-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
British Invasion
HammerHeart Brewing Company
- From:
- HammerHeart Brewing Company
- Minnesota, United States
- Style:
- English Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 6%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.93 | pDev: 9.67%
- Reviews:
- 14
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 25, 2021
- Added:
- Aug 31, 2013
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 4
Modeled after classic English ales with a twist of American hops. The name is a reference to the Dane Law in Northern England, in addition to the 25 years that southern England was under the thumb of King Cnut.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by MNAle from Minnesota
3.49/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.49/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Aroma is earthy with roasty malts underneath.
Appearance is a murky brown with tiny carbonation bubbles rising to a tall light tan, thick and creamy head with excellent retention. It leaves clumpy and sticky lacing behind as it recedes. The murkiness is not expected for the style, and it is not particularly pale, either.
Taste repeats the earthy and roasty flavors picked up in the aroma, and adds a biscuity malt backbone. The taste is pleasantly English, but rather one-dimensional. There is a level of bitterness typical of English pales that carries through from the beginning to the finish, leaving a nicely bitter and earthy and biscuit aftertaste.
Mouth feel is thin.
Overall, a nice enough English-style pale, but not particularly remarkable. Maybe next time I'll try a beer that perhaps is more in their wheelhouse.
Feb 25, 2021Appearance is a murky brown with tiny carbonation bubbles rising to a tall light tan, thick and creamy head with excellent retention. It leaves clumpy and sticky lacing behind as it recedes. The murkiness is not expected for the style, and it is not particularly pale, either.
Taste repeats the earthy and roasty flavors picked up in the aroma, and adds a biscuity malt backbone. The taste is pleasantly English, but rather one-dimensional. There is a level of bitterness typical of English pales that carries through from the beginning to the finish, leaving a nicely bitter and earthy and biscuit aftertaste.
Mouth feel is thin.
Overall, a nice enough English-style pale, but not particularly remarkable. Maybe next time I'll try a beer that perhaps is more in their wheelhouse.
Reviewed by Mdog from Minnesota
4/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can:
Appearance: Clear amber, big head. 2nd can was cloudy amber.
Smell: Toasted bread, roasted malt, earthy.
Taste: Mildly sweet toffee, toasted bread, some tea-like bitterness.
Overall: After going to Hammerheart's taproom for 6+ years and never having this beer, I finally tried it since it was available in cans. And it is a perfectly solid English pale ale. Nice malty flavor and balanced, easy to drink.
I never had it in all my visits to the taproom because there were always more intense beers available. British Invasion was for the tag-alongs, not the trve seekers of smoked or barrel-aged goodness!
Dec 06, 2020Appearance: Clear amber, big head. 2nd can was cloudy amber.
Smell: Toasted bread, roasted malt, earthy.
Taste: Mildly sweet toffee, toasted bread, some tea-like bitterness.
Overall: After going to Hammerheart's taproom for 6+ years and never having this beer, I finally tried it since it was available in cans. And it is a perfectly solid English pale ale. Nice malty flavor and balanced, easy to drink.
I never had it in all my visits to the taproom because there were always more intense beers available. British Invasion was for the tag-alongs, not the trve seekers of smoked or barrel-aged goodness!
Reviewed by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois
3.56/5 rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Tasted in a tulip from draft at Kuma's Corner on January 21, 2020. Modeled after classic English ales with a twist of American hops. Average interpretation of the style.
Mar 03, 2020Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida
3.08/5 rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.08/5 rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
750 mL bottle. Pours amber with a huge white head. Smells of oxidation, sharp sherry notes, deep bready and nutty malts. Tastes better. Some bready malts and caramel. Spicy hops and some earthy bitterness. High carbonation. Well, it's my fault for sitting on this so long, but it isn't terrible. Tastes pretty good for being way too old.
Dec 07, 2019Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
3.62/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.62/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
one of the least inspiring hammerheart beers i have had, which is not to say i didnt like it, just that its not really what i know them for, and it doesnt quite move me the way almost all of the rest of them do. an english ipa or pale they say, and it sure does have the malts lined up for that, sturdy and bready and a little sweet, a little oxidized, and even a little smokey, intentional or not im not sure they can avoid it in here anymore. the hops taste american to me, even a little juicy up front before turning vegetal and bitter later on, they are robust in here, but so is the grain, and balance is retained despite the sort of more flavorful than usual complexion it has. i think its a bit overly bitter, and im not sure the hops selected are the most appropriate, it tastes a little bit disjointed to me, although i do not dislike it at all. slightly acrid at the end, hops and faint smoke coming out a little more, long finish. overall this is definitely not the place to start with these guys, but a seasoned drinker of their beer will find subtleties to appreciate here...
Apr 10, 2018Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota
3.75/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.
Reminds me a lot of a British pub cask ale. White head. Golden color. Bready and biscuit malts. Grassy and floral hops. Earthy and bitter. Some stickiness.
Apr 11, 2017Reminds me a lot of a British pub cask ale. White head. Golden color. Bready and biscuit malts. Grassy and floral hops. Earthy and bitter. Some stickiness.
Reviewed by NilocRellim from Minnesota
3.79/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a dark amber/blood orange colour. Smells like citrus hops, earthy hops, and a light pine-ness, with a slight malt nose as well. Tastes like earthy hops, pale malts, bitter and with a grainy finish.
Dec 12, 2016Reviewed by MattyG85 from Minnesota
4.46/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
750 ml mini growler from the brewery. Poured into a Hammerheart tulip glass.
Appearance: Pours a hazy amber orange. Moderate amount of bubbles and a solid finger of off white head that settles into a thin creamy patch.
Smell: A pretty earthy balanced aroma of malt and hops. Earthy hops with a scent of grass along with some pine and slight citrus. Malt scent of caramel, biscuit, grains, and cracker with some yeast. A very nice aroma.
Taste: Like it smells, an earthy and floral balanced taste of malt and earthy hops. Fairly strong presence of earthy hops with some notes of grass and pine. Also some light notes of citrus. Malt notes of caramel, grains, biscuit, and cracker along with some yeast. A very solid taste.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Crisp and fairly chewy with a drying finish.
Overall: A very good take on a Pale Ale. Nice earthy hop presence and balance with the malt.
Nov 27, 2016Appearance: Pours a hazy amber orange. Moderate amount of bubbles and a solid finger of off white head that settles into a thin creamy patch.
Smell: A pretty earthy balanced aroma of malt and hops. Earthy hops with a scent of grass along with some pine and slight citrus. Malt scent of caramel, biscuit, grains, and cracker with some yeast. A very nice aroma.
Taste: Like it smells, an earthy and floral balanced taste of malt and earthy hops. Fairly strong presence of earthy hops with some notes of grass and pine. Also some light notes of citrus. Malt notes of caramel, grains, biscuit, and cracker along with some yeast. A very solid taste.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Crisp and fairly chewy with a drying finish.
Overall: A very good take on a Pale Ale. Nice earthy hop presence and balance with the malt.
Reviewed by Taybeh from Minnesota
3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
At the brewery on tap
Pours a murky brownish Amber...not a big nose, but some malty bready notes and some earthy hops. Taste is similar to the nose but a lot more rewarding...nice layers of flavor, substantial body without being heavy. I keep on thinking it is going to turn sweet with some caramel or some citrus but it doesn't go there, instead staying with an almost woodsy and very earthy herbal profile. Tasty and unique. Wish I could find this around town more easily.
Sep 07, 2015Pours a murky brownish Amber...not a big nose, but some malty bready notes and some earthy hops. Taste is similar to the nose but a lot more rewarding...nice layers of flavor, substantial body without being heavy. I keep on thinking it is going to turn sweet with some caramel or some citrus but it doesn't go there, instead staying with an almost woodsy and very earthy herbal profile. Tasty and unique. Wish I could find this around town more easily.
British Invasion from HammerHeart Brewing Company
Beer rating:
88 out of
100 with
49 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!