Oceanside Ale Works American Strong Ale

Brewed by Oceanside Ale Works
Style: American Strong Ale
Oceanside, California USA

Growler, courtesy of wetherel. Thanks, John! Pours a bright, yellowish-amber color; fluffy, off-white head with fine-bubbled retention; this held its carbonation quite well. Earthy, fruity hops and tea-like malts in the aroma; soft, minimal show of alcohol. Medium-to-full, chewy mouthfeel: definitely malt-forward, with some earthiness and tea-like malts; good balancing bitterness, but nothing remarkable in the hop character; tastes like 7 or 8% at most, so if this is more it’s well-hidden. Medium, tea-like malts and fruit in the finish; some dry earthiness.

Poured from a growler. Marginally clear, dull orange. Aroma of burnt and buttered popcorn, wet wood, and salted grapefruit. Pungent and ugly. Taste has more of the same dirty tea leaf bitterness, salt, and vodka poured into old orange juice. Papery and extremely poorly attenuated. No life on the palate; flat and tired, highlighting the booze. A very difficult drinker. Almost utterly undrinkable, in fact, and a fairly complete disappointment. Thanks for sharing, Ken.

Many thanks to wetherel for sending me the growler!!! Poured translucent coppery-amber with a tall-ish cap of off-white head. Holy Hops on the aroma!.. grapefruit, pine, and floral representin’ well with deep caramel, some toffee, and lighter fruity notes backing it up.. delightful! The flavor was just as solid.. rich caramel, grapefruit meat, and medium-bodied fruits paired with huge hoppage again (grapefruit and pine standing out).. sweet overall with a warm finish that picked up some drier fruit and dusty hops. Creamy and fuller-bodied on the palate with soft carbonation.. great balance between the malty base and the huge hops.. warm and satisfying finish. Great!

Growler shared by Jason. The beer pours to a reddish amber body with a tall creamy dense yellowish-khaki head. The aroma is extremely hoppy with tons of citrus, grapefruit, IIPA like aromas. Spruce. The flavor is extremely malty and nicely hoppy. Rich toasted malts. Bitter pine and spruce, grapefruit, and toast. The palate is nicely bitter, medium bodied.

Date: 12/01/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Strong Ale Fest

hazy amber, nice fine beige head, rich sweet caramel malt aroma with earthy hops, lots of earthy hop flavor, dry caramel malt to balance,
-------- /> Date: 11/29/2007
Mode: draft
Score: 3.0 to 3.1
Words: back street vista

clear amber, frothy dirty white head, solid drippy lace, sweet and spicy malt aroma, rich malt flavor, candy sweetness is balanced by the spicy character, good earthy hops, light bitter finish,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

This was the most interesting brew I have had...in a good way, expecting a Arrogant bastard type of brew yet it was lighter in the malt, expecting and IPA or double IPA this brew was not bitter YET real hoppy???? Can’t believ it was a 9.2 unitl I Finished EXCELLEN BREW

On tap at the Stone Bistro on 12/1/06: Pours a clear copper orange with a frothy well-lacing white head. Aroma of fresh citrusy hops, waterchestnuts and some sweet toasty pale malt. Body starts sweet and malty with a good amount of spruce and piny hop balance toward a crisp, bittersweet finish that hides the alcohol well. Fairly drinkable for a strong ale.

Rerate: The first time I rated this, it was my 4th rating, and I was less experienced at rating. I tried it at the brewery again. Everyone should visit their brewery, it’s fun! 1" small bubble head. Nice hoppy aroma. Amber color. Well blalanced with a lean toward the hoppy side, kinda of like an IPA. West coast hop grapefruit bitterness. Nice. Old rating: I visited the oceanside ale works for a tasting. It was fun with many people (~20) drinking and talking. I was looking forward trying this one. All american strong ales are great, but this one was just good, so relatively speaking it’s rating was brought down. 6-4-7-3-12:3.2