Olde Towne Extra Pale Ale
Olde Towne Brewing Co.

Olde Towne Extra Pale AleOlde Towne Extra Pale Ale
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From:
Olde Towne Brewing Co.
 
Alabama, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
ABV:
3.8%
Score:
79
Avg:
3.12 | pDev: 24.04%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
11
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 24, 2012
Added:
Jun 08, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Photo of rokoch27
Reviewed by rokoch27 from Virginia

2.38/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Not worth a try, unless you simply don't have any other options and just need some booze. Actually, I might even pass on this one and just grab a coke instead. Looks decdent enough, but when you taste it, you feel like it has gone bad (and maybe mine had, but all the other beers I purchased in the mixer sixer were fine). It wasn't really a sour tang, but tasted somewhat spoiled. Hop aroma and taste was there well enough, but is just off. Oh well, they can't all be winners.
Oct 23, 2006
Photo of BeerRun13
Reviewed by BeerRun13 from California

2.8/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Thanks to DeaconBluez.

Pours a very light straw color with virtually no head to speak of.
Strawlike and grainy aromas are very noticeable. A slight hopiness is also present.
I don't know... It tastes kind of grainy and even wheaty... which isn't bad but I don't think it makes sense with this beer. There is a slight hop presence here also that doesn't do much to balance out the flavor.
This light bodied beers flavor hits every corner of the mouth.
I could see how you might be in the mood for something like this, but when I think Extra Pale Ale I think something more crisp and clean and refreshing which this was not. I still thank the sender for the opportunity to try it.
Apr 18, 2006
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

2.7/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5
Sampled through the efforts of DeaconBluez and the BCG BIF.

Label says the Alcohol content is 3.8% By Volume.

Pours a hazy golden beer with fine sediment particles drifting in it. I didn't expect any yeast in the bottom of the bottle so I did not pour this with care. Mild white head.

Smell is light malt with a touch of vanilla. Hop aromas are tart and lemony.

Taste is mildly sweet with a respectable herbal hop flavor. Lemony flavor from the hops and bread flavors from the malt reasonably flavorful. No significant aftertaste, this is decidedly acidic like a mild American version of Berliner Weiss.

This beers major weak spot is mouthfeel this is very watery.

Not a terrible beer but probably not really an ale either. This is basically an ale light, and I am sure I would enjoy this more on a hot day. In the winter though this is just a really light beer.
Jan 14, 2006
Photo of UncleFlip
Reviewed by UncleFlip from Alabama

3.05/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5
Looks very BMC- thought with a slightly more active head, and maybe a slightly more vivid yellow hue...

Smell has hints of grain,a bit of spice, and some lemon meringue pie. The smeel is a bit thicker and heavier than expected.

Flavour is a bit thin, with a roundish graininess at the ends. The end is flat- very flat.

Not much body to speak of, and there's an overactive carbonation floating up above.

Given its shortcomings, this is very drinkable. It's good lawnmower beer. After a hot day in the yard, this would be quite refreshing.

Be well
-UF
Dec 18, 2005
Photo of Brent
Reviewed by Brent from Kentucky

2.6/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Indeed "extra pale" in comparison the the brewery's pale ale. Pallid in flavor, as well. Brittle, one-dimensional cracker malt was about all this had to offer. Hops participated very little. Overall, the beer had a bland, macro character, as though it had been cheapened with adjuncts.
Dec 09, 2005
Photo of Holyterror
Reviewed by Holyterror from Alabama

2.35/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
This beer fooled me twice. When I first saw it on the shelf, I swore it was another major brewery's effort to market a "microbrew." It just looked too polished, and the archaic spelling seemed like a poor attempt at shooting the brand up with old world charm. I wasn't going to fall for this one.

Then I find out it's brewed right here in Alabama! Oops. So the next time I passed it on the shelf, I grabbed a single of each of the three styles. This is my review of the extra pale ale.

The disappointment began rather quickly, about 2 seconds into the pour. I had poured down to the top of the label, and yet my pint glass was entirely full of foam! Nothing but white foam. It looked like I had just hit some ultra-concentrated dishwashing soap with a pressure washer. It took me about 3 minutes to get the whole bottle into the glass, thanks to its ridiculous foaming. So here I have a glass of pale, slightly hazy beer. Not the most appetizing, but I'll hold judgement for my tastebuds. Things didn't get much better from there.

Citrus on the nose, and not much else. Diving in, it becomes immediately apparent that this is just simply a weak brew. Weak malts, no hops, dominated entirely by citrus. A little toasted malt in the finish, but hops are still AWOL. They could call this a witbier if they wanted. It would be a poor example of that style too, but it would be closer in taste. Not discernably thicker than the water they started with. The total lack of hops in an American pale is just obscene. If I sound irritated, I am. I was hoping that the good people of Huntsville could do better than this.

It's a good thing I got singles. If I had bought a sixer of this stuff, I would be very pissed off.
Oct 19, 2005
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Appearance – This one poured a nifty-looking dirty straw yellow in color with an explosive head.

Smell – The grain here at the nose is gianormous! There’s also some yeast in here as well. The hops are light, leafy, and seem like a cheap red-shirted extra in a Star Trek episode.

Taste – The grain is big at the taste as well. It’s not “husky”, though, and has a lot of sweetness to it. That’s really about all that’s in there.

Mouthfeel – This one is in between light and medium-bodied with tons of carbonation, I’d say even a bit overdone.

Drinkability – This one was a good drinker but lacked the deft touch and balancing complexity that I have come to expect of the style. It’s definitely a notch below Olde Towne’s magnificent Pale Ale.
Oct 01, 2005
Photo of mentor
Reviewed by mentor from Colorado

4.02/5  rDev +28.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Bottle provided by UncleFlip, thanks for the opportunity! Pours an eager three finger bone-colored head over a very cloudy macro colored liquid. Smells gentle citrus hoppy with noticable sweet malt (honey and crystalized peaches). Maybe some hallertauer hops in the aroma. Tastes are a hop character I've not encountered before. It's citrusy (mostly ornages) but has a potent iron flavor. Stawberries as an ester later, as well as mouth drying plum (not deep plum like you get in dark belgians...this is light and fruity plum). It's md-light bodied and heavily carbonated, which is too much, IMO. The bottle reads "Handcrafted for a distinctive taste" and it certainly is unique. I wouldn't call it complex, it's got an interesting mix of flavors that I've not had in an APA before. Intriguing and enjoyable. You know, there's been a zing in the flavor that I just couldn't put my finger on. Now I know. It's a very mild belgian funk. Sorta reminds me of popcorn. The funk works really well in this beer because it's so mild, is playing with a gentle citrusy hop flavor, and is carried by a noticable malt sweet. My BA profile reads "I dislike Belgian funk", but this could be my training beer. Really tasty and drinkable. Not an APA, closer to a belgian pale ale (and scored as such).
Aug 20, 2005
Photo of UnionMade
Reviewed by UnionMade from New York

2.93/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Thanks to UncleFlip for the bottle!
This beer pours a hazy, pale gold, topped with a modest white head. Decent head retention, thinning out about 2/3 through. Some speckled lacing, but not much. A meek aroma, very clean, with qualities of a pale lager. Maybe some wheat malt? Basic malt flavors throughout, meeting with a lightly floral hop finish. Bitterness is low. Light bodied, with perky carbonation. This would be a great gateway beer for the macro drinker. Unassuming, and definitely not scary.
Probably more in the golden ale style, with a rather clean, mild and malt driven feel. I'm reviewing it as such. Nice enough, but it's really not my style. I'm the type that opts for hops on those hot days. I like the heat to be pummeled into submission. This is much more easygoing. Went well with my german style potato salad, though.
Jul 24, 2005
Photo of danielharper
Reviewed by danielharper from Michigan

3/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Purchased from Target on University, Huntsville, AL.

This bottle has been sitting in my closet for awhile -- my fiancee had purchased a sixer of these as a gift for me a few months ago and I, having tried two or three of them, had decided to let them sit for a little bit and see if they got any better as my palate progressed. To tell the truth, this is a better beer than I remember -- not exactly a perfect brew, but a decent quaffer. Probably best served a bit cold, maybe a good summertime brew.

Appearance is a cloudy orange-brown color with a small sudsy head that quickly goes away. Seems a bit darker than I'd expect from a Pale Ale, but I think that Olde Towne actually does this on all their brews -- the Hefeweizen was also darker than I expected it to be. I'm used to Pale Ales being pretty transparent, but this one is fairly cloudy. Not a bad beer to look at on balance, though.

Smell is okay, a bit overly spicy for my taste but with an interesting "earthy" scent that is actually pretty decent. I remember thinking of this beer as being a bit "skunky" before, but upon giving it a closer inspection it's really not at all what I thought it was -- it's really a pretty decent nose on a lighter beer.

Taste also isn't bad, with a little spicy bitterness on the front balanced by a kind of mellowy sweet finish and a dry aftertaste. Like the Hefeweizen, this one almost makes me think of oranges, but that seems to be much more buried in this brew than in the Hefe -- no strong citrus notes here.

Mouthfeel is the only negative here, as it seems a bit more watery and yet more highly-carbonated than I'd prefer. No real complexities reveal themselves as I run this over my tongue and around my mouth, but it's not exactly what I'd call "bad", just "bland".

I'm giving this a 3 for drinkability, mostly because I think it's a decent little pale ale with no pretensions of grandeur. I last tried this when it was cold out, and that may have affected the score -- this beer would probably be quite welcome in a summer setting like a picnic or a cookout. I could have a couple of these, but I'd then go looking for something with a bit more flavor.

I might actually buy these again -- before trying this one I thought that was out of the question, but it's actually a pretty enjoyable simple brew. Certainly not my favorite beer, but next time I see it on-tap I think I'll give it a try.
Jun 08, 2005
Olde Towne Extra Pale Ale from Olde Towne Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 11 ratings