ImPaled Ale | Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.

3.62/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Look: Cloudy light amber color, minimal head
Smell: floral and citrus hops, sweet bready pale malt.
Taste: Follows nose, sweet caramel and malts counter the predominant hop bitterness. Floral and slightly grassy bitter finish.
Feel: Quite carbonated. Light and crisp.

Overall: a pretty solid IPA. Nothing particularly extraordinary but well executed.

★ 352 characters

3.74/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A friend brought a 6 pack over for the Super Bowl. Served chilled in a Duvel tulip.

Look: light amber, white head, nice lacing

Smell: butterscotch, jolly ranchers candy

Taste: butterscotch, touch of bitter fruit

Feel: solid, good

Overall: ok but nothing special

★ 266 characters

3.54/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

MIDDLE AGES IMPALED ALE IPA 10/30/15

Like the "ImPaled Ale" wordplay on IPA

Bought in a mixed six on a trip to NY state. Normally not available in my state. No visible bottling date.

Poured from the 12 oz. bottle into a Lawson's stemmed tulip.

a: Clear amber with a finger thick white head which receded to very thin surface foam and patchy/spotty lacing.

s; Butterscotch

t: Follows the nose with a medium hop bite to follow. Both sweet caramelly malt and hop bitterness linger somewhat.

m: Medium, good body and surprisingly heavy carbonation tingle.

o: Loved their barleywine and wanted to love this, but it was a little too heavy on the caramel malt, to the point it is almost like drinking melted butterscotch candy. The hop power balanced that somewhat, but the net effect was not particularly pleasant. Possibly an old bottle since it was purchased in a mixed six at a grocery store. If I get the chance to try another I'll re-review as necessary.

★ 967 characters

3.85/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A-Clear orange with an off white head that lingers
S-I get a boozy aroma of malty goodness, Crystal 60-70 is my guess
T-Clean smooth malt with a soft bitterness that gets stronger with each sip and lingers on the tongue afterwards
M-Just the right amount of carbonation
O-Very drinkable craft brew, reminds me of my early days home brewing.

★ 340 characters

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

I've tried to love this beer for many years just because it was one of my first local beers. I had the cask conditioned version last night at Clark's ale house and my mind hasn't changed, this is just a run of the mill IPA. The Late Knight DIPA is amazing and I wish they would change the recipe and kick this single IPA up a bit. There are so many good IPAs available in the CNY area now and its hard to pick this on a menu

★ 427 characters

3.49/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: slight haze; burnt orange in color; with a conservative pour, got a 1 finger pillowy head that receded to a film; really nice lacing;

S: caramel malt and some soapiness;

T: follows the nose; a small amount of hops detected in the background; a touch of citrus in the mid-palate; almost no bitterness;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; well balanced;

O: matches the style very well;

★ 394 characters

4.09/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into Pint Glass.

A- Bold Copper brew topped with about an inch or so of white, dense, foamy head that hangs around for a little while. There's an abundant amount of lacing that clings to the side of the glass as I sip away at this one.

S- Quite a bunch of sweetness at the forefront with a touch of breadiness and caramel swirling around. The sweetness really dominates here but is not overwhelming by any means. A decent malt background with a slight amount of bitter hops too. Smells delicious.

T- The bitter hops are a much more obvious to the palate than in the nose. The big sweetness I detected soon takes over and is a sweet, malty, masterpiece. There is just enough hops left over to round this off very nicely.

M- A medium to nearly big bodied, chewy brew. Carbonation is middle of the road, and this one finishes fairly well. The Orange, citrusy, fruitiness, and dose of hops linger a good bit and are pleasing to the palate.

O- This brew is brewed just over a half an hour away from my house and am glad it is. This is a very solid example of an English IPA and has found its way to being one of the regulars in my fridge. Pairs really good with some Cajun shrimp too!

★ 1,204 characters

3.81/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Bottle from the Sunoco in Canton, NY.

A - Nice cloudy orangey colour. Two fingers of really soapy and creamy white head. Good carbonation coming up. Good lace rings and a half finger of retention.

S - Floral, orange, citrus, chamomile.

T - Some tea, floral, citrus, some decent malt. Citrus and crispness. Buttery, but in a very subtle way.

M - Good feel with good carbonation, decent bitterness and a medium body.

O/D - A fairly drinkable IPA. The English element is hard to discern though. A solid hop flavour that wasn't overpowering but held its own.

★ 561 characters

4.17/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A-pours a golden orange color with a fluffy white head with excellent retention
S-slightly floral with citrus and sweet malt
T-citrus and sweet malt up front that transitions into an earthy floral bitterness and leaves the palate dry with some biscuit
M-medium bodied
O-very solid beer, have only have had it a few times and seem to forget how great it is

★ 355 characters

4.4/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A - Bottle was super carbonated, resulting in quite a wait for the head to die down. Very thick, fluffy, off-white head. The beverage itself is thick and pulpy in appearance, a glowing amber or light orange, and is nearly opaque. Huge lacing. I'm not going to downgrade much on appearance for the unnecessarily huge head; I assume not every bottle will have this extreme of a reaction.

S - Fruity: tropical and citrus, very alive. Sharp, slightly sour, definitely sweet, with a strong malt backbone - possibly caramel, light bread. There's a definite yeasty aroma coming out, too, like a Belgian ale.

T - Superbly complex! That Belgian aroma was not misleading: there is a significantly sweet yeast and malt flavor, reminiscent of Belgian candi sugar. The hops are extremely well balanced, leaving some astringency, but mostly giving off tropical fruit flavors - no citrus (to me). The fruit rind flavor of so many dry, single IPAs is present only in a tiny amount, and it adds to the overall profile.

M - Very smooth, medium-light to medium body. There is some brief carbonation sting on the tip of the tongue if you let it linger, but it's not unpleasant. Very nice hop oil coating of the mouth, drinks very light, and the mild aftertaste is very pleasant.

O - I know this rating is going to be well above average, but I was super impressed. This could easily be an every-day IPA, on par with Jai Alai. Despite being labeled an English IPA, this is a very sweet, only slightly dry ale.

★ 1,491 characters

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - Just a 1/4 inch of head that pulls back to a pretty lace ring, totally sticky. Beer is a hazy amber brown.
S - Biscuit malts, tea leaves, citrus and herbal hops.
T - Very clean and citrus tasting, with mild biscuit malts and drying herbal tea's. It's actually one of the better English IPA's due to it balance.
M - Light to medium, very clean and tasty IPA.

Overall a perfect balance of hops to English malts. Worthy of the price.

★ 436 characters

4.03/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - cloudy orangish amber, nice sticky head that is a little watery but laying down some good lace tracks around the glass.

Aroma - nice hit of piny hops on opening the bottle. Fades to a very mild hoppiness and some light caramelly grain. The citrus and butteriness of the English yeast show up in a few minutes, the yeast leading the way. Good resilience too once it arrives.

Taste - decent buttery grains up front, the hop hit is very well balanced. Some citrus but not too punchy. Really spreads around the flavor in the mouth well. The bitterness pushes the grain off after the swallow and goes dry, a little warm, and pretty darn pleasant. Finishes with a hint of malty twang, orange peel, and balanced bitterness.

Mouthfeel - crisp, medium to medium-light. Refreshing, clean.

Overall - excellent session brew given to me by a local homebrew buddy Steve. Thanks, man!

★ 886 characters

3.45/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice shade of gold with a huge head into my glass. Good colors for an EIPA, a style that I feel is dying out slowly.

Aroma is more "fruity" than I expected with peach and just a touch of aroma hops. This style isn't know for hard-hitting bitterness.

Taste reflects that. Balanced, "fruity" with a touch of toffee.The label doesn't list it but I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that the hops are Fuggles. Feel free to correct me.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering toffee and just a touch of bitterness. Carbonation is excellent.

Definitely worth a try if you want a break from the standard American IPA.

★ 625 characters

3.41/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Clear orange, some carbonation, two finger head with lacing.

S-Bread, malt, not best by so maybe it has turned, no hops either.

T-Starts malty with bread. Slight bitterness and slight grass.

M-Light to medium bodied, lots of carbonation.

O-Maybe this bottle was just old, but serves them right for not putting a date on the bottle. If I could get a fresh bottle I'd try it again.

★ 385 characters

3.68/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This brew was served from the cask at The Old Toad in Rochester, NY. It arrived in a nondescript pint glass glowing a deep copper coloring. It held a one finger head of big white bubbles, showing great retention. This left sticky, wet lacing dripping down the sides of the glass. There was a mild haze, while carbonation appeared decent. No sediment was noted. The aroma was big with plastic phenols, honey sweetness, pale toasty malts, light burnt caramel, pineapple and pear sugars, and warm apple pie sweetness with warmth. Our first impression was that the flavoring showed big plastics, as in the nose, which added a strong bitterness alongside the hops. The taste opened with sweeter pale malts, bitter woodiness, sweeter citric hops, and washed pale and caramel malts. The middle peaked with a continuation of bittering wood, the start of a more fruity hop, smooth passion fruit and strawberry sweetness, as in the nose. The finish was with more of that fruity, citric hop, more tropical fruit, bitter oaky essence, sweeter caramel malts, pale toast, mineral, and stone. The aftertaste breathed of strong bitters of resiny hops, plastics, clovey bite, and more pale, toasty grain. The body was lighter, and the carbonation was lighter. There was limited slurp and smack, but the retaining head afforded nice slurp, and gave a happy mini mustache. There was mild astringent dryness left all around the mouth, with a boozy coolness to boot. The abv was appropriate, but this guy was a slow drinker, on account of the bitterness, but smooth drinking nonetheless.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the depth of flavoring. It really followed the nose nicely, and was equally as soft and sweet, but once the liquid dropped off, you got a more intense rumble of bittering phenols, wood, and piney bite. This is surprising when it happens, but it strikes a pleasant balance to the front of the flavoring, which is relatively sweet. The feel was a bit light, but not so noticeable as to wreck your experience.

★ 2,024 characters

4.21/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

An amazing offering despite the dorky label. You want citrus in your IPA? We're talking pink grapefruit, fresh perfect citrus, combined with all the bitterness you want in a well balanced IPA. I had this stocked in my kegerator for two years after I first moved back to Syracuse. The bottles report well, but a fresh draft (hard to find), tastes like a miracle considering its humble roots.

★ 390 characters

3.97/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear amber with a white lacing.

Dry bready malts with piney grapfruit bitter hops.

Bread and butter malts, pine and grapfruit bitter hop,

Medium body with stinging carbonation on the roof of the mouth.

Really good tasty IPA, easy to drink and a nice balance of strong hops and dry malts. Would have this again.

★ 317 characters

3.03/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a snifter.

3.5 A: Clear medium orange color. One and a half fingers of frothy off-white head. Retention is about average and a decent sized ring of lacing is left.

3.0 S: Floral and grassy hops with a touch of citrus thrown in. Clean with a light neutral maltiness. Not bad, but nothing stands out.

3.0 T: Floral, grassy, and earthy hop flavor. Bready maltiness, but overall clean. Moderate to heavy moderate bitterness. Again, it's just average.

3.0 M: Medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Lacking creaminess, but okay.

3.0 D: About as average as it can get. Not bad with nothing standing out or disappointing.

★ 632 characters

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Stone nonic pint glass

A-Copper with great head that sticks and leaves nice lacing

S-Grass, citrus, pine and resin

T-Really strong, nose represented up front and classic IPA on the back

M-Just about perfect for this style

O-Very sold effort from one of my favorite NY breweries

★ 316 characters

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from the bottle into a pint glass. Body is slightly hazy orangey-honey-amber in color. Small whitish head on top, leaves behind good lacing.

S: Fruity-sweet and grapefruity citrus. A touch floral. Not too strong in the nose, however.

T: I understand why this is classified as an English - and not American - IPA. There's a good amount of malty sweetness in the foundation of this beer. Think bread dough and caramel malt/light toffee, along with a generic fruitiness. Hops come through more toward the finish, where there's a nice, slightly lemony, dry bitterness. Good balance between sweet and bitter.

M: Medium in heft, carbonation is fine and prickly, but not assertive.

O: Good stuff. Somewhere between an English IPA and an American Pale Ale, I'd say.

★ 771 characters

3.97/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Middle Ages IPA has a golden-orange colored body and a thin, off-white head that manages to lay down a little bit of lacing.

The aroma has a lot of fruity and earthy hops along with a toasty, grainy malt profile.

This one is definitely an interpretation of an English, not an American IPA. Lots of hops up front, with all kinds of fruit but not biting citrus. There is, however, a little bit of an earthy hop flavor. Although it does seem to include some caramel malt, the malt profile isn't a huge, sweet one. Instead it tastes like it has a little bit of toasted malt, and then predominantly pale malts that are dry and grainy.

The mouthfeel has a touch of an oily feel, with a dry finish.

This is a really nice IPA that uses English style hop flavors. It is probably pretty bold and hoppy, in the mold of an American style, but the ingredients still taste English. Worth a try if that kind of thing sounds good to you.

★ 925 characters

4.15/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I've had this one a number of times on tap and via growler, though I have to say I prefer it out of a bottle with a few months on it. Think what you may. (Somewhere, the hop gods are crying.)

Hence, this is a review of such a bottle. Lightly chilled and poured aggressively into a tulip pint.

Look-This one pours more head than beer- about a 10-to-1 ratio for the first second or so, but it falls to a clingy film rather rapidly, showing a moderate amount of ropy lacing. The foam from the second pour stuck around quite a bit longer, however. The beer itself is a nice tawny pale amber with a touch of grapefruit blush. A decent number of bubbles rising rapidly indicates a well carbonated brew.

Smell- The aroma is fruity, sweet fresh cherries with a backdrop of bitter citrus. After swirling it a bit, I get a touch of pepper and toasted malt. Appetizing.

Taste- Sweetness and a big hop bite right off the bat, with a breadlike undercurrent that starts to take over as it rolls on the tongue. Right in the middle, there's an unexpected bitter splash as acidic lemon makes a resurgence. Aftertaste is fairly mild, light toasted malt, diacetyl, and orange zest.

Mouthfeel- Mid-to-heavy body with mid-to-heavy carbonation. Slightly oily, crisp throughout, and not unpleasant cottony finish. A bit heavy on the aftertaste for me, I prefer my IPAs to finish clean, and this one can be cloying after a while, even fresh. Still a lip-smacker, though.

Overall- This is Middle Ages' signature brew, and showcases a lot of what makes them unique. A very solid beer, but it just doesn't tickle my palate the way some of their bolder offerings do. It’s still a great fallback when a well-rounded E-IPA is what I'm in the mood for.

★ 1,730 characters

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

massive body, full hop flavor. pours a darker golden color with a sturdy white head. smells like more of a pale ale, with a balanced malty presence. taste is quite hoppy, but again balanced. really big body makes this one a bit filling for a session beer, and it is definitely a cold weather ipa, not magining this to be a summer drink. enjoyed this syracuse staple

★ 365 characters

3.41/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

appearance- in between straw and amber with a nice white foamy head.

smeell- mostly just pale malts no hops at all.

taste- starts sweet and end bitter but nothing realy pops out of the beer.

mouthfeel- really nice do to the light to medium body with lots of carbonation.

overall- overall a good beer but i think it's more of a pale ale than a ipa, however this was the first english ipa i had so maybe thats just the style.

★ 427 characters

3.68/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Golden/amber colored beer with a big foamy head that had moderate retention and left some stick on the sides.

S - Pale malts, bit of sugar sweetness, some butterscotch, little bit of resin oil, some floral notes.

T - Taste is a bit of caramel and some sweetness. Malt backbone is strong, slightly toasted, with some earthy and floral hopping. Not bad really for an English IPA.

M - Smooth, light, crisp, active carbonation.

O - Fairly enjoyable beer. I liked it more when I realized it was an English IPA and not the American one I was expecting. Solid stuff.

★ 567 characters