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Starr Hill Pale Ale
Starr Hill Brewery
- From:
- Starr Hill Brewery
- Virginia, United States
- Style:
- English Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 6.08%
- Score:
- 84
- Avg:
- 3.7 | pDev: 12.97%
- Reviews:
- 70
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Sep 20, 2014
- Added:
- Jul 04, 2002
- Wants:
- 2
- Gots:
- 6
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by swfeidt:
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by output01x from Ohio
3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to Dan3279 for this trade.
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle (Best Before May 2011) into a pint glass.
A moderate pour yields a 2-finger off-white fluffy head that slowly recedes after a few minutes to a thick coating. The body is a hazy honey amber color with rogue carbonation bubbles racing toward the surface from everywhere. Great lacing clings to the sides of the glass throughout consumption.
Grassy hops with notes of citrus create an enjoyable nose. Grapefruit, orange peel, and honey can all be found deep within the bouqet of smells. While the aromas are certainly pleasing and inviting, they unfortunately lack strength.
Floral, spicy hops are nicely balanced by sweet, bready malts. An odd grassy acidity finishes each sip as an aftertaste.
Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, this beer is may be a little thick for the style, but the carbonation really helps to move this beer along. It has great drinkability that makes this beer a decent thirst-quencher.
May 21, 2011Poured from a 12 oz. bottle (Best Before May 2011) into a pint glass.
A moderate pour yields a 2-finger off-white fluffy head that slowly recedes after a few minutes to a thick coating. The body is a hazy honey amber color with rogue carbonation bubbles racing toward the surface from everywhere. Great lacing clings to the sides of the glass throughout consumption.
Grassy hops with notes of citrus create an enjoyable nose. Grapefruit, orange peel, and honey can all be found deep within the bouqet of smells. While the aromas are certainly pleasing and inviting, they unfortunately lack strength.
Floral, spicy hops are nicely balanced by sweet, bready malts. An odd grassy acidity finishes each sip as an aftertaste.
Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, this beer is may be a little thick for the style, but the carbonation really helps to move this beer along. It has great drinkability that makes this beer a decent thirst-quencher.
Reviewed by Reaper16 from Alabama
2.88/5 rDev -22.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
2.88/5 rDev -22.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12oz. bottle served into a Sierra Nevada nucleated pint glass
Thanks to my friend Colin for bringing down a sixer of this beer!
Pours a conventional, SAC Amber color. It was pretty clear until the little bit of yeast sediment poured out, leaving a very slight haze. One finger of eggshell head quickly dissipates to a thin ring, but it leaves behind some well-structured walls of lacing. All in all, this pale ale from Starr Hill looks line your run-of-the-mill pale.
Starr Hill Pale Ale has a pretty tight nose. Some distant grains and a nervous kiss of caramel. There's a small orange zing to the hops but mostly the lupulin comes across as grass clippings. A trace amount of diacetyl comes through. It's a little below-average, frankly. Though it'd be good for an English IPA.
The taste follows the nose. It's pretty balanced, but in the way that is kind of boring. The hops are sort of lemony, with a component that's like grapefruit that has sat out on the kitchen table for 12 hours. The finish is sort of soapy, like a pine-scented bar of Dial. the malt is lightly bread, very lightly caramelly, and a bit buttery. There's nothing wrong with the flavor profile, it's just not very lively.
Starr Hill Pale is on the lighter side of medium-bodied. Appropriate carbonation. Decent ABV%. Balanced flavor profile. Sound good right? Not quite. It sounds average. This is about the most average pale ale I've ever had. Not that that is a bad thing. I would never scoff at this beer. But I don't see myself buying it if it were available in my area. This would make a very good introductory craft beer for friends, or a good general-purpose party beer.
Mar 09, 2011Thanks to my friend Colin for bringing down a sixer of this beer!
Pours a conventional, SAC Amber color. It was pretty clear until the little bit of yeast sediment poured out, leaving a very slight haze. One finger of eggshell head quickly dissipates to a thin ring, but it leaves behind some well-structured walls of lacing. All in all, this pale ale from Starr Hill looks line your run-of-the-mill pale.
Starr Hill Pale Ale has a pretty tight nose. Some distant grains and a nervous kiss of caramel. There's a small orange zing to the hops but mostly the lupulin comes across as grass clippings. A trace amount of diacetyl comes through. It's a little below-average, frankly. Though it'd be good for an English IPA.
The taste follows the nose. It's pretty balanced, but in the way that is kind of boring. The hops are sort of lemony, with a component that's like grapefruit that has sat out on the kitchen table for 12 hours. The finish is sort of soapy, like a pine-scented bar of Dial. the malt is lightly bread, very lightly caramelly, and a bit buttery. There's nothing wrong with the flavor profile, it's just not very lively.
Starr Hill Pale is on the lighter side of medium-bodied. Appropriate carbonation. Decent ABV%. Balanced flavor profile. Sound good right? Not quite. It sounds average. This is about the most average pale ale I've ever had. Not that that is a bad thing. I would never scoff at this beer. But I don't see myself buying it if it were available in my area. This would make a very good introductory craft beer for friends, or a good general-purpose party beer.
Reviewed by allrizz from Virginia
4.26/5 rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.26/5 rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Its appearance was a light yellow and clear.
It poured leaving a nice head about two fingers thick and dissipated slowly.
It had a mild aroma of hops.
It tasted hoppy, not overpowering yet dominate, with a hint of fruitiness.
It left a nice aftertaste and went down smooth.
I rank this beer amongst one of my favorites and will definitely be drinking more of it.
Jan 02, 2011It poured leaving a nice head about two fingers thick and dissipated slowly.
It had a mild aroma of hops.
It tasted hoppy, not overpowering yet dominate, with a hint of fruitiness.
It left a nice aftertaste and went down smooth.
I rank this beer amongst one of my favorites and will definitely be drinking more of it.
Reviewed by StoneTSR from Colorado
4.06/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.06/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
APPEARANCE: Poured from a 12oz. Bottle into a standard pint glass. Color was a near-brilliant, ever-so-slightly hazy orange with a nice, neat and evenly distributed head filled with thousands of bubbles of exactly the same size. The head dissipated very quickly, but/and the lacing... Bottle is good looking, but Starr Hill was not able to outdo its own Northern Lights IPA label with this one.
SMELL: Earthy and hoppy in the nose. Not much there in terms of smell.
TASTE: After trying Starr Hill's Amber and the Northern Lights IPA I can clearly say this is my favorite from the brewery so far. Very nicely balanced pale ale. Enough malty sweetness to cut an otherwise hoppy beer so that although it remains interesting to the palate it is, by no means overwhelming.
MOUTHFEEL: Very refreshing. Crisp and sparkly.
OVERALL: I could see myself drinking a lot of this beer if I lived in Virginia. Very drinkable, very thirst quenching. This is the type of beer I crave after a long shift of bartending. Reminds me a bit of Stone's Pale Ale. Well done Starr Hill.
Nov 25, 2010SMELL: Earthy and hoppy in the nose. Not much there in terms of smell.
TASTE: After trying Starr Hill's Amber and the Northern Lights IPA I can clearly say this is my favorite from the brewery so far. Very nicely balanced pale ale. Enough malty sweetness to cut an otherwise hoppy beer so that although it remains interesting to the palate it is, by no means overwhelming.
MOUTHFEEL: Very refreshing. Crisp and sparkly.
OVERALL: I could see myself drinking a lot of this beer if I lived in Virginia. Very drinkable, very thirst quenching. This is the type of beer I crave after a long shift of bartending. Reminds me a bit of Stone's Pale Ale. Well done Starr Hill.
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois
3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Served in a Chicago Bears shaker pint glass.
How is it I never visited Starr Hill when I lived in VA? Oh well, at least I still have some bottles left. This one pours an ever-so-slightly hazed orange juice-auburn topped by nearly a finger of white foam. The nose comprises light pine, off-spearmint, and a healthy dose of buttery caramel. The taste pushes the caramel to the background, focusing on a combination of grapefruit and honeydew instead up front. The body is a rather light medium, with a slightly active carbonation and a kinda dry finish. Overall, a straight okay brew, something I'm glad I got to try (not ecstatic, mind you) but not necessarily saddened by its absence.
Oct 16, 2010How is it I never visited Starr Hill when I lived in VA? Oh well, at least I still have some bottles left. This one pours an ever-so-slightly hazed orange juice-auburn topped by nearly a finger of white foam. The nose comprises light pine, off-spearmint, and a healthy dose of buttery caramel. The taste pushes the caramel to the background, focusing on a combination of grapefruit and honeydew instead up front. The body is a rather light medium, with a slightly active carbonation and a kinda dry finish. Overall, a straight okay brew, something I'm glad I got to try (not ecstatic, mind you) but not necessarily saddened by its absence.
Starr Hill Pale Ale from Starr Hill Brewery
Beer rating:
84 out of
100 with
85 ratings
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