Hedonism Ale
Legacy Brewing Co.

Hedonism AleHedonism Ale
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From:
Legacy Brewing Co.
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
ABV:
7.1%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 10.88%
Reviews:
150
Ratings:
159
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 24, 2014
Added:
Mar 13, 2005
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  2
Northern California Inspired Red Ale
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Ratings by jakester:
Photo of jakester
Reviewed by jakester from Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I'm reviewing this again because it's slightly different in the bottle.

This is from the new bottled version, made and bottled by ABC. Case box is awesome! Can't believe it's not banned or something.

Pours a crystal clear (the keg version is cloudy) dark red, brown with a 1/2 finger head of beige colored foam. The head fairly quickly falls to islands and a ring, with decent enough lacing. Carbonation appears gentle.

Aroma is wonderful piney/grassy hops, clean and fruity, with a nice dark caramel taste. Fruits are like dried pears or apples. Smells great!

First flavor is dark and sweet caramel malt, followed quickly by a strong hit of bittering hops. Piney/grassy hop flavor brings up the rear; this is really tasty stuff. Aftertaste is long, bitter, piney, and grassy.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, almost smooth and creamy. Carbonation is soft. The back of my throat is under attack from bitter hops. Fantastic burps. Really! Finish is bitter.

IMO, this beer is slightly different than the keg version. I swear I remember citrusy notes, but this doesn't have that. Nevertheless, this is a delicious beer, and one I heartily recommend. Alcohol is well hidden, hop character is outstanding, and the malt is right there.
Dec 15, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by wrightst from Maryland

Aug 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by cliff1066 from Virginia

Dec 27, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by jbaker67 from Pennsylvania

Oct 20, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by IPAchris from Pennsylvania

May 28, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by cheeseburger from New York

Mar 04, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by bonbini26 from New Jersey

Jan 10, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

Jan 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ROGUE16 from Delaware

Dec 05, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania

Nov 19, 2011
Photo of BeerAdvocate
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine Vol. II Issue VII:

A Northern California-inspired Red Ale? Sounds like something big and hoppy. We're ready.

Pours a hazy red with a tawny center. Nice head. Foamy, rocky, pure white with stick and a good half-inch of stay. Malty nose with a hint of caramel, fruity esters and grain. Smooth and full-bodied, going coarse with a tight and prickly carbonation that creates a creamy palate. Malty in the taste too, with a bit of candy, fruity esters, overripe pineapple, toffee, brown bread nuttiness, and roastiness. Hops aggressively pull through with some astringency, coarse lemony bitterness and leafy edges. Peppery spice too. More sweetness opens up your mouth as the beer warms with some sugar and a quick dollop of caramel. The beer dries up and lingers for ages with hop tannins and burnt resins that have embedded themselves into your palate while you weren't paying attention.

The name is fitting. Chaos in a bottle, but oh so good--this is not for the timid. One needs to open their mind and palate to fully appreciate the offering before them. Let go, enjoy.
Sep 13, 2010
Photo of spartanfan
Reviewed by spartanfan from Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from a 12 oz. twist off with an indecipherable code of some kind but no bottled on or freshness date;

A: Pours a slightly hazy ruby red color with a loose off white head that leaves some lacing behind as it fades into a nice layer of suds.

S: Aromas are of hops and an almost candy like sweetness. Also a hint of alcohol and a nutty smell.

T: Taste is of sweet and toasty malts. Hops take a backseat to the malts in this one. Not a whole lot going on and not really my bag.

M: The level of carbonation is about average and the alcohol is not apparent.

D: This beer is pretty easy to drink, but it doesn't really leave me wanting more.
Feb 25, 2010
Photo of gfreed
Reviewed by gfreed from Massachusetts

3.77/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Based on the name as well as the bloviation on the label and the Web site ("...an orgy of hop aroma and flavor..."), I expected something excessively, perhaps offensively, sharp. What a pleasant surprise, then, when I was greeted with an aroma of thick malt and apricots, a loose head and a very smooth taste that had only a mild sting at the end. This is much maltier than hoppy, with a reasonably thin body and low fizz. As ambers go, it's milder than favorites like Otter Creek and Troegs, but is nonetheless quite enjoyable. Buy it and ignore the label.
Dec 28, 2009
Photo of WesWes
Reviewed by WesWes from New York

4.15/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
The beer pours a beautiful red color with a thick frothy off-white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a sweet and creamy crystal malt scent along with some excellent yeast esters. It has a light fruitiness as well as a mild hop character. The taste is good also. It's damn quaffable for a 7% abv beer. There is a limited amount of complexity, but it's well balanced and very tasty. The crystal malts provide a mild sweetness that works well with the yeast fruitiness. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a fine amber ale. Like I said, It's not overly complex, but it's easily quaffable.
Dec 25, 2009
Photo of raverjames
Reviewed by raverjames from Virginia

1.91/5  rDev -49.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
A: Amber with a 1 finger head. Not much haze here.
S: Hoppy yet very malty. Some citrus and caramel.
T: Chemical off flavors that are heavy with butterscotch. The hops don't cover up all the bad stuff going on here. Whoa diacetyl!
M: There is a chemical like bitterness that really hits you after every sip. I can't even drink a pint. I dumped most of it down the drain.
D: See mouthfeel. This beer was a drainpour. It is very unexpected from a brewery that usually makes great beer.
Dec 19, 2009
Photo of alpinebryant
Reviewed by alpinebryant from Connecticut

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a twist off into a mini beer glass that required three pours at Smiths restaurant/bar in NYC near Broadway. Appeared a bright red / amber with minimal head in the tiny glass.

Smelled of a amber beer with good malt presence and a relatively present amount of hops that were mixed floral / citrus.

Tasted very malty and caramel with some hop presence. Balanced well for a red ale, perhaps not as hoppy as I would have thought for something named hedonism.

Good mouthfeel and drinkability. The 7 percent abv is hidden well
Nov 08, 2009
Photo of Soonami
Reviewed by Soonami from Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
No way this is 110IBU as listed on this page...

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

A- The beer was a beautiful claret red with a wisp of tan foam that though not substantial clung pretty well

S- Not much in the nose, just a little yeasty bread and floral hops

T- Very caramelly and sweet with juicy herbal hops

M- Full and smooth

D- Flavorful and deceptive 7% abv. complex but not overwhelming
Sep 12, 2009
Photo of GilGarp
Reviewed by GilGarp from Colorado

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to brentk56 for the extras, this being one of them.

Bottled in May. 110 IBUs in a 7% beer?! I'm guessing it won't be a very balanced.

Served cold in a pint glass. It has a very hazy redish amber color with thin white head atop. A little lacing is left behind as it settles.

Aroma is very hoppy but not in a fresh hop way... more like a barley wine style where the hops have clearly mellowed out with age.

Flavor is exactly what aroma predicted: basically a barley wine light, if you will. Big on hops and caramel malts, some fruit and nut. Not super strong and the alcohol seems very mild considering the flavor. In fact, it's easily hidden behind all that bitterness.

Mouthfeel is unusually thin but then again my nose and tongue say big barley wine but then it comes across much lighter in body. Smooth but very bitter with nice mild carbonation.

This is definately an unusual beer and one that I wouldn't have expected to exist. It's not great but it's certainly interesting.
Sep 03, 2009
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.62/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pours a hazy amber color with a frothy head that disembarks rather quickly without leaving much of a trace

Smell: Resinous pine is the first element that appears but there is plenty of caramel malt in there, too; after several sniffs, I would have to say that the sweeter elements dominate

Taste: The brown sugar malts lay down the gauntlet, but by the time mid-palate rolls around, the resinous hops have become overwhelming; after the swallow, the palate dries out, leaving a bitter finish with just a hint of residual sweetness on the tongue

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body, slightly syrupy, with low to moderate carbonation

Drinkability: I can't say that I am in love with this beer; too sweet, too bitter, just too much of everything for my palate; woth a try, though, just for the experience
Aug 31, 2009
Photo of oldpinecone
Reviewed by oldpinecone from New York

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into a pint glass.

Pours a nice deep copper color with a one finger head that leaves within several minutes. Lots of bubbles running up the glass.

Smell is sweet with mild biquits. A tiny bit earthy.

Taste is also sweet at first and then the hops really come through. Maybe an undertone of pine but thats about it. Rreally nice flavor.

Feels a little light and over carbonated but nothing bad. Pretty average. Crisp.

A nice beer to drink socially.
Aug 30, 2009
Hedonism Ale from Legacy Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 159 ratings