Macedon Ranges Old Pale Ale
Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel

Macedon Ranges Old Pale AleMacedon Ranges Old Pale Ale
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From:
Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel
 
Australia
Style:
English Pale Ale
ABV:
5%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.28 | pDev: 15.55%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
10
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 24, 2007
Added:
Feb 26, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hefevice:
Photo of hefevice
Reviewed by hefevice from Australia

3.05/5  rDev -7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Hazy orange, like a late sunset during bushfire season, with a tiny yellowish head, despite the hard pour. Swirling rouses a creamy head of about a finger for the life of the beer. Muted hop aroma, very slight orange pith with some honey in the background. Hard to pick out any particular flavours, seems a little bland and one dimensional. Finishes with firm bitterness and a very slight hint of roast. Quite like the gentle mouthfeel. Unfortunately nothing really seems to stand out in this beer.
Feb 04, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of vancurly
Reviewed by vancurly from Australia

3.73/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
a: cloudy burnt orange brown, off white foam
s: malt/toffee, green apple skin, soy rice cracker (!)
f: malt & fresh brambly hops, reasonable bitterness. Slight perfumy note, toasty, nutty
m: chewy, fulfilling, long
o: nice drop.... probably even better on tap at Keating's
Jul 24, 2007
Photo of brendan13
Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.3/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Pours a dark orange with very little head.
S - Biscuity with some floral hoppy notes.
T - The biscuity maltiness tends to dominate the taste.
M - Low carbonation & a medium mouthfeel
D - There is plenty of other beers I would drink before this but it's still a drinkable drop.
May 08, 2007
Photo of Kulrak
Reviewed by Kulrak from Australia

3.1/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a great golden brown color with very creamy looking head that fades away to lace the glass. Smells malty and faintly citrusy and just a little bit raisiny. Tastes very sweet at first, then coppery bitter. I don't know what it is with this brewery, but the last beer I tried from them was very similar, everything was great except the horrible coppery bitterness. At least with this one, I can taste some roast chocolate malt behind it. Mouthfeel is very heavy with a little tongue scraping, not too bad. All in all, I probably won't be getting this again, but I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered to me.
Nov 26, 2006
Photo of jamie2dope
Reviewed by jamie2dope from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
I kept seeing this beer sitting on the shelf at Dan Murphy's and just kept thinking, "Why haven't I picked that one up yet?" So to make a long story short, I did. Poured a cloudy amberish brown colour and a very nice head that surprisingly stayed around through most of it. Smell was very spicy, with some zesty herbs in there to accompany some vague dark fruit smells. Taste was like a tornado of spice. The hops are almost violent with this beer, they get right in your face and dont let up (big kudos for that). It finishes up somewhat bitter and sour, but even so, I havent been hit with such a hop presence in quite a while. I could see myself drinking a few of these, but this seems to be a brew that you sit with and nurse for a little while before polishing off. In the end I wasn't expecting too much from this beer but it has exceeded my expectations. So innocent sitting there in the corner of the store, but it really is a tough beer that will smack you with its arnold esq hop qualities
Jun 10, 2006
Photo of jarmby1711
Reviewed by jarmby1711 from Australia

3.53/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dark copper and cloudy(very) so that the bead was pretty well hiden.
Real hoppy smell which came through the palate and ended with a bitter smokiness.
I think it is better than their Mt Macedon Ale , but like its stablemate is lagging behind its boutique competitors
Sep 02, 2005
Photo of Weizenmensch
Reviewed by Weizenmensch from Japan

2.3/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Not necessarily a bad ale, just really not in the ideal floral light enjoyable English Pale Ale style, like Landlord. No floral aroma. I suppose it is an old pale ale, but there is some hint of fruity hops on the palate. Doesn't look very good or pale. Head is weird and inconsistent, though it is retained. Smell isn't awful but isn't very indicative of anything in particular. Taste is similar to smell, though highly bitter presence of hops is very obvious - a minor characteristic of the style. Mouthfeel is just like any old English ale, medium to full bodied, goes down easy. Drinkability - I wouldn't drink more than one of these in a night. I'm not impressed by their other mainstream ale either, so I don't know if I'll drink Holgate again. They haven't brewed an English Pale Ale right.
Apr 29, 2005
Photo of diablo14
Reviewed by diablo14 from Illinois

2.58/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
not impressed with this brew. for a pale ale, seemed to have a large presence of wheat, which really pissed me off. compared to other micro pale ales in this country, like little creatures or gippsland gold, holgates doesnt come within an elephants trumpet of those beers. even their mt macedon ale kicks this ones ass by a fair distance.

pours an ok cloudy golden color with a nice white head and is phenominallly fizzy. not such a good thing. has some stone fruit smells and a bare hint of malt but seems to be dominated by a wheat like sweetness. when i tasted this i found it hard to believe it wasnt a weissbeer. sweet and cloying, with some hops which was ok, but in the end it was totally dominated by the fizz. yukko.

if youre in australia and looking for a pale ale, this is the last id be going for. apart from the beers i mentioned at the start, even coopers pale ale is a better beer and and a third less the price of this one, i know what id rather be having.
Jan 15, 2004
Photo of koolk
Reviewed by koolk from Australia

4/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A bold copper red in colour. Carbonation to the extreme, with a thick large head produced, that stuck around till the last drop.

Aromas of floral and fruity hops with traces of slightly dark malts. Good balance and enjoyable.

Wonderfully bitter palate (finally, a bitter aussie beer!) that is also dry and long. Flavours of fruit and floral again, with a more biscuity aftertaste.

Great bitter beer. Highly recommend.
Nov 24, 2003
Photo of rastaman
Reviewed by rastaman from England

3.47/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I liked this one. But, bloody hell, watch out for the carbonation, its seriously overcarbed. The aroma is nicely malty with some hops in there. The flavour is a good blend of malt and hops. Somefruity malt flavours, with some citrusy dry hops towards the end. i liked it just fine.
Feb 26, 2003
Macedon Ranges Old Pale Ale from Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 10 ratings