Feather River Honey Ale

Brewed by Feather River Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Magalia, California USA

Bomber. Smells of caramel malt with a light honey touch. Decent amber color with a white head that wasn’t much. Thin to medium body with near creamy carbonation. Starts citrus (not grapefruit) backed by caramel malt. That doesn’t last long - each mouthful tends to drop into relatively no taste. Not getting a lot of honey, and there is enough floral hop to help cut the sweetness. I really liked the start, and it is certainly drinkable. In the end it is somewhat sweet, but the bitter builds up. It’s just a bit different. Much, much better, I believe than Oregon Honey Beer. Maybe because there is some decent bitter. I have no problem with a bitter sweet beer.

On tap. This beer was a pretty big dissapointment. It tastes and smells lightly of sulfer. Sweet at first with a sickly lingering honey finish. Films a bit in the back of the throat.

(22 oz bottle: $3.29 at Liquor Barn in Redding, CA) Cheap, sweet, dreadful honey taste and an unpleasant floral flavor dominate this beer and that’s not a good combination to this beer drinker. Actually, it starts out acceptably, with a mild tartness that kind of offsets the honey and flowers, but those flavors quickly win out and the finish is pretty horrendous. The nose is more tolerable, with the honey and floral nature being balanced out by a light tartness. Light-medium bodied, lightly carbonated, with a long-lasting sweetness that quickly wears out the palate. Your basic amber colored beer, slightly hazy, with a small, off-white head that settles to a thin ring. Ooph, this could be the worst honey beer I’ve ever tasted.

Head is initially small, frothy, off-white, fully diminishing. Body is hazy light amber. Aroma is lightly malty (cookie), lightly hoppy (grapefruit), with notes of wort and honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter, unclean. Medium body, watery texture, soft carbonation. Raw worty smell, sour finish, this just ain’t ready for public consumption yet.

Slightly hazy and golden. Creamy and thickish palate, much thicker than I expected. Light and sugary malts (cookie dough, sugar, honey). Mild, grassy hops (light flowers). Earthy and kind of wholesome. Some bitterness in the aftertaste, but sweetness wins, and then lingers. Fairly drinkable beer.

Orange. Somewhat aromatic, yet very unpleasant. There comes a point when describing the flavors and aromas of something like this becomes redundant. This is one of those occasions. Sweet pale malts with minimal hop bitterness and a touch of honey. Not good at all.

Light, crisp honey aroma. Color is a light slightly cloudy golden. Sweet up front, comes through with some light hoppiness and bitterness. Bitterness is a little off though. Suprisingly full bodied. Decent.