Saranac Summer Ale - Matt Brewing Company

JackStraw22

Virginia

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

Appearance: Clear, dark golden body with a moderate off white head. Retention was ok, no lacing.

Smell: Spicy and citrusy, almost like a Belgian pale ale, but sweeter. It's a refreshing sweetness, fitting for a summer seasonal.

Taste/Feel: Really bready and yeasty at first. A citrusy sweetness comes next (lots of lemon), and there's some slight hoppy bitterness. It's refreshing, but it tastes a little unbalanced, too bready/yeasty for a summer ale, then the lemony taste comes on a little strong. Smooth mouthfeel, almost slick.

Worth a try, interesting summer offering.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2005 01:53:14 | More by JackStraw22

palma

New York

2.33/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5

Gold-light amber body. Decent white head.
Light fruity aroma. Clean hops.
Taste is close to awful. What the hell is with that lemon? Way too much of it. Artificial tasting as well. Not good in my book.

Will not drink this again.

Matt Brewing did not hit this one on the head.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2005 16:44:27 | More by palma

necoadam

Connecticut

2.2/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured out a clear light gold color with a decent head. Smell was mostly citrus with nothing else coming through. Very one sided on the aroma side. Taste wasn't any better either. A ton of lemon flavors with some citrus and wheat flavors also coming through. Light amount of malts underly the citrus flavors. Mouthfeel was light and finished dry and peppery. Where are they leading to with this beer? Heck, add some coriander and we'll almost have a wit. Just a complete mess with this beer. Very sloppy.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2005 20:51:45 | More by necoadam

cubedbee

Maryland

3.45/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark hazy yellowish orange with a cap of bright white head. Lemon, malt, and a faint whiff of floral hops on the nose. Very malty, wheaty taste upfront followed by a surpisingly large floral bitter taste. Light lemon permeates everything. Medium bodied with a fairly low carbonation level, this is a pretty smooth drinker. Overall this is another decent beer from the Summer pack.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2005 12:34:27 | More by cubedbee

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

part of summer sampler pack. Poured a light copper cooper color with white head. Smell is strong of lemon, and not much else. First taste is very overpowering of lemon but with susequent sips this seems to sudside. There also becomes a slight background of dryness, which adds to the quality of the beer. Beer definitely improves as the glass empties, and I start to enjoy it. Pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2005 01:27:20 | More by tgbljb

claytri

Maryland

4.03/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a beautiful amber with an eggshell head. It has a nice floral hoppy aroma. It has a really nice blended taste. It has a good malt core to it, but seems to have a wapper of hops. The hops adding a rather floral almost herbal set of tastes. The feel is medium and smooth with a clean break at the end of the draw. All in all a good solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2005 22:55:40 | More by claytri

pentathlete

Virginia

2.48/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Something is not quite right with this one. Appears dark gold, with little or no head. Smells like lemon-scented oil used for candles or room deodorizers. Taste like a blonde ale mixed with lemon-scented Renuzit cakes. The lemon does not come off natural and this ruins it for me. The wife unit thought it was ok, but she likes perfumey floral stuff. The mouthfeel is ok for this style of beer, but it cannot overcome the flavors. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2005 02:46:21 | More by pentathlete

Gavage

New Jersey

3.05/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Crystal clear yellow in color with a short 1/4" white head. No lacing develops. Decent carbonation levels. The aroma was of light citrus. The flavor was slightly unbalanced as lemon overpowered the malt and wheat. The bitterness was very mild. Hints of pepper and ginger were also detectable.

Mouthfeel was crisp, and finishes dry with the lemon and pepper lingering briefly on the tongue. Very average summer brew, as the lemon citrus was too overwhelming.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2005 21:43:15 | More by Gavage

kbnooshay

New York

3.63/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Another offering from the summer mix. This smells great! The aroma is lemoney and sweet, really nice. awesome fluffy huge head and a dark golden hue. Why does the label tell me it is colored with caramel? Come on. That is like their Mountain ale telling me it has fruit flavors. Whatever. The taste is sorta orangey, it tastes like a belgian white but it doesn't have that cool unfilteredness. The mouthfell is bubbly yet smooth. Moderate. I could pound these. Not that I would. Or would I?

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2005 04:02:41 | More by kbnooshay

Backer2004

North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Found this one as part of a mix six pack of Saranac brews. Since I thoroughly did not enjoy Sam Adam's Summer Ale (a much worthier brewery), I had little expectations for this. Surprisingly much better than the former brew. Floral hops overwhelm the smell and taste and rather easy to down.Nothing exciting about the mouthfeel or appearance. i would not buy a sixer of this, but it was worth trying out for a random Wednesday night at home.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2005 01:04:23 | More by Backer2004

whartontallboy

New York

2.58/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Clear brass pour, one-finger fizzy head that quickly runs off to head heaven.

Not much of a smell to speak of, slight hints of lemon Pez, oranges, and a very faint hoppiness.

Flavor is similarly flat with candy-lemon notes. The thin mouthfeel is pretty astringent, and it makes the whole thing seem even more biting and unpleasant. There's just not much going on here other than the Pez flavor, and I don't really dig it.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2005 02:39:18 | More by whartontallboy

cracgor

Texas

3.35/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: A golden amber color. Clear body and heavily carbonated. The head is thin, never pouring very tall.

Smell: This brew has a very citrus like smell. Smells like lemon, orange, and apricot. Maltiness is overshadowed by the fruity smell.

Taste: Spicy and lemony with a dry finish. No hint of banana or clove. Also, has tea-like flavors.

Mouthfeel: Moderate to thin in body.

Drinkability: This is not a bitter beer. Very sweet and easy to drink. This beer is good enough to standalone. If you like iced tea, you ought to like this brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2005 00:03:50 | More by cracgor

CJfromPhilly

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a coppery golden color with a bubbly, one finger head. Fairly active carbonation, but not overly fizzy. Aroma is of clean malt, a kind of dry grassiness, & a hint of lemon peel. Taste is clean also...malt, hay and a touch of the lemon peel again on the finish. Maybe just a hint of banana? Lightly hopped. Has a refreshing crispness to it. Medium mouthfeel. Overall, an ok beer. Would be good at a cookout or on a hot day at the beach. There’s better out there, though.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2005 21:37:22 | More by CJfromPhilly

wailingwench

New Mexico

2.28/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Eye Candy: Transparent dark-goldenrod. Thin edges. Minimal retention.

The Nose Knows: Overbearing artificial lemon candy coated with powdered sugar. Would do double duty as an air freshener in the bathroom. Sweet malt and spice beg to emerge.

Tongueland: Grassy wheat overtaken by lemon bomb. Peppery finish. Wierd. Regulated to the beer pong beer collection.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2005 22:49:32 | More by wailingwench

TinusTime

Virginia

2.9/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured a hazy medium golden with a nice fluffy white head. The aroma was a touch sweet, but very citric. You would have thought the lemon slice was bottled in the beer. Taste was OK. Decent flavours of lemon bread, a touch of spice ( green pepper and or coriander) and some typical wheat graininess. No real hop bitterness to speak of. Mouthfeel is good and carbonation is fairly high and the body is light to medium light. Drinkability is a bit under average. For some reason I could never figure this beer out fully. Every time I thought I was gonna like it something made me back off. I think the flavours just did not do it for me

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2005 18:36:01 | More by TinusTime

tomthumbsblues

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appeared as a light golden beer with few streams of bubbles ascending from the bottom. One finger creamy head goes down quickly. Aroma is of a blueberry bagel or muffin. Taste is similar, but with hints of lemon and spice. Aftertaste is lemon peel bitter. Light in the mouth. This is a pretty ok beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2005 15:10:10 | More by tomthumbsblues

sulldaddy

Connecticut

3.3/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Another brew from a summer sampler pack
I am sampling a chilled 12 oz bottle in a pint glass. The beer pours a clear orange color with thin fizzy white head forming on the surface and fading to an edge layer almost immediately. Aroma is light and sweet with caramel and lemony citrus notes mixing with some floral hops. The first sip reveals a lite crisp body with average yet tingly carbonation. Flavor is candy sweet with citrusy orange (coriander) a dominant flavor. The flavor is very mild overall and leaves a sugary sweet finish. A nice attempt at tweaking a wheat ale, but the sweetness is a little much for me and reminds me more of candy than beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2005 03:25:20 | More by sulldaddy

Zraly

Virginia

3/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A light orange pour with a 3/4 of an inch thick head that diminished rather quickly. Carbonation seems nice and lacing is minimal.

A citrusy smelling ale, it tastes heavily of citrus as well. A minor malt flavor comes through with tiny notes of caramel malt, wheat bread and sugar. Finish is tangy and tart, a sweet lemony punch to end on. Hops are minimal.

Like most of Saranac's Summer pack offerings, it goes down easy. Nothing exciting, though.

An interesting little thirst quencher. Not overly impressive, but it functions and works for what it is. I enjoyed mine with a Mother Corn squash and hominy casserole (that was jazzed up with a big jalapeno bite) and okra. And that seemed to work well with the spicyness of my dinner.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2005 23:22:10 | More by Zraly

OldSock

District of Columbia

2.9/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Dark for a pale wheat ale, more of a gold/orange color, but it has the characteristic billowy white head of a wheat beer.

Smell – Strong citrus smell, more lemon than anything else. There is some malt as well, but not too much.

Taste – It tastes like someone already added lemon to this wheat beer, with a decent amount of malt to balance it out. Not too bad for a wheat beer, not too complex but refreshing as a summer ale should be.

Mouthfeel – Relatively strong carbonation, combined with a light body, again very refreshing, but nothing too interesting.

Drinkability – Pretty drinkable, but not something that I want more of unless its above 80 degrees and I haven't had anything to drink in awhile.

Notes – Certainly refreshing, but the flavor is pretty lacking, not one of my favorite American wheat beers.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2005 17:44:10 | More by OldSock

WesWes

New York

3.73/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours a dark gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a light pale wheat malt scent that is riddled with lemony zest and a touch of caramel malt. The taste is decent. It has a very dry wheat malt flavor with loads of lemon and a bit of caramel malt to balance the flavor. It's a nice warm weather beer. I like the use of crystal malts to add a malty aftertaste. The mouthfeel is fine. It's a low/medium bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a good summer seasonal. It's not your typical wheat beer for sure, but it drinks well.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2005 22:40:29 | More by WesWes