Mass Transit Ale - Bristol Brewing Company

Fatehunter

Oregon

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

In a pint glass. Has one finger of head on a hazy dark straw reddish colored body.
Smells like honey and not much else.
Taste has a good malt background with a medium bitterness.
Fizzy texture, moderate carbonation and medium body.
Pretty descent drink.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 02:43:08 | More by Fatehunter

kojevergas

California

2.63/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a conical Guinness pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average given hunnybunny's recommendation. Acquired in Colorado.

Served straight from the refrigerator and allowed to warm slightly over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a half finger biege head without much cream, of poor thickness, and of underwhelming retention. Colour is a clear dull copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Meh

Sm: Amber malts, shoddily indistinct hopping, and clean pilsner malt. A mild strength aroma.

T: Clean amber and pilsner malts. ...

I wish there was more here, but there ain't. A boring bland beer with little redeeming characteristics. So simple it hurts. It balances all of its two notes. Whoopty fucking doo.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Too thick. Adequate carbonation.

Dr: Incredibly boring and bland. I wouldn't touch this again. Makes me question the brewery.

C-

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 05:36:19 | More by kojevergas

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.18/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

a pretty standard amber sort of ale. pours light copper colored like a new penny with a vibrant shine and a decent white head. smells a like old dusty english amber malts, period. flavor is a bit more balanced with some bready type flavors and a gentle cane sugar sweetness. aftertaste is pretty bad though, decaying vegetables and an acidic feel. mouthfeel is lighter and plenty carbonated, but the flavor just doesnt do it for me, especially in the finish. it is easy drinking, but im not sure i would want to crush these all day. definitely not a good example of what bristol is capable of

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 05:42:43 | More by StonedTrippin

mactrail

California

3.08/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appealing reddish amber color with a head that starts out nice and dissipates a little too quickly. Hops jump in with a surprising bitterness. Also the earthy, compost flavor. Dries out on the tongue with a long woody and medicinal flavor.

Rather thin. It has the merest hint of malt with a nutty flavor that keeps it out of the dishwater category. Seems a little better as you sip, and some of the edge comes off the hops. From the 12 oz bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 00:55:03 | More by mactrail

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.13/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Strong caramel malts and light hopping rates in Mass Transit Ale leaves behind an impression of caramel apples.

With a strong golden and medium amber color, the beer's pour delivers a firm ivory head of good staying power and light lace. Medium haze attests to dry-hopping and/or unfiltered character.

Ripe red apples and caramel swirl in the nose, along with part malt, part grain, light buttered toast scent. Light on hop aroma, only an herbal tea-like scent arises.

Flavors of caramel are dominant, but not without the raw barley taste particularly in the finish. Biting hops give a grassy or woody note. Bread crust, red apples, toffee and toast help to round out the flavor profile in somewhat appealing, yet unsettled flavor spread.

Medium bodied, the beer has a sticky malt feel to start but a grainy-sweet feel to finish. Light grain astringency, mild alcohol warmth, and semi-dry character.

There's parts of this beer that carry a nice Amber Ale flavor, but also a Yeungling-like grain/malt combo that prohibits it from competing with better craft beers.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2011 03:42:24 | More by BEERchitect

rawfish

California

3.4/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours from the bottle as a hazy gold that sticks even when the beer warms. Eggshell cap of a finger high white foam, poor retentin but leaves an attractive ring of lace.

Smells very sweet, waffle batter with raw honey drizzled over it. No hop profile to speak of. Something amiss with the aroma, it could be that it's just too sweet.

Sweet bread malts with a touch of grain husks to balance the sweetness. Slight notes of chocolate (despite the lighter color) and alot of raw honey. Medicinal and grasy hop finish that is very light and provides no bitterness but the balance and drying is there in a decent amount. More like a blonde amber hybrid.

Medium body perhaps a tad light with average carbonation as well. Dries nicely leading into the next drink. Sweet yet smooth over the tongue.

A good sessionable amber from Bristols especially if you like your beer on the sweeter side, nice for dessert of a warm night in early summer. Balanced and flavorful, just a tad sweeter than most.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2011 23:25:57 | More by rawfish

allforbetterbeer

Colorado

3.63/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Stange glass. Bottled on date clearly marked on bottle. Thanks for supporting fresh beer Bristol!

Pours with a light orange body under two fingers of french vanilla colored head. Pretty good head retention and good lacing. The bubbles that rise in the glass are small and keep the compact head from disappearing.

Lightly hopped (Chinook and Tettnang) with lighter aromas of toasty malts. I could almost have tagged the nose as an English pale ale except for the American hops.

The palate is clean, simple, and refreshing. The hops smelled nice but uninteresting in the nose, but in the flavor they come forward just a bit more and produce a nice mild leafy bitterness that is supported by rather generic but nicely toasty malts. Easy and light.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side but isn't watery or thin as many of the other reviews caused me to expect. Carbonation is lower which in my opinion is a bonus, but could be seen as a problem for this style by others, thus the score will not be affected positively or negatively by this. Drinkabiliy is very good. This beer goes down easy, but not because it is bland. It is just simple and refreshing.

Conclusion: Possibly categorized wrongly, this beer is quite mild compared to the average American Pale Ale. For that style it just doesn't have enough power to hold up against the competition, but from reading the Bristol's description of this beer, it doesn't sound tome like they ever intended it to. They designed this beer to be refreshing and easy to drink, and it is that and a bit more- it is tasty as well, as long as you are not expecting a full dose of hops to fill your mouth.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2010 05:50:19 | More by allforbetterbeer

htomsirveaux

Texas

3.1/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle tried 1 May 2010.

Served in a Lakefront shaker pint. Small thin off white head. Light carbonation. Copper honey color with some particulates and floaties. Fruity aroma, cherries and apples. Fruity and cherryish to start. Sweet tart with a drier finish. Aftertaste is brief, slightly nutty. Mild ethanol. Medium body.

Fairly average.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2010 04:00:45 | More by htomsirveaux

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.9/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle with bottled on notches of early November, hopefully of 2009. Pours a somewhat hazy, light copper color with a dense, creamy cap of off-white foam. Pretty nice looking brew with some great retention and lacing.

Nose leans toward the malty end of the spectrum, as caramel, honey, light brown sugar and Hawaiian bread all come to mind. There is just a mild hint of citrusy (mostly lemon) hops, but certainly less than I expect for a Pale Ale. That said, I am enjoying smelling this beer just fine.

I think this would fare (no pun intended) better as an Amber Ale as far as the ratings go. Has a nice, graham crackery malt flavor which I find appealing. There is a bit stronger of a hop presence in the finish, bitterness cleans it up fairly well. It is a bit thin, bordering on watery with adequate to slightly low carbonation. Some toasty malts come out a bit as it warms up. The beer never tries to be something it is not, even touts on the label as being 'Mellow, effortless, groovy'...yea, I can dig on that. Makes a good throwdown beer that can be sessioned with ease.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2010 23:53:19 | More by twiggamortis420

sevopie

Colorado

3.2/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly murky copper with a smallish tan head.

Smells like Brown sugar and caramel with a hint of wood.

Taste is very light but muddy. You get a little caramel malt, a little breadiness, and a bit of hop on the finish. Definitely underwhelming considering how malty the nose smelled.

Medium mouthfeel with a very fine but thick carbonation.

Overall nothing offends here, but its hard to see this one becoming a staple of many. Its more British Pale than American, but I can see it converting some BMC drinkers so its not all bad news.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2009 05:56:56 | More by sevopie

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a oddly murky brown with orange tints. Nose is bland wood tones. Flavor is unusually acidic and citric. Earthiness is there too, but it just doesn't mesh well together. Feel has a thicker liquid body and the carbonation is a bit biting. This is okay. Not really coming off as an APA to me. I think some cask conditioning might make this one more interesting. But for now, it's lacking.

Thanks to ArrogantB for the chance to try this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2009 16:39:50 | More by RblWthACoz

Birmingham

Kansas

3/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Aroma: Malts,

Appearance: Pours deep copper with a slight haze. The head is tall, off white and persistent.

Flavor: Toasted malts, citrus notes and bready after taste

Overall Impression: Easy drinking, almost refreshing. We balance between the malts and hops, both support the other and neither is more pronounced.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2009 23:56:13 | More by Birmingham

shivtim

Georgia

2.65/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Mmm, transportation themed ale. Not sure why there is a VW van on the label, as opposed to a train or bus.
Poured into a pint glass. Clear orange copper with a thin trace of off-white foam. Nose is nutty malt and gentle hops. Taste is off grains and old crackers. Kind of tastes like some liquid you might find on a bus floor, so in that sense it fits the mass-transit theme. Ok, so it's not that bad. Smell is actually pretty good, so thats a plus. Otherwise, a so-so beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 05:02:12 | More by shivtim

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle.

Poured a light to medium and cloudy amber color
with an averaged sized off white head. I'm not getting any strong aromas but what I do detect are ice tea, floral and caramel. Tastes of cookie dough, caramel and citrus. Thinner body.

Notes from: 10/30/05

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2009 18:28:31 | More by hopdog

BrewmasterNPB

Colorado

3.63/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Mass transit has a dark-gold color with a light tan head.
It has a slight hop aroma that is dominated by malt. It tastes brittish to me, diacetyl is present and is accentuated by toasty malt (perhaps victory malt?). There is a prominent hop flavor, but it could be stronger. Not very balanced, but drinkable. I would reccomend trying mass transit.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2008 01:47:37 | More by BrewmasterNPB

ccrida

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear copper with a thin, white head that quickly disappears leaving no lace.

Smell is very fruity apricot English ale esters, which thickens and gains a syrupy sweetness as it warms.

Taste is less fruity then the nose, but still estery, nicely balanced by the toasted malt, some leafy hops and a nice crisp finish.

MF is very carbonated, in spite of the totally still appearance, with a medium body.

Drinkability is pretty high, this is a very smooth, balanced amber, with just enough flavor to satisfy but not overwhelm.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2008 03:38:55 | More by ccrida

barleywinefiend

Washington

2.93/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured an amber color flat head. Slight smell of some hops and spice. Not enough malt, resulting in a sagging middle. Finish is slightly bitter and easy going. Bristol needs to add more mallt and hops. There are many better Ambers out there for sure. More malt would helpthe thin body.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2008 02:22:42 | More by barleywinefiend

woemad

Washington

1.5/5  rDev -53%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

12oz bottle given to me by a friend and co-worker who once lived down the street from Bristol. She just got back from visiting her old hometown for a few days, and picked up a bunch of Bristol beers at a local liquor store. According to the label, it was bottled the fourth week of August, but doesn't say which August.

Poured a very hazy dark copper color, with the tiniest whisp of white foam that immediatly vanished. No lace. Doesn't look promising.

The nose is dominated by a diacetyl scent that pretty much cancels out all other scents.

The taste is just like the nose. Massive, overbearing diacetyl taste that cancels out whatever surviving flavor elements might be lingering in this beer. Drainpour.

Flat, lifeless mouthfeel.

Undrinkable. Fastest decision to give up on a beer that I've ever made. This is obviously at least a year old, maybe more. No business should ever let a beer this old be sold, as it does nothing to enhance it's reputation. I really wanted to like this, as it came from a friend and I'm always happy to have free beer. I've another bottle of this (lucky me), and if it's in better condition I will post another review, but if you're contemplatiing buying this, be damned sure it's really a fresh one before you plunk down any money.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2007 06:34:24 | More by woemad

Metalmonk

North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Healthy pour brings up a light head that thins too quickly. The body is light copper in color. Curiously, no lace builds up either.

Aroma is quite sweet, bringing to mind the kind of fruity cereals that don't actually have any real fruit in them. There's a musty element at work too, helping the malt provide balance.

That musty, earthy character carries through in the flavor, bringing freshly mown grass, ripe plum, herbal tea, celery...the finish is bitter, with a slight stickness. Not your typical pale ale, it tries doing something of its own and ends up getting halfway there.

Mouthfeel is too thin; the interesting flavors call for more daring or dazzle. Or at least more carbonation.

Bottled third week of February ('07 I presume), drank first week of June...maybe this is already turning? That would account for some of the stranger flavors, but I did enjoy this. Just not sure I'm psyched enough to seek it out again. Thanks to mnwags for sending this my way.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2007 22:28:32 | More by Metalmonk

erikjon

Washington

3.23/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Looks orangish-brown with a thin head that disappeared quickly. Smells decent. Do I catch a hint of citrus? Catch a little bit of floral notes in there too. Smells like it may be tasty, but nothing really jumps out and grabs my attention.

Tastes like a decent, run of the mill ale. Nothing spectacular, nothing great. Has a crisp, clean taste and I'm getting citrus for sure. Not a fan of fruit in my beer, but if you are, you may want to try dropping an orange wedge in and taking it for a whirl. Good news is that its very smooth and drinkable - could be dangerous on a long night. Bad news, when I move on to the next beer, this one will be quickly forgotten.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2007 05:16:10 | More by erikjon

rowew

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 12 oz long neck bottle with a VW van on the front. Bottled month and week notched on the side.

Appearance:Pours orange with just a bit of haze, small head that fades very quickly.

Smell: Malt, with a bit of over-ripe vegetable aromas. Just a bit of hops near the end.

Taste: Tastes better than it smells, luckily. Starts off just a bit sweet, and then a light hop flavor (mainly floral)

Overall impression: Not bad - but I certainly won't be seeking it out again.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2006 21:04:57 | More by rowew

beveragecaptain

New Jersey

2.68/5  rDev -16%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 ounce bottle. Bristol Mass Transit Ale pours out a partially cloudy amber color with very little head. The aroma is grainy malt, herbal hops, and cardboard. Slightly malty flavor, but there is an acidic tangy flavor that nearly ruins this beer for me. Some herbal hop flavor in the finish. This beer does not taste at all fresh. The flavor is bland, and what is there isn't especially good. This makes for an overall weak beer. Medium mouthfeel. Average drinkability. I very much doubt I will be drinking this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2006 01:23:28 | More by beveragecaptain

AlexJ

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Light amber pour with a quickly receding white head that leaves only a thin ring of lace at the top of the pourline.

Aroma is an almost non-existant mix of grainy malts, stale biscuits, sourdough bread, with some grassy, faintly herbal hops.

Flavor ditto, follows the nose to a tee. Very bland and lifeless.

Body just above light, well carbonated, with a coarse mouthfeel and slick, wet texture.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2006 15:22:20 | More by AlexJ

dirtylou

Washington

3.65/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz single, Brennan's

apparently bottled in the 3rd week of july

appearance: pours a grassy amber color, somewhat transparent, moderate foamy beige head with decent lacing

smell: some interesting aromas...fruity (green apple, pear, grape), touch of gingerbread, cinnamon-like spices, smoky and spicy hop presence

taste: sweet toasted malts, grassy and herbal hops, slightly peppery, apple/pear/and grape combination, slighty floral hops, a tad woody

mouthfeel: medium bodied, average carbonation

drinkability: very drinkable, mellow as self described

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2005 01:24:30 | More by dirtylou

Elrod23

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Nice amber color, the smell and appearance are pleasant enough.

I had a pint at the brewery and picked up a 6-pack of bottles on the way home. It was in the refrigerator for a week before I had another Mass Transit.

I grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator (after a 3-mile walk) and ended up having three. I can picture sitting on the porch during a summer afternoon and downing a lot of this brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2005 00:26:26 | More by Elrod23