Ten Penny Ale - The Olde Burnside Brewing Company

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served on tap at teds Montana Grill outside Hartford CT. Served in a pint glass.

Pours medium dark brown with very little foam. Some light gets through, but not much. Cola/caramel smell. Very faint. Taste is a nutty/caramel blend with medium carbonation. Some hop pokes through at the end. Some vanilla too. Very drinkable, solid flavorful brew.

Serving type: on-tap

06-18-2012 01:12:08 | More by KTCamm

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Paired with a Woody's (of Hartford, CT) Deputy Hot Dog.
Pours a muddled tan/amber color with a medium-sized, fast-fading beige head.
Smells of brown bread, earthy peat, molasses and dark tea mingle together.
The tastes follow the aromas very closely. A buttery flavor emerges as it warms, and carries into the mouthfeel, giving a slick, nearly oily body that persists even through a slightly fizzy effervescence. Odd, but fine with me.
This is a brew better served cool, not cold.

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2012 23:06:27 | More by BeerResearcher

sailorastro

Connecticut

2.68/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Overall: Ten Penny has a rustic, unpolished character that may not be for all palates. A little balance in the harsh sour and bitter flavors would go a long way.

Appearance: Amber brown color with a two-finger, cream soda head and less than moderate lacing.

Smell: Medicinal; floor wax; copper piping; soil; walnuts.

Taste: Sour notes of lemonade clash with the bittness of grounded black pepper. Sometimes you can't have the best of both worlds.

Mouthfeel: Light and crisp.

Sampled from a pint glass.

Serving type: on-tap

04-06-2012 14:10:39 | More by sailorastro

woosterbill

Connecticut

3.03/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

My flight out of the Hartford airport was delayed, so I stopped in to the concourse bar for a libation; this was the only craft offering, and luckily enough I'd never reviewed it. On-tap into in a Ten Penny pint glass.

A: Tough to tell from the frosted glass (frosted in its manufacture, not from being chilled), but I'm guessing it's a slightly cloudy orange-brown body; the ecru head is thin but persistent. Ok.

S: Toasted malt, slight caramel, faint herbal hops, and that's about it. Simple and a little boring, but nothing off.

T: Follows the nose: toasty, slightly sweet malt dominates, with some light herbal hops providing balance on the bittersweet finish. Pretty clean, but very boring.

M: Hugely lively medium body. Very prickly. Ok.

O: This one is drinkable, but thoroughly uninteresting. Kind of the definition of an average beer.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

03-28-2012 14:17:09 | More by woosterbill

Gmann

New York

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a golden brown color with a big dense off-white head. Left a wall of lacing on the glass as the head disipated.

The aroma was overall metallic. Some rust notes to go along with a steely caramel malt base. Some tea like scents as well.

The taste is of a lightly bready malt with some caramel flavor. Big metal flavor along with hard water and minerals. Seemed to nail the "burton-on-trent" pale ale flavor. Solid but not exciting.

Light bodied with active carbonation. Its balanced and finishes slightly dry.

Wasn't sure of the style when I tried. I thought it was a solid english amber ale. Worth a try if nothing better around.

Serving type: on-tap

09-28-2011 23:16:45 | More by Gmann

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Copper amber into a pint glass. Small white head has low retention. Small ring leaves no lace.

S- Grainy, buttery, corn and nutty malt. Not big strength overall.

T- Malty all the way. Flavor comprised of nutty malt, caramel, butter, raisin and some dark fruit. Slight roast. Has a somewhat grainy dusty aspect.

MF- Lighter end body with moderate carbonation. Some residual bitterness.

Decent ale and you can tell it is a Scottish Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2011 02:07:29 | More by cbutova

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured on-tap and served in a pint glass, the beer is a muddled amber-brown coloring, very cloudy to the point of being opaque. No head on the pour, but a slight ring of bubbling was present. The beer had a very sweet aroma, with some nut and coffee bitterness. I was preparing for a creamy feel, but surprisingly enough this beer is a bit effervescent and bubbly, while still being on the creamy side. The beer's flavors are toasty, with chocolate and coffee characteristics in the forefront. The beer is like Hershey kisses melted in a cup of coffee. The beer is light, and the aftertaste is chocolate sweet, with a slight lingering finish of burnt characteristics.

Serving type: on-tap

09-07-2011 02:49:02 | More by GarthDanielson

PicoPapa

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap. Pours a dark semi translucent dark mahogany color with a half inch of head. Minimal lacing. Aroma is boozey, pepppery, bready, and malty. Flavor is malt, boozey with a slight bit of pepper. Some breadiness as well as some caramel. A bit of an overall sourness to this one. This is a solid choice for a drinkable beer which is helpful because I usually only see growlers of it. Overall, its a good local beer. Worth having again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2011 21:45:31 | More by PicoPapa

orsulacp

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this on tap at a bar in Waterbury, it poured a very nice ruby brown with a decent off white head that disappeared quickly. The smell is nice, real caramel malts, a hint of pepper, and a bit of yeasty bready in the background. The taste is more of the same, the caramel malt really stands out, and that is a good thing, there is enough hop in there to just hold the malts in check. The body is nice and creamy with low carbonation, very smooth. Overall a malty treat.

Serving type: on-tap

03-09-2011 00:14:45 | More by orsulacp

BranfordBound

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the True Blue Tavern at the Nathan Hale Inn across from the UConn South Dorms.

Pours a muddy amber color with a nice head and some lacing. Fairly cloudy so carbonation is hard to see.

Smells of malts with a touch of smokiness to them.

Very malt forward beer. Lots of malty goodness with touches of dark fruit and some smokiness. A bit of earthiness in the background, but other than that, not too much hops.

Mouthfeel is a little wet, this is fairly medium bodied.

Good drinkability if you're in the mood for a rich malty beer.

Note: I detect some resemblance to Penny Weiz Ale, perhaps they use the same yeast?

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2010 03:12:28 | More by BranfordBound

Jayli

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had at Adams Mill in Manchester, CT on 11/2
Served in a pint glass

A: This beer pours a deep amber color with a one finger of pristine white, creamy head. Head recedes at a moderate pace and leaves nice splotches of lacing on the glass.

S: Nose is caramel malts, earthy hops, and a hint of smoke.

T: Taste starts with a burst of earthy, piney hops. The middle fills with a sweet caramel and toffee flavoring with just a touch of nuttiness as well and a hint of smokiness that really carries through in to the finish.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, clean and crisp bodied with a bit of an oily finish.

D: Nice kick, nice representation of style, not too filling, this is a nice beer to have a few pints for an evening.

Serving type: on-tap

11-07-2010 22:56:08 | More by Jayli

socon67

New York

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Tried on tap during lunch;

A - Pours a copper hue. Settles very quickly. Not particularly clear.

S - Smells earthy. Not much else to make of this.

T - Has the traditional scottish ale taste; the bitterness comes out very pronounced. A little sourness in the finish. Very noticeable hoppy flavor.

M - Relatively light, not much carbonation.

D - It is drinkable, but the style gets kinda tired after one. What is kinda cool is that there are no preservatives in this guy, so if you try one it pretty much has to be fresh. Worth trying but not a "must find".

Serving type: on-tap

10-25-2010 02:13:35 | More by socon67

begforme4484

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Bidwell Tavern in Coventry.

Pours a somewhat copper color with decent nice off-white head, good retention, and leaves some good lacing.

There isn't much of a nose on the beer. It has some caramel sweetness, and a bit of sourness.

A lot of mild sweetness, that seems to be subdued with the yeast. Honestly, it tastes like a spicier version of Kix. Yes, the cereal. There's a hint of grassy hops on the finish, but I couldn't detect any sort of bitterness.

Medium bodied, good carbonation. Very smooth and easy to drink. Went well with the wings.

Serving type: on-tap

10-19-2010 21:33:20 | More by begforme4484

aahynick

Florida

1.8/5  rDev -51.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

40F in a pint glass on tap

A- pale copper, lots of bubbles but no head

S- nearly no aroma

T- soapy and mildly peaty

M - thin and watery

D- at first I said forget about this. But after talking with other folks later, I think the poor performance was all the fault of the serving method. Got it at Red Robin and the tender put it in a frosted glass. I'm betting that the glass was poorly rinsed and gained a lot of condensation when pulled out of the cooler. I wanted to do a retest before leaving New England but it just wasn't meant to be. So take my review with a grain of salt.

Serving type: on-tap

07-20-2010 13:46:13 | More by aahynick

DNICE555

Connecticut

4.28/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at flatbread with Larsonstyle. The bartender told me they kicked a hooker tap off because they wanted to put micro brew on... I had seen this one at the brass city brewfest but didn't get the opportunity to try it. No idea what to expect here. Nice dark brown color with some serious head on this beer. Smells grainy and malty. Tasted kinda smokey. Rough at first but I eased into it. It has a very nice mouthfeel, strong but pronounced. I really like how this one goes down. I wanted to try the Dirty penny next but it seemed there was a problem with the keg as the head was unbelievable. I thought it was a very solid offering and I am anxious to try more from this brewery.

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2010 01:10:06 | More by DNICE555

jeffthecheff

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tall mug. It's color is a hazy murky brown with only a wisp of a white head that eventually fades to nothing.

Aroma is fruity with a subtle malt nose of caramel and grainy malts. There is also a touch of herbal hop. Not very strong in the nose, but the fruitiness is noticed the most.

The taste has some light fruitiness along with sweet grain and a very light caramel finish. Light brown sugar and a very slight toast are found in the finish. The mouthfeel is light with high carbonation, which takes away from the flavor of the beer. In the end this dulls the beer down a bit. It tastes good, but it's nothing really exciting. It's not at the top of my list as something to grab, but I enjoy it.

Serving type: on-tap

01-30-2010 01:25:12 | More by jeffthecheff

GratefulBeerGuy

New Hampshire

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A bright amber beer, soft frothy and lacy head, looks healthy.

Sweet, buttery malt with some cloves and ginger, maybe some candy corn's.

The malt is the star of the show for this one, very English-like malty flavor, bready but sweet with decent hop bite with pepper and some herbal heat and a nice bitter finish. good balance here.

Medium bodied, smooth and crispy!

nice on-tap!

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2009 23:00:49 | More by GratefulBeerGuy

bum732

Maryland

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

Pours a nice burnt orange, great bubbly head, lots of lacing. Smells of caramel earthiness, some metal, hint of smoke. Tastes of semi-sweet caramely malt with a moderate bitterness. Ends slightly sweet with some smoky and roastiness. Creamy full mouthfull, moderate carbonation.

A very nice beer, i have it every time i'm at the Hartford airport. Wouldn't mind a little more flavor, but a great session scottish.

Serving type: on-tap

07-07-2009 00:32:19 | More by bum732

ElGeordie

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had a pint of this in the Black Bear in Milford CT.
The piper pump badge piqued ny interest, it's been a long time since I've had a good Scottish pint.
It really looks like an authentic Scottish pint (probably resembles a traditional 70 shilling more than anything else.) In the glass the beer looks like dirty brown dishwater (that's not a negative !) with a minimal head.
It drinks just like a seventy Bob should too; plenty of malt and hops but not overbearing, a slight citrus note- but only slight.
A very refreshing and authentic Scottish pint - well done.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2009 13:31:10 | More by ElGeordie

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed on 6/15/08. On tap at Corner Pug, West Hartford, CT. Pours a light brown with a small white head. Aroma of sweet malts. Initial flavor is sweet, followed by bitter hops, roasted malt. Decent beer and quite drinkable.
Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 13/20
3.4/5

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2008 15:57:06 | More by LilBeerDoctor

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at a hotel bar I was at recently, served in a pint

A light brown with a chill haze that falls over the body. A tight, off-white cap didn't leave much of an impression.

Very muted nose. Aromas of nuts and caramel. Rather dry.

There is a noticable layer of smoke along with the caramel malt and roasted nuts. Better than I was expecting.

Crisp and dry with a medium body.

This could be a good go to beer if the selection isn't that great, which in this case it wasn't. Drinkable, didn't seem to have a high abv at all.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2008 21:51:25 | More by ColForbinBC

Seanibus

California

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours reddish and clear with a lively head and good lacing. Not much aroma. The flavor is crisp and malty with a slight bitterness. there is relatively little in the way of finish, however. The mouthfeel is thin but not unpleasant. This is a good, drinkable beer. You won't be disappointed to find it in a pub somewhere.

Serving type: on-tap

08-06-2008 21:40:11 | More by Seanibus

beerich

Connecticut

4.78/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I've tried all the other local microbrews and keep coming back to Olde Burnsides Ten Penny Ale.
If they don't have it at your local Pub or restaurant, then it's time for a change.. go to one that has it.
This exceptional brew stands out amongst the crowd, smokey sweet flavor, frothy head, and a satisfying smooth finish.
My recommendation is this - Drink Ten Penny Ale because the rest of them are just beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-29-2008 06:22:06 | More by beerich

erosier

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Hazy Orange-Brown color with a nice off-white tan head that laces the glass. It has a nice roasted malt smell with some hop bitterness. The flavor is pretty good. It tastes of roasted malts as a base and a good hop bitterness to balance out the flavor. The mouthfeel is good with a nice velvety feel and a bit flatter than it had to be. The drinkability is pretty good though. I like this beer, gotta support your local brewer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2008 03:32:32 | More by erosier

LeftyBWS

Pennsylvania

3.15/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

"On tap" from the side of an Olde Burnside Brewing Co. van at the Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival in Northampton, MA today.
A: Nice reddish color with orangey tinges. Pretty good head that looks creamy. Admittedly hard to see (and smell/taste) as it was served in a plastic festival mug.
S: Smells like alcohol with a backing of beer. Good malty scents, in addition to some whiffs of more earthy, floral stuff that I couldn't quite identify. An overall interesting effect, and identifiably Scottish in character.
T: Very much like its smell. Nice maltiness at first, but it fades out to a somewhat subdued alcohol taste that's a lot like watered-down whiskey. I haven't had too many Scotch ales before, but this is a little less agreeable than the others, from what I remember.
D: One of these is interesting enough to drink, but that's probably enough for me.

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2007 03:44:46 | More by LeftyBWS