American Strong Ale
Oceanside Ale Works

American Strong AleAmerican Strong Ale
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From:
Oceanside Ale Works
 
California, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
ABV:
9.2%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.32 | pDev: 10.54%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
17
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 07, 2016
Added:
Dec 04, 2006
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by charlzm:
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Rated by charlzm from California

3.75/5  rDev +13%

Jun 26, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.42 by Whatup14 from Canada (QC)

Mar 07, 2016
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Reviewed by Furlinator from California

3.91/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours translucent copper with a huge off-white head that settles as a thick cap on top and leaves thick curtains of lace. Sweet caramel malt flavor dominates. Vague dark fruit and honey as well. Thick texture. 9.2% ABV is apparent. I like it.
Feb 13, 2016
Photo of GMan310
Rated by GMan310 from California

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
not really good very strong. heavy taste.
Aug 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.31 by johlac66 from California

Jun 07, 2015
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Rated by retry4z from California

3.25/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Crude and unfiltered, just like the label on the bottle.
May 18, 2015
Photo of Radome
Reviewed by Radome from Florida

3.36/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 22 oz bomber bottle, which was bought in L.A., into a snifter.

L - Color is a deep copper color with some ruby highlights. Extremely clear. Head is light beige and initially piles about 1" high. It drops to a thin sheet and strong lacing.

S - Strong bread-like malt aroma with graham crackers, prunes, light roastiness and light smoke. Hops are muted, but seem to contribute light earthy and piney aromas. Yeast notes are not obvious. Some sharp fusel alcohol notes.

T - Heavy malt flavors followed by a sharp alcohol flavor. The malt is graham crackers, lighly toasted bread, prunes, plums and light smoke. Hops do not come through. Flavors are somewhat muddled. Some fruity yeast notes and strong higher alcohol flavors.

F - Medium to thick body. Moderate carbonation is creamy. Medium hops bitterness. Strong alcohol burn.

O - This beer is like a Fat Tire on steroids, with a few Belgian dubbel-like flavors and aromas but with super strong alcohol presence and strong hops bitterness. Overall not a great beer, due to the slightly muddled flavors and overly harsh alcohol.
Nov 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by PretzelCity from California

Sep 24, 2014
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Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.33/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
On tap at Field Of Drafts held at The Hanger in Lancaster, CA.

Pours a hazy dark orange with a foamy beige head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, caramel, citrus fruit, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with caramel and citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that is drinkable but nothing all that special in my opinion.
Nov 11, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by Zbeetleman from California

Jul 09, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by t0rin0 from California

Dec 03, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by mhaugo from California

Aug 06, 2012
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Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.53/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This one seems to be back for late fall 2011. Another malty Oceanside beer. A warm malt flavor with an earthy taste. I suppose you could call it a Winter Warmer. Hops are pretty much in the background. Clean flavors with a nice sharp touch. Attractive dark amber color in the pint glass. Nice carbonation.

A big beery beer with just a slight bitterness in the background. Not much to distinguish it but quite drinkable for the alcohol content. On tap at Leroy's Lounge in Coronado.
Nov 13, 2011
Photo of ncfranklin
Reviewed by ncfranklin from Alabama

2.96/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2
On-tap at Breakwater Brewing Co in Oceanside, CA

A : A dark brownish orange copper color. Very thick, can't see through it. Just a small white head, some good lacing however.

S : Strong malty notes of caramel and toastyness, a bit of alcohol.

T : Malty richness like the smell, but the alcohol is far more dominant. Comes through with wallop.

M : Heavy bodied, with a very light amount of carbonation.

D : With such a high alcohol content, this one is meant to be taken slow. Its dominance however is a turnoff to me, and i won't return to it.
Jul 30, 2010
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

3.7/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On-tap at Stone yesterday.

A: The pour is a light brown color with a thin white head.

S: A light hoppiness to it, but quite a bit of chocolate and caramel malt.

T: Not quite as sweet as I would have thought, but still a fair amount of caramel and dark fruits.

M: Kind of light on the tongue for a "big" beer. Good level of carbonation, but still, a bit thin on the feel.

D: Not terrible, but I don't know if I'd want to drink it again either.
Jan 04, 2010
Photo of HalfFull
Reviewed by HalfFull from California

3.18/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Pours a slightly murky brown with perhaps some deep orange in the color. A thin off white head settled quickly and offered a little lacing. Surface cap clears out as well. Served in a chilled glass, this may have been the moisture on the glass as much as the beer itself, can't say.

Not much on the nose initially, opening up a bit with some warming. Slightly sweet and notable chocolate, but somewhat thin. Taste follows suit. Light in body and somewhat thin in flavor. Milk chocolate and some roasted malts, yet not too sweet. Alcohol is present but not overpowering. Feel is thin but the drinkability is good as a result. Not much lingers after the finish.

Note: ABV 9.2%
Feb 27, 2009
Photo of grumpy
Reviewed by grumpy from Missouri

2.71/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
This beer was a guest tap at Stone Brewing last weekend and was sampled from a snifter. The aroma suggested a fruity, Belgian-style beer that was going to taste a bit tart or sour. The appearance was slightly muddled dark amber with light carbonation. Mouthfeel was pretty substantial. The flavor was fruity (dark over-ripe plum, or something along that line), malty sweet, and slightly funky. Not really tart or sour, though. A strange beer that I didn’t dislike, but would not be anxious to have again. Just didn’t do much for me.

I checked out the Oceanside Aleworks website and they describe this beer as hop-oriented and made with several different hop varieties. I also noticed they list a Brewmaster’s Special, and their description of that beer is much more appropriate for what I drank at Stone. Hmmmm…..
Dec 04, 2006
American Strong Ale from Oceanside Ale Works
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 17 ratings