Tri-Motor Amber
Lang Creek Brewery

Tri-Motor AmberTri-Motor Amber
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From:
Lang Creek Brewery
 
Montana, United States
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
ABV:
5.1%
Score:
78
Avg:
3.13 | pDev: 14.06%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 02, 2012
Added:
Jun 12, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by alexgash:
Photo of alexgash
Reviewed by alexgash from Connecticut

3.6/5  rDev +15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Orange-red copper body. Clear, clean. Small, clingy dirty light khaki head. Toasted caramel and cookie dough nose. Light cooked veggie smell--probably from the otherwise resinous, floral hops. Tastes much like it smells. Toasted malts. Amply bitter finish. A tad grainy. Not bad. Medium-light body with a dryish finish. A nice beer for swigging back on a cool Glacier NP evening.
Mar 23, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by Huffaroma from Montana

Jan 02, 2012
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

3.26/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
12oz bottle purchased at Huckleberry's in Spokane for $1.59. Best-by notch seems to be at half past September. Label art features kegs being unloaded from the Lang Creek Ford Tri-motor.

Clear, medium-dark amber in color, taking on a lighter, slightly reddish hue when held up to the light. Big, creamy & rocky beige colored head that showed a tenacious reluctance to dimish. Lots and lots of lace.

Mostly malty in the nose, with a mellow, floral hop scent in the background. The malts have a mild nutty scent to them.

The taste is mostly of earthy, mildly nutty and modestly toasty malts. The hops stand out the most at the swallow, providing a slight dry note.

Medium bodied, with a slightly slick mouthfeel.

An okay example of a style that doesn't really get my mouth watering in the first place. While not offensive, I tend to prefer ambers that have a noticeable hop bite to them, and this is pretty much the opposite, so I don't think I'll seek this out again.
Sep 01, 2008
Photo of MTNboy
Reviewed by MTNboy from Germany

2.7/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Appearance- Medium bronze-amber color with a off whitehead that is about average but quickly disappears to form an average lace.

Smell- It was alright sort of a roasted floral aroma. I liked it. It was different.

Taste- Bitter and sour are the first flavors I noticed and then there was a metallic taste. That honestly ruined it.

Mouthfeel- Light and a little slick.

Drinkability- I am not overly fond of this beer.
Aug 10, 2008
Photo of mwilbur
Reviewed by mwilbur from Minnesota

2.65/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Poured from bottle notched freshest by Dec (?2008?) into shaker pint glass.
A: Amber in color with thin frothy white head that is fairly quickly gone. Decent.
S: Spicy hops. Slight floral note as well. Raisin?
T: Bitter hops and malt. Funky fermented raisin note too. Not very good. Disappointing considering the aroma.
M: Light body and oily on the tongue. Bitter finish.
D: Overall disappointing. Wish the taste was as complex and nice as the aroma. Oh well.
Jun 03, 2008
Photo of JohnGalt1
Reviewed by JohnGalt1 from Idaho

3.48/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12oz pulled from the basement cooler.. Steven picked up in a fall Montana trip.. shared from my shaker pint.

Good long lasting eggshell head.. clear amber with nice red highlites.

Aroma is almost without distinguishable hops... hop aroma is there but unimaginative. Nutty malts and toasted grains.

Flavor is better.. good balance between bitterness and malts.. caramel and a long toasted grain finish. Very clean... not much fruitiness.. nice body and adequate carbonation. Honestly this is a pretty good amber.. not world class by any means but still something I should pick out every now and then... Lang Creek has been in Boise recently, but I don't predict it will be available for very long... most of the brews are forgettable... but Tri-Motor is actually pretty good.. I will support it if it is around.

Lang Creek bottled brews are all over Montana.. this is probably the one I would pick up.. but most are worth trying (except the Mandarin Heffe ;) ).
Dec 18, 2007
Photo of Slatetank
Reviewed by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

2.65/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured cold from a 12 oz brown bottle w/out freshness date into a standard ale glass.

A - A basic copper w/ miniscule white head that leaves no lace.

S - a faint sour almost resinous sappy scent .

M - Thin, fairly watery w/ medium light carbonation. Pretty tame, not very sweet which seems outside of style's parameters.

T - A light twiggy flavor greets the tongue. Still searching for a taste other than biscuit halfway through.

D - This ale was manageable, but I would avoid and not recommend unless you fear Montezuma's revenge. Just too bland to bother with. Perhaps you might use this as a palate cleanser between big beers.
Jul 16, 2007
Photo of msubulldog25
Reviewed by msubulldog25 from Oregon

3.16/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to my new East End Brewing pint glass. Best before: September.

A: Perfectly clear amber/red with abundant carbonation whisking to a creamy 1-finger eggshell head. Pretty nice bands of lace.

S: Sweet caramel and biscuity malt with a hint of butterscotch and spice. Just enough hops to round off the sweetness. After a couple sips, I picked up a faint metallic stainless steel-like smell...

T: Drier and sharper hops than expected from that sweet nose. Flavors are balanced generally, but with a definite skew toward medicinal bitterness in the end. Biscuits and lightly toasted, nutty grain make up the body of this beer.

M: Medium body, not a lot of carbonation stirred up in the mouth. Nippy spiciness without taking a full bite. Just a little lingering bitterness with some grainy stickiness.

D: A solid example of the style, with hoppiness leading it toward the "red ale" side vs. the maltier "amber ale". Easy to drink; unknown ABV but I'd guess somewhere around 5%. Nothing to go crazy over, but a pretty good beer worth trying.
May 24, 2007
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance – This one poured a beautiful, bright orangish-brown in color with a wonderful, off-white head that showed good retention.

Smell – This has a solid bouquet of fine American grain with some good, mature sweets and a bit of hops. The hops are leafy and bold but the nose is still balanced towards malt.

Taste – The smooth grain from the Smell doesn’t quite live up to itself at the taste, but this is still a tasty ale. The grain is a bit rough on the tongue but the cane sugariness lingers well and the hops come over nicely.

Mouthfeel – This one is just medium-bodied with some dryness thoughout and mild carbonation.

Drinkability – This went down incredibly well. It’s a real “gulper” and has great session potential. I’d loved to check this out on-tap.
Oct 25, 2005
Photo of OldFrothingSlosh
Reviewed by OldFrothingSlosh from Pennsylvania

3.06/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12oz. amber bottle. Freshness date is notched with 8/04. Poured a clear dark amber in color. Very thick and long-lasting pillowy off-white lace stands up to the test of time and even manages to lace the glass. Aromas are mixed caramel sweetness and earthy hops. Flavor is a bit off. Malty on initial tasting, there is a raw graininess that shows up and makes for a dry and somewhat gritty aftertaste. Thin and borderline watery. An average amber ale.
Jul 30, 2004
Photo of marc77
Reviewed by marc77 from California

3/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Hazed light garnet hue. Head settles into a tight, cream white film that yields tattered lace. Nose is predominantly medium lovibond caramel along with a mellow citrus and earthy hop combination. Trace diacetyl. Tame and pleasant aromawise. In flavor, prevalent in malt character are biscuit and dilute maple sugar notes. Slight burnt toffee like astringency mid palate. Static, understated floral hop flavor with a woody twang. Sweetness becomes vaguely nutty late, but gains no complexity. Meakly bodied, with a thin, nearly vapid mouthfeel. Finishes with a brief surge of hop bitterness, but otherwise watery with vague roasted nut notions. A prosaic amber, with no outright strengths. A decent session brew at best.
Jul 18, 2004
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

3.33/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
The beer as it excavates itself from the 22 ounce brown bottle pours a translucent burnished copper color with a moderate sized head that is spumous in texture and a toothsome light tan in color, the lace from a concealing sheet to cover the glass. The nose is sweet malt, crisp and clean to the senses with the start nicely malted and somewhat sweet, the top is fair to middling in its feel to the palate. Finish as purposeful acidity, the hops relatively mild and pleasurable with the aftertaste quite dry and long lasting, a nice summertime beer, not to weak but not to strong as it’s a balmy 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment.
May 05, 2004
Photo of charlesw
Reviewed by charlesw from New York

2.12/5  rDev -32.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Pours, well, light brown. Not really amber, definitely not red. Brown. The thin and whitish head is pretty small and is gone before you can even think about it. It smells, well, it smells like a cheap 'merican lager tastes. The first taste is light - airy, a bit citrusy with the slightest hint of bitterness at the end. It was awfully weak and thin in the mouth. Maybe I shouldn't have had it the same evening as some other, really good ambers... Aw well...
Apr 11, 2004
Photo of beerguy101
Reviewed by beerguy101 from California

2.8/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Medium brown color, medium head. Aroma is malty and slightly sweet. A medium bodied, medium tasting Amber. Hoppy, and malty with lightly roasted malts. Good balance. Full mouthfeel. Finish is clean. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Fairly average amber.
Aug 29, 2003
Photo of Bighuge
Reviewed by Bighuge from Minnesota

3.67/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
The beer's a nice looking scarlet red. The small head is gone in seconds. There's a nice caramel malt sweetness perceived on the nose. Reminiscent of Mad River's Jamaican Red. Mouthfeel is fairly slick and the body is light to light-medium. The taste is pretty laid-back. Some caramel maltiness. Some cedar. Some dryness. And some subdued bitterness. All in all, not too bad. Good for a try.
Jul 02, 2002
Photo of ZAP
Reviewed by ZAP from Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
My wife was in Fargo last week and stopped at my favorite liqour store there (Happy Harry's) and immediately got me on the cell phone and asked me what I wanted....what a great wife eh? I had never heard of this one, so I gave it a shot. Overall it is pretty solid...a nice rich copper color with a creamy head...good husky hoppy aroma and flavor...some fruity tones...tastes more like a west coast pale ale...Brewed in Montana...that's close to the west coast isn't it....this is decent..and slightly above average.
Jun 12, 2002
Tri-Motor Amber from Lang Creek Brewery
Beer rating: 78 out of 100 with 16 ratings