Berkshire Ale Traditional Pale Ale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: American Pale Ale
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Bottle thanks to Cletus. Pours dark amber/reddish with creamy beige head. Wow, this is sweet. More of a darker British pale ale to me. Some fruitiness from the malt, and mild Kent-like hops. Different than expected, but I liked it.

On tap at the Matunuck Oyster Bar - Matunuck, RI as BBC Pale Ale. Aroma gives off a stronger bouquet of British-style esters, a bit of creaminess and some alcohols. Somewhat complex and rising. Pours a rather dark reddish-brown, with a tall creamy tan head. Flavor is as expressive as the aroma, but with some malt skunkiness. A confused warmly-fermented british ale yeast yields to some questionable malt quality and a punch of hop aromatics. A tiny bit messy and all over the place, but there are some redeeming qualities. In the end, I’m not sure how I feel about this as any sort of pale ale, but it’s okay. It felt a little heavy.

A dark reddish amber ale with a thin creamy off white head. A strong diacetyl aroma cloying, strawberries. In mouth, a nutty and buttery ale with light hops, medium bodied. On tap at Flat Street Brewpub, Brattleboro, August 2 2009.

A thick pillow of head atop a reddish brown (or brownish red). The head dies down quickly, but the lace defiantly remains. Some pale malts in the smell mingle with deep roasted -- almost amber -- malts. A little musty but appropriate for style. Decent, mild hop. The flavor here is much more of a musty, funky amber ale than a pale. ALmost hte flavor of an old Killian’s. Not unpleasant, but not a favorite. Some crisp pale malt flavors toward the end. This one is thick for a pale. Creamy, not spiky. Actually unusual for style. I’m not so sure this is even a pale; it’s a decent enough brew, but not a sock-blower-offer.

22 oz bottle, via Cletus. Pours a clear dark copper body with a small fizzy off-white head that faded to a thin ring quickly. The nose is light caramel malt and a some grassy hoppiness. A touch of citrus, but not a whole lot. Very light and watery flavor with just a little toasted and caramel malt up front that’s a bit husky. Finishes with a slight grassy hoppiness. I can’t believe that this is so thin and watery and it’s still 6.3%. Mouthfeel is light and watery with a fleeting finish and moderate fizzy carbonation. Overall, this went down pretty quick because it was so watery but there’s nothing to get excited about here.

Nothing special. Probably the weakest offering of theirs I’ve had. A middle of the road pale ale with modest and predicatable finish.

22oz from ppoitras - thanks, Pete! Decent looking pour, a cloudy orange with a moderate head. Sweet and bready malts in the nose, and they tend to dominate the flavor as well. The body is fair, but there’s not enough balance to make this more than an easy quaffer.

Thanks JCB for sharing. Pours an amber orange with some haze. The aroma is sweet, some corn, malt dominant, caramel, kind of bland. The flavor is sweet, bland, some corn, mild bitterness.