Full Sail Amber Ale (USA)

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Hood River, Oregon USA

Brown, clear, with a white head. Malty, bready nose, hint of grassy hops. Thin flavor, only a hint of pumpernickel bready malt, a slight touch of bitterness.

This is a beer of considerable simplicity yet drinkability. I usually regard a brewery/brewpub’s Amber as their catch-all style meant to appeal to wider audiences...a transition beer. Full Sail’s Amber falls squarely in that category, as it offers to new beer lovers an appealing claim to "sophistication", without really being such, through its bronze hues, simple and lively floral/citrus nose, and well-rounded malt mouthfeel. In bottle form this had a very aggressive carbonation feel, was what most distinguished it in my mind. I say that because otherwise, the overall fruity caramel flavors made it seem to me like the most hoppy bitters/pale ales that you can get in England. It’s in that "sessionable" league, despite the 6% that is not particularly apparent. Not bad at all.

Large frothy white head. Light carbonation. Wonderful lacing. Head lasts for a while. Light citrus/hoppy aroma. Bit of malts and honey. Color is a deep amber orange. Flavor is very well balanced. Hops disappears in the flavor but shows up again at the finish. Good bit of malts and a hint of roasted grains. Bit of hop bitterness at the finish. A decent amber ale that will appeal to many mainstream drinkers.

Dark amber color with a thin white head. Caramelly malt aroma with a light roast. Some citrus and fruity hops, toasty malts. Very drinkable amber.

Bottled. Amber colour. Roasty, lightly soapy hop aroma. Dry, light bodied, light flavoured and somewhat salty. Medium bitterness.

Bronze color with a tall fluffy dark cream colored head. Caramel malt and mild floral and blue cheese aroma. Smooth texture. Full malt flavors. Some caramel, some toast, little light fruit. As far as ambers go, to me, this is a good one, but then again a good amber is still only half way up the food chain. This does seem to fill out a touch as it warms. Thanks to TannerTavernBoys.

Pours clear amber with a medium tan head that is moderately lasting and shows very good lacing. Floral hops and caramel to the nose. Creamy, malty, chocolate and caramel flavor, but the best part is the hoppy taste that dominates the middle, late, and aftertaste sections. I think it’s great.

Dark, slightly hazy copper body is topped by a small and short-live head. Sweet and fruity I’m getting bits of tea and melon and a little caramel. The flavor is sweet, but light. Lightly malty, but very little in the way of hops. There is a slightly floral character to the aroma, but it’s not striking me so much as hops as with some beers.