Lancaster Amish Four Grain Ale

Brewed by Lancaster Brewing Co.
Style: American Pale Ale
Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA

Pours medium orange clear with medium tan head. Hoppy aroma and flavor. Orange citrus and light pine mixed in. Full palate.

On tap at Ortinos Northside. Pours a burnt orange with a small off white head that laces. Aroma is orange, grain, some floral hops. Nice hop presence. Flavor is a little dry hopped. Some citurs and grain with a metallic ending. I had this in bottle about two years ago, don’t remember enjoying it quite as much back then. Maybe they made some changes to the formula.

This APA had a very frothy head. I had to stop pouring. There is a complex blend of malt flavors and a balance of hops. The APA wa s good but not noteworthy. The color was coppery. This was purchased at Total Wine and Beer of Richmond. My second bottle was consumed on 10/15/05. The beer does not taste like a pale ale. I would keep the same rating.

Bottle: Courtesy of IMtheOptimator via trade. Nice malty aroma. Caramel and maple syrup dominate with some breadiness. Pours a transparent amber with a nice off-white head with decent retention. Great lacing. Flavor doesn’t quite match. Very sweet with maple syrup, fruit, and some light yeastiness. Light grassy bitterness in the finish is not enough for balance.

Poured a clear effervescent light amber with ruby highlites with a creamy off-white head. Interesting aroma of wheat bread, a touch of maple syrup, oatmeal, and some type of hearty meat character (?!?). Taste is surprisingly much blander than the aroma... slightly sweet, somewhat bready, a touch of maple and a dry lightly-hoppy finish. Decent body, though perhaps somewhat overcarbonated. Interesting and drinkable, even if the flavor is a tad too subtle.

12oz. bottle. Hazy dark amber color with a small white head. Mildly sweet, fruity aroma with lots of malt. Flavor was sour, fruity, malty, metallic. Almost like a fruit lambic. I know from reading other ratings that this bottle must have gone bad, but it was strangely enjoyable nonetheless.

This brew is not bitter or hoppy enough to warrant the name "pale ale" written on the bottle. However, it is an excellent brew. As the name would suggest, there is a very complex aroma and flavour of grain. Just the right amount of hops to add some bite without overwhelming the sublte malt flavours. This is a very balanced brew and I enjoyed it greatly. My only complaint is about the carbonation--it has a sort of "fizzy" feel that does not match the character of the beer--a smoother carbonation, or just less altogether, would improve this beer.

I like it. Had this one at a beer tasting and the pourer mentioned that because of the four different grains, you get a very bready feel, both in the aroma and taste. I strongly agree. It reminds me of a very flavourful lager, the colour isn’t overly dark, and it isn’t very hoppy at all, but it is none the less a good brew.