Portsmouth Cream Ale

Brewed by Portsmouth Brewery
Style: Cream Ale
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

2004 draught. Color: Light pale gold, with hints of buttery yellow. White head. Aroma: Sweet floral essence, soft vanilla and cream tones, with a bigger fruity bouquet as it warms. Flavor is just superb and much fuller and better than I expected. Wonderful fruity yeast mixes with honey, light toffee and barley. Low hops on the finish are just apparent and just a wonderful smooth, flavorful, even finish. Light crisp fruit notes dance on the palate throughout. As well, this one is very drinkable, and almost tastes like a cask offering. Wonderful beer, probably my favorite from Portsmouth.

On tap at the brewery. Nice golden color with a malty nose. At first taste it seemed a little watery, but a nice, slightly fruity and malty aftertaste lightly spread across my tongue. Pretty good after a few sips.

Sampled at the brewpub in the company of the munificent and mysterious Mr. ClarkVV. Though Clark raved about this, I still wasn’t prepared...a cream ale that I’d want to drink again from a brewpub? You gotta be kidding me. Well, like most prejudices it fell when confronted with the hard facts. Hazy medium blonde, unfiltered, with a bit of light head, just looks beautiful and thick...malty nose is decent but doesn’t really impress except with light banana and milky notes...ah, but the body is wonderful, chewy full malt, vanilla loveliness and indistinct, subtle various fruits swirling around, with just a touch of hops to bring balance at the finish. Certainly must be one of the very best in the style, amazingly well done.

Sample at the VTBrewfest - Pours a cloudy yellow in color with a thin whitish head. Aroma was malty with vanila and toffee. Was velvety and smooth drinking with quite good body. Flavor was malty with complex mix of fruits and mild hops. Nicely done...

Tap at Portsmouth. Great session beer. Pour is a dark yellow color with a medium foamy white head. Nose is sweet malt, some light banana and citrus notes. Taste is nice and thick, given the style, and contains some good malt and sweet flavors of citrus.

Any first impressions?
-A veil of head lingers on the dull, clear golden.
-An aroma of grain and faint butterscotch does not impress.
-Plenty of toasty hay is prolonged into bitterness, all atop the herbal hops.
-The prickly carbonation for the style makes it easier to quaff.

What if you dig deeper?
-A pleasant pear, banana and gooseberry fruitiness enlivens the sweet malts.
-The rising honeyed grain finish is luscious.
-This is an admirable flavor juxtaposition for the style.
-A quirky cream ale for well-crafted helles lovers.

Pints bottled and on tap at the brewpub.

22oz bottle thanks to argo0: Clear pale golden yellow with a medium white head that sticks atop the beer for a good amount of time. The aroma is sweet caramel, grains, and light corn syrup. The taste is sweet cereal, light lemon, slightly bitter hops that are mild in nature. Light-medium bodied, medium carbonated, very creamy mouthfeel.

Bottle provided by argo0. Pours clear, pale golden with a medium white head. Pleasant lemony grassy nose. Flavor has notes of sweet pale malt, light caramel, zesty lemony hops and a touch of bread. Medium light body with subtle carbonation. This would be a really good session beer, enjoyable.