Back Road Ale

Brewed by Back Road Brewery
Style: American Pale Ale
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Date: 07/18/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

hazy orange, big creamy off white head, drippy lace, earthy hop aroma, highly carbonated body, sweet yet tart malt malt flavor, touch of bitterness to balance the infected malt,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 4/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 7/20
Rating: 2.3/5.0
Drinkability: 4/10
Score: *+/4

Pours a slightly hazy golden with an airy, frothy off-white head. Aroma of some piny English hops and pale malt with some mild tartness. Body starts very effervescent with a tart lemon citrus flavor and some acidic warmth. Definitely seems infected to me, but would otherwise be a pretty standard APA.

Bottle courtesy of shawnm213/ Pours copper with a lasting white head. Smells of caramel, raisins, some light spice. Tastes of caramel, earth, tea, some sage, peppery.

Even a vigorous pour couldn’t raise much of a head over the slightly hazed amber body. It has a caramel, malty aroma with some apples and toffee. Drinking it is almost like eating a sour caramel apple with an earthy hop bitterness arriving late in the game. I would’ve thought this to be an amber ale due to the flavor and weak hopping. Why do so many "flagship beers" come across as something I’d just as soon not repeat?

<font size=-4>From <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=1 cellar.<font size=-1>

Copper hue with small white head and no lacing, light to medium-bodied. Very malty aroma of caramel and grain. Lighty citrusy hints. Crisp on the palate, tart hops give way to the malt, well balanced. Dry and soft mouthfeel. Slighty metallic on the finish. A well made ale and one of my choices of an everyday session beer.

In a bottle at the brewery. This brew poured a medium sized head of foamy off-white colored long lasting bubbles that left behind an excellent lacing and a transparent softly carbonated light brown colored body. The aroma was a medium strength malt hop one with a mouthfeel that was initially slightly biting and lingered well into the finish. It had a typical mild malt hop flavor.

At the brewery. The appearance was that of a small sized ivory head with small-large bubbles that was mostly lasting throughout my rating. The body was uncarbonated, clear with an orange-brown hue. The nose was berries and malt with a bitter and hoppy flavor. The mouthfeel was smooth, somewhat dry and light. This beer had excellent lacing on the sides of my glass.

Appearance: Pours a hazed amber body with an explosive, run-away white head. Smell: A tart, twangy aroma akin to cooked berries along with a dose of pine. Taste: A beer that begins and ends tart, with some mild malt flavors and English hops in between. Mouthfeel: Thin-bodied. Questionably well carbonated. Drinkability: A "flagship beer" that’s flying at half-mast.