degrade at times into a woody mouthfeel, haven't been able to tell whether due to age or not. A warm up for hopheads and fans of good warm weather beer. Seen the price vary wildly for this, but is a good deal @ $7 I would say for a 6 pack.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2010 21:41:03 | More by Beerandraiderfan

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.23/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Purchased from BevMo in Sunnyvale, CA.

Pours a brassy orange-amber colour, with a fine, but filmy head of off-white, that sits rather limply and stagnant on the top of the glass. Lacing is excellent, however, leaving leopard-spotted patches down the glass. Overall, it looks a bit flat, but not too bad.

Nose is lightly tropical and fruity, like processed breakfast juice. Mostly orange sweetness, with a touch of something else, perhaps some apricot, a little pineapple and banana. It's a little bit flat and a little pedestrian, and I certainly hoped for more from the NS hops. Oh well.

Taste is also very flat, in fact probably worse than on the nose. Here, there's nothing to back it up either: minimal body, and minimal structure to the hop character, leaving that flat tropical character to coast across the palate rather listlessly. There's little else to provide balance, complexity or even a foil to it genericness.

Quite disappointed in this. Of course, the extra Nelson Sauvin addition raised my hopes, but there wasn't a lot to it. Drinkable in its way, but drinkable in the generic way that most beer is.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2011 22:08:55 | More by lacqueredmouse

DoubleJ

California

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

So far, I haven't had a lot of fun with Widmer products. Here's hoping Drifter will change that. On to the beer:

A little hazy on the pour, the beer has a hazy, brownish-orange color to it with a froathy inch-thick head on top. Leaves a few rings of thin lacing. In the nose, it is grapefruit and diacetyl. Pretty monotone aroma, and not terribly intense either. (Correction, it gets more hoppy in intensity as it warms, +0.5 in aroma).

Actually, Drifter has a pretty good balance going for itself. It's not as hoppy tasting as it smells, but there's still enough to keep me happy. A good mix of flavors....it's like a fruit salad. Well, first it's the hops, then it's the fruity esters, burnt sugar, and a pinch of diacetyl (no buttery popcorn, more like butterscotch). Goes down really easy too.

Oh yum, that hits the spot. Now I wish I bought another one. My favorite Widmer product to date.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2009 06:05:20 | More by DoubleJ

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured a coppery-sunset orange with a bright clarity and dirty white fizzy pancake head that quickly dissipated away. No visible lacing while a macro bubbly carbonation rapidly rose but quickly faded within the first minute of pour.

S: sweet sugary grapefruit and citrusy tangerines. The malting takes a back seat here while the hopping was sweet, wet with some lemony pine scents on the close.

T: The flavor started out thin, with a wet lemony/citrus hopping, almost juice like before moving on to slightly more drier bitterness of grapefruit peels. The malting was light and bready with hints of toasted sweetness. A light floral bitterness of lemons and a crisp munich malting adds some overall dryness to an otherwise wet and sweet start. Overall not bad, the flavor wont wow you, but the bitterness is enough for you to take note, with better then average results. A decent lingering lemon fade finishes things out. The hopping was wet and juicy, finishing slightly dry, but lacked a crispness in delivery.

M: light and slick with a good tingle of carbonation on the tip of the tongue. Not much else noting here, okay.

D: Decent drinkability with moderate enjoyment. Goes down fairly well enough, with an overall worthy recommendation.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2009 22:23:51 | More by beerthulhu

kojevergas

California

2.53/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

33cl brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a hefeweissbier glass in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live.

A: One finger head of good cream, good thickness, and good retention. Textbook copper colour. Generally appealing.

Sm: Unwelcome bittering hops, light unexpected orange, barley, and cream. A moderate strength aroma.

T: Light caramel and very light orange ester first act, with a barley foundation, and a slight bittering hop climax. The aftertaste suffers under the burden of the badly chosen bittering hops, which feel obligatory to satisfy fans of the style. It's unnaturally built, yet manages to remain balanced. I don't fancy it.

Mf: Smooth and wet, but a touch too thick. The texture isn't tailored to the flavours by any stretch.

Dr: Easy drinking for one or two bottles, but beyond that it suffers from those damned bittering hops. It's overpriced - especially for the quality.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2011 09:39:29 | More by kojevergas

Brad007

Vermont

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark ruby red color with a one-finger head into my glass. Are you sure this is a pale ale?

Aroma is nice and hoppy in the nose with a nice whiff of biscuit malt as well. Hops are quite floral and present.

Taste is mildly hoppy with a bit of biscuit malt upfront. A bit of malt sweetness shows up as well that doesn't seem like it belongs here. A bit buttery.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering hops and malt and that light, buttery flavor. Otherwise, it goes down good.

Starts out on the right foot but there's just something that's not right about it. Otherwise, it's drinkable and at least they got the hops part right.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2009 22:06:10 | More by Brad007

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into Sam Adams Sensory Glass.

Pours about a 2 finger, slightly tanned head, decent retention with great lacing. Color is an amber copper. Pretty decent appearance.

Smell is similar to an IPA. Heavy floral and citrus smells. Taste is some-what hopped up as well. Not as much as the aroma. The taste is more of the pale ale category. Honey and citrus zest.

Mouthfeel is somewhat bitter, but smooth. Goes down pretty easy, but leaves a sticky aftertaste. Low carbonation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this pale ale. It smelt a lot like an IPA which was pleasant. I could definitely have another.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 04:58:14 | More by mothman

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.53/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

12 oz picked up today at the Coop... poured into my Chimay goblet...

3/4" head with nice lace and a firm cap atop a clear orange amber brew....

The nose is resounding citric... tangerine even..

Flavor is the same... zesty orange.. some doughy maltiness adds a little bit of sweetness.. with a light smack of caramel.. really balanced yet you still know this is a fresh PNW pale ale... medium body with a lively carbonation... even the burps taste like tangerine juice essence..

This is actually pretty damn good pale ale... I could see drinking this one for a while in the long run, and it makes me wish I would have picked up a 6'er today to have a fridge beer...

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2009 05:13:19 | More by JohnGalt1

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice semi-transparent mahogany with a decent pale beige head. Aroma is strongly hoppy and almost evergreen. Flavor is hoppy, slightly spicy and slightly floral with a subtle undertone of sweet apple. Smooth, lively, fizzy texture leaves a fruity and hoppy finish.

Serving type: on-tap

04-12-2010 00:35:47 | More by Cyberkedi

ccrida

Oregon

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is pale bronze with an off-white head leaving scattered lace.

Smell is bread dough and limes.

Drifter has a huge citrus hop flavor, distinct and unique tropical notes that are nicely accentuated by the biscuit character of the malt. Not much bitterness, nor overly sweet, clean and quaffable.

Mouthfeel is lighter, leaning to dry.

Drinkability is pretty high if you like citrus hop flavor, a real nicely balanced, tasty Pale Ale from Widmer.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2009 22:03:27 | More by ccrida