McNeills Firehouse Amber

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

(drought at McNeill’s Tavern)

very creamy texture, fruity T1 sour T2 hoppy T3.

Pours a one finger white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Almost clear amber color. Light to medium carbonation and light-medium bodied. Hoppy nose. Flavor is hops and hints of malt. Light lingering bitter finish. $2.99 for a 22oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

22 oz bomber. Amber pour with a medium fizzy tan head. Aroma of roasted malt and hops. Great taste of sweet and roasted malt with some citrus hops present. Great finish. Fantastic amber.

Large bottle. Not very impressive. Predominant taste is water with very slight malt and almost no hops. In other words a very bland amber with almost no character.

dark amber pour, nice frothy offwhite head. slight floral hop and some sweet malt notes. first impression, this is flat. Sugary malt with some tartness, mouthfeel is a bit watery. Bizarre sour finish. Overall an odd beer

Bottle. Nice frothy head that lasted awhile. Dark amber and hazy but according to the label, it is bottle conditioned - most likely yeast in suspension which is OK. Did not detect much on the hop side for aroma; faint malt notes. Upfront sweet taste that fades to a lasting bitterness. Medium bodied

Very cloudy! Orange amber color. Large bubble head initially, but there is a wonderful cascade of tiny effervescence that replaces it. Short lived, though. Light, spotty lace on the glass. Yeasty and chewy smell. Dry-ish malt aroma. Low hop nose. The flavor has a strong citrus bite to it. This reminds me of my best homebrews, although it is overly sour in the swallow. Light hop background. Very short aftertaste on the flavors except the tart bits. Good body with a subtle carbonation that prevents it from becoming too rich. Simply put, if you are curious about what a homebrew tastes like, this would be a good sample.

FRom the 1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle with no expiration date checked off (there is a spot to do that). The pour is dark amber and much cloudier than I would expect. Not a lot of head. It looks like it was bottle fermented. I am struck at first by the floral hoppy aroma, which was a tad unexpected for an amber ale. The taste is a complex mixture of sweeter malts and a noted hoppy sensation.