Greenwarden
Banded Brewing Co.

GreenwardenGreenwarden
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From:
Banded Brewing Co.
 
Maine, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
Ranked #564
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,812
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 7.49%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
82
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 07, 2024
Added:
Jul 06, 2014
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  11
Pale Ale with Spruce Tips
Inspired by a lore: an ale of mythic proportions. Heroically brewed with Maine-foraged spruce tips replacing flavor and aroma hops. A super refreshing, complex ale with a Maine malt base. Notes of mild evergreen, mint + sweet herb balance out candied fruit flavors- we’ve heard everything from pineapple lifesavers to grape nerds!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by costanzo_mike:
Photo of costanzo_mike
Rated by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Jul 26, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Cathartes
Reviewed by Cathartes from Massachusetts

4.06/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16 oz can poured into a nonic pint glass.

Pours a somewhat hazy orange honey colorwith a 0.5 finger frothy white head, leaving a ring of lace with small splotches.

Initial aroma is somewhat floral and bitter like a West Coast IPA, with a pleasant note of orange and honey, though that may be the color suggesting it to me.

Initial taste before swallowing is bitter like a West Coast IPA, floral again, a note of honey, and a note of fruit esters.

After swallowing I get honey first, bolstered by sweetness, followed by a note of lemon, followed by a light west Coast IPA bitterness, followed by a nice floral dryness on the front and tip of the tongue and back of the mouth, somehow white in taste. This floral dryness lasts into the finish, where it takes on a bit of a bright grassiness.
Feb 07, 2024
 
Rated: 4.1 by Taenim from Maine

Jul 06, 2023
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.74/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From the can, it pours a hazy lighter amber color with a modest, lasting, white head. Lacing. In the nose, it is a woodsy scent over malt. In the mouth, it is a woodsy almost piney flavor, followed by the malt. Interesting ale variation.
Feb 07, 2022
Photo of Dessmundo
Reviewed by Dessmundo

4.44/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Spruce tips addition are original and truly augment the character of the beer. Unique and innovative craft beer that reminds you of hiking deep in the New England woodlands.
Aug 20, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by atlbravsrno1 from Maine

Aug 08, 2021
 
Rated: 3.88 by tpauer from New Hampshire

Jul 22, 2020
Photo of d4nRicks
Reviewed by d4nRicks from New York

4.28/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this beer but was very pleasantly surprised. It seemed gimmicky but the spruce flavor is very well balanced with the overall flavor profile. I wouldn't be able to drink a lot of it but it was very unique and worth trying.
Dec 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.72 by PSanger from Connecticut

Sep 25, 2019
Photo of digboy
Reviewed by digboy from New Hampshire

4.18/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours almost clear pale gold with a bone white 1 finger head. Aroma has a slight spruce/pine whiff to it but mainly pale malt. Flavor is a prudent amount of spruce - just enough to have a presence but not overbearing. The best part is the sweet caramel malt in the finish that mixes superbly with the spruce. Love it. Feel is a little soft and lightly seltzered. This is a great beer for the style. Worth trying.
Aug 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by swierczt from Connecticut

Jul 26, 2019
Photo of SierraNevallagash
Reviewed by SierraNevallagash from Maine

4.29/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pint can - dated 05/12/19 - poured into a Scottish thistle at 44F.

Pours a lightly hazed brassy golden colour, with a finger of loose white head, that recedes to a massive collar, leaving some lacing behind.

Nose: The wheat-heavy, rustic grainy base is the primary foundation of the aroma. Very much akin to a typical saison malt bill. Lemon, grapefruit, white pepper, wet grass, and fresh greenery. There is a faint, but distinct candied purple grape note. It isn't particularly hoppy, and certainly not piney. I'm not sure I would even guess this to be a pale ale/IPA if nosing blind.

Palate: Wow. I have had several beers brewed with pine, but this is the first one I've ever been able to taste it in. You get that malted wheat character first, and then like a freight train, this floral, resinous, almost camphoraceous pine sap character comes in full force. Almost like eucalyptus. A touch like ginger ale. The spruce tips lend a very gin-like element to it. Juniper. Sandalwood. Lots of pine sap. Into the finish, there is some resinous bitterness, which is also quite pine-like. The wheat becomes evident once more, and everything finishes ultra clean and crisp.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is light to medium bodied, and incredibly crisp. Effervescence is quite lively, and really brightens the beer up. There's so stickiness, dirtiness, or roughness to the beer. It's incredibly clean and enjoyable to drink.

Overall: This is one of maybe half a dozen beers I've had who advertise brewing with some type of evergreen. Up until now, I've necer been able to spot the addition in any of those beers. Pine is easily my favourite aroma, so the concept is particularly attractive to me. This is quite nice, because it really showcases that yes, you can use pine tips with beer, and yes, it does taste incredible. The base beer itself isn't particularly exciting, and there's no real hop character to it, but perhaps a simple, neutral beer is necessary to really show off the spruce tips. Either way, this is great, and it's absolutely worth trying if you're on the fence, and especially if you're really into pine. I think Banded did a great job with this one.
Jul 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.84 by Hurl4bru from Massachusetts

Mar 21, 2019
 
Rated: 4.21 by Naughead from Massachusetts

Oct 01, 2018
Photo of Bloodbuzz99
Rated by Bloodbuzz99 from Georgia

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
September 2018

First spruce beer, really interesting - perfect fall seasonal ale. Wouldn’t want regularly but a nice annual quaffer
Sep 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Supergenou from Canada (QC)

Aug 03, 2018
 
Rated: 3.55 by mikekreein from California

Jul 07, 2018
Photo of jrc1093
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut

3.64/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Canned on 6/14/18

Pours a semi-hazy copper-orange, displaying plenty of effervescence and capped by a slight off-white head that shrinks rather quickly but refuses to disappear entirely.

Aroma starts with sweet pine, cotton candy, and earthy wheat, soon accompanied by notes of lightly-charred oak and burnt shrubbery. This is quite unique; at it's best, it smells of forest-themed potpourri, in the best possible way.

The taste first gives away a clean, somewhat muted hop presence that's balanced by malt and a dose of spring water. The earthiness grows progressively, inviting bits of shaved tree bark and sweet spruce needles into the fold.

Mouthfeel is crisp and pretty refreshing, but maintains a certain thinness throughout; it also roves to be rather sticky, not bad for a beer of this nature.

This is a pretty unique brew that ultimately leaves me wishing it took its more flavorful elements to the next level. I'm on-board with all the earthy sweetness and nice adjunct flavors it has to offer, but feel the beer as a whole lacks the heft needed to explore its full potential considering all the flavors present. That being said, if spruce is your thing, this is still a solid, easy-drinking beer.
Jun 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by npdevil27 from Massachusetts

Jun 06, 2018
 
Rated: 3.99 by Manfrombelmonty from Massachusetts

Dec 22, 2017
Greenwarden from Banded Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 82 ratings