Saranac Mountain Ale
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery

Saranac Mountain AleSaranac Mountain Ale
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From:
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
 
New York, United States
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
ABV:
5%
Score:
74
Avg:
3.14 | pDev: 15.29%
Reviews:
70
Ratings:
79
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 14, 2014
Added:
Apr 30, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by TinusTime:
Photo of TinusTime
Reviewed by TinusTime from Virginia

3.2/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours an amber with just a hint of deep red. Not much of a head but it does leave a sticky lace down the glass. Aroma is intially sweet of honey and fruit. I feared this was gonna be way to fruity for my liking. Taste has the fruit come through a little more muted. Nice slightly malty ale in the beginning with the berries coming more into the middle and later end of the taste. Does not turn too sweet. Overall the carbonation was pretty good, although it did sit on the counter for about 5 min while I was on the phone. Drinkability is OK. I would drink a couple of these and would not mind having one again, but I would not rush out and buy a sixer. Overall a little better than I thought it would be. Certainly better that something like SA's Cranberry Lambic or Abita's Purple Haze.
May 07, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by jzlyo from Iowa

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Manbear from New York

Nov 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Feb 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by harpus from Alabama

Oct 10, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Kelp from New Hampshire

May 05, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by chrispoint from Connecticut

Feb 18, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by rab53 from Washington

Dec 02, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Dec 01, 2011
Photo of ClockworkOrange
Reviewed by ClockworkOrange from Pennsylvania

3.22/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured into my shaker glass and appears a clear amber color with barely half an inch of quickly fading off white head. Smells of berries, sweet grains, bread, grassy hops. Tastes of mild flavored mixed berries such as raspberries and blackberries, sweet malts and that's about it. A bit thin bodied with medium carbonation.
May 03, 2009
Photo of changeup45
Reviewed by changeup45 from Florida

2.28/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Well what can I say? It's a fruit beer. Pours an amber body with an average sized head and some lacing. Aroma is sweet, somewhat malty and full of berries. Raspberries, blackberries and pretty much whatever other berry you can think of dominates the flavor. It is pretty smooth though, but it's still the worst of the Saranac's I've tried so far. I guess I just don't like fruit beers... or anything that can possibly resemble a wine cooler.
Aug 24, 2008
Photo of Procrastinator
Reviewed by Procrastinator from Florida

3.06/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12 oz. bottle is part of 12-pack "Beers of Summer" I picked up while on vacation in north Georgia. Poured into Sam Adams pint glass.

Appearance: golden orange colored body with off-white head which quickly recedes into flatness. Would have liked that foaminess to stick around longer, but lacing does linger. Endless supply of carbonation bubbles to the top. Looks very refreshing.

Smell: subtle, tangy berry scents, mild sweetness and bready grains. Underlying sourness in the background.

Taste: upfront berry sweetness, blackberries, with sour blueberry finish. Lingering sourness of lemon after swallow. Only bittering qualities of hops, no real flavor.

Mouthfeel: active carbonation, thin-bodied with mouth puckering finish on bitter and sour notes.

Drinkability: one or two would be plenty at any one session. Nothing overly special.
Aug 23, 2007
Photo of JoeyBeerBelly
Reviewed by JoeyBeerBelly from New York

2.18/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Part of the "12 Beers of Summer" mix pack.

Clear amber color with a small white head that thins out quickly, leaves a bit of lace.

I didn't smell any berries, or any fruit for that matter.

I didn't taste any berries either, just slight malt/date taste.

It doesn't offend, very light bodied, mild carbination.

If this was all I had, I'd drink it because it is very light and goes down smooth, but I won't be stocking up on this anytime soon.
Apr 14, 2007
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

1.72/5  rDev -45.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a weizen glass.

A: The beer is a light amber color with a very thin white head that fades almost instantly and leaves very little lace on the glass.

S: The fruity aroma is of berries, apricot, honey, caramelized malt and some hops.

T: The taste is dominated by a tart berry & apricot flavor that reminds me a lot of Magic Hat #9 (which I don’t like either). There’s a decent malt backbone and a faint hops presence. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp but not smooth at all, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, dry finish.

D: Not very tasty, doesn’t go down too easy, it isn’t filling which is the only compliment I can give. I didn’t like this beer at all.
Mar 04, 2007
Photo of GeoffRizzo
Reviewed by GeoffRizzo from Texas

3.4/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a light ruby red with some tan like highlights. The nose is sweet fruits—raspberries and zesty lemon notes. Another difficult aroma to pinpoint, without spending too much effort. Up front, light and tender hops, the stage is set for the berries—my palate says mostly raspberries, perhaps some blueberry offerings in there as well. Medium to full bodied, slightly carbonated; the body feels as if this were a berry-type yogurt, even with the yogurt-like texture. Decent fruit beer offering.
Nov 19, 2006
Photo of edchicma
Reviewed by edchicma from Massachusetts

3.72/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a pleasing light copper with a quickly dissipating head. Distinct honey and berry aroma..rich on the honey side. Honey remains in the taste, with some distinct berry tartness...not much on the malt or hops side...which would have improved the flavors imho. Mouthfeel is a taf chewy and full...honey out of the bottle? The honey texture adds to the smoothness of the brew, therefore drinkability is good. One of the better examples of a fruit beer.
Nov 11, 2006
Photo of HugoGrim
Reviewed by HugoGrim from Pennsylvania

3.02/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from the bottle into a standard pint glass.

Reddish gold body. Aggressive pour produced a nice head, but it was gone almost immediately.

Aroma of slight fruits. Very sweet nose, with minimal hops. As it warmed the honey became detectable.

The label claims this beer is brewed with blackberries, raspberries, and blueberry honey. As I said, the honey is noticeable in the aroma, but none of this comes through definitively in the flavor. There is a sweetness to balance the minimal hops, but it's more of just a bland fruit element.
Nov 05, 2006
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

2.49/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Rustic orange with amber edges. Multiple streams of lively bubbles ascend to a three finger cap of frothy foam that is somewhere between ivory and pale beige in color. Soft craters form in the upper surface of the head as a modest number of sudsy streamers of lace make their way to the glass. Not a bad look.

I would have had no idea that Saranac Mountain Ale contains blackberry juice, raspberry juice, blueberry honey and Cascade hops if I hadn't read it on the brewery's website. Not one of those aromas makes it to my nose. In fact, I'm not even able to tell that this is a fruit beer in a general sense. Bottom line: a whole lotta nothin' in the aroma department.

At least the beer is recognizable as a fruit beer when it comes to flavor. It isn't anywhere near a good one though. The base beer is a mildly caramel malty, grainy, modestly sweet affair that would have been better off if it had been covered up by all of the fruitiness that is supposed to be present, but isn't.

I suppose it's faintly berryish, although neither one of the berries is actually recognizable (by me at least). It isn't especially honeyish either, other than the sweetness. Bitter is at least as prominent as sweet; rarely a good thing in a fruit beer. Unfortuately, there isn't one shred of good Cascade flavor to go along with the bitterness. This is just a poorly constructed beer.

The body/mouthfeel is no great shakes either, but compares somewhat favorably to the rest of the beer's attributes by being inoffensive. It's light-medium in a general sense and doesn't benefit in terms of viscosity as some honey-added beer does.

Mountain Ale is yet another Matt Brewing Company beer that sounds halfway palatable on paper, but falls short when it comes to the actual drinking. I would think that an accomplished home brewer could come up with something better than this if given the same ingredients.
Oct 01, 2006
Photo of JohnnyM2002
Reviewed by JohnnyM2002 from Maryland

3.77/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Part of the Summer Beers variety pack; poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass right out of the fridge.

Pours a clear golden color with a smallish head. I wasn't expecting such a fruity smell...blueberries and raspberries with a malty-spice combo dominate the aroma. The malt and fruit are blended well with a grassy-wheat flavor. Goes down smooth and feels good with the medium carbonation.
Sep 24, 2006
Photo of pootz
Reviewed by pootz from Canada (ON)

3.1/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottle ( thanks Eric)

Poured a crystal clear amber ale in the glass. Modest cap with short retnetion and ligh lacing ability. Slightly spritzy carbonation.

Modest malt spine, light body, tart mouth feel, sweet and sour character.

Aromas are really subtle..light grain and cerial tiones with some sweetness and fruit tones from both yeast and fruit...but very subtle. Sweet without cloying up front with caramel malts then a sour fruit taste to balance..middle is like a pear cider with some biscuit tones. Finishes surprisingly quick and clean with light drying from the use of wheat.

Refreshing, pleasant and fruity-cidery made with real fruit and decent ingredients but there is just nothing really distinct about this brew that makes it stand out. I'd never turn one down though.
Sep 21, 2006
Saranac Mountain Ale from Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
Beer rating: 74 out of 100 with 79 ratings