Sundog Amber Ale
New Holland Brewing Company

Sundog Amber AleSundog Amber Ale
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From:
New Holland Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
ABV:
5.25%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.51 | pDev: 13.68%
Reviews:
193
Ratings:
472
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 19, 2018
Added:
Nov 01, 2002
Wants:
  9
Gots:
  72
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of JimboBrews54
Reviewed by JimboBrews54 from Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +28.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A toasty, malt-accented interpretation of the style brewed with a very light hand on the hops. Pours lighter than expected, with a deep golden, almost iced-tea color and sparkling clarity. The cream-colored, velvety head lasts all the way to the end of the glass, evidence of the substantial malt in store. All of the judges were impressed by the overall finesse of the aroma, with exceptionally clean notes of caramel, freshly toasted bread, raisins and blueberries, and they all commented on the almost complete absence of hop aroma.
Oct 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by robotic_being from Illinois

Jul 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by BCooke1234 from Florida

Jan 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.61 by Yooper_textured_flavor from Michigan

Jan 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.53 by BenHoppy from Michigan

Nov 29, 2017
Photo of dd53grif
Reviewed by dd53grif from Michigan

3.6/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours an amber color with a foamy head that lasts quite a while. Aroma is caramel and ripe fruit. Tastes of caramel, fruit and sweet malt. Crisp with a good mouth feel.
May 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.05 by rmarquardt17 from Michigan

May 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.25 by sgttibbs from Minnesota

Jan 23, 2017
Photo of Blackop555
Reviewed by Blackop555 from Michigan

3.67/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a reddish brown with a thick, medium sized tan head that is short lived.

Smells caramel malts, bready, hints of fruit and roast

Tastes sweet malt and bready with roast and light citrus. Fades to a mostly dry light citrus bitter and roasted nutty linger. Lighter medium body with a slight bite from medium carbonation
Jan 22, 2017
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
I love the name of this beer! As a sailor, long days at sea could literally and figuratively be brightened by the appearance of a sun dog. There is also a Stephen King novella named "The Sun Dog" & it is one of the few of his writings that I a) liked & b) sticks with me.

From the bottle: "Double suns, a.k.a [sic] sundogs, have inspired artists and philosophers for centuries. This amber ale pays tribute with toasty caramel tones and a nutty finish."; "Pairings: food off the grill, caramelized onions and tomato sauces like bbq and pizza."

My Bottle Backlog bottle has a 180-degree label from the current one in the approved pic. Mine shows an easily identifiable German Shepard on his haunches, poised in a left-facing direction while sitting on the edge of a wooden dock, taking in the Sundog. The current one seems more in line with King's imagination.

The dog yelped when I Pop!ped his cap, so I decided to be gentle with him. Once I got him into my glass, however, I felt compelled to do a vigorous in-glass swirl. This raised two fingers of dense, rocky, tawny head with good retention. Who's a good boy? He sat down when commanded so that I could get a better look at him. Color was Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with NE-quality clarity & deep amber highlights. Pretty. Nose was sweet and bready, much like I remember the early versions of craft brewed Ambers to be. For a long time, an Amber was a brewpub staple until AIPAs took off and then they became forgotten until a modern, hopped-up revival brought them back in earnest. This was like old home week. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, big for the style. The taste was quite sweet, lots of bready and caramel malts at work with just a touch of cool, minty hops. It really sent me back - the year was 1987 and I had just reported for duty aboard NAS Alameda, CA. I was 22 y/o & I had developed a taste for better beer over the course of several overseas deployments. I mentioned my affinity to someone & they suggested Triple Rock Brewing Company in Berkeley. That was my first microbrew & I never looked back. Man, this beer is so evocative of that first one! I feel like I could hang out with this 'dog and drink all day, but I have places to be & people to see, so I gotta start wrapping it up. The 'dog whimpered when I gave him the news, but I promised him that I will be revisiting this beer. Finish was semi-sweet. I don't want to oversell its sweet qualities.
Jan 19, 2017
Photo of Thomas_Wikman
Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas

3.98/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I got this beer via a beer trade. I thought it was a pretty good amber ale, a bit different.

Look: semi-clear dark copper or dark amber with a half-inch bubbly off-white head.

Aroma: bready caramel with a tad of piney hops

Taste: The taste is caramel, bready, nutty, as well as some IPA like piney hoppiness. Perhaps not a typical amber but pretty good..

Feel: light to medium body
Jan 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by BrewskiBrandon from Missouri

Oct 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.74 by MJ64 from Mississippi

Sep 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.54 by Bf_89 from Canada (ON)

Sep 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by krome from Illinois

Aug 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.29 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

Jul 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by AngusOg from North Carolina

Jul 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.44 by bb-magic from Florida

Jul 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.62 by esimonoff from California

Jun 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.73 by AdamSteve from Michigan

Jun 14, 2016
Sundog Amber Ale from New Holland Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 472 ratings