Warhawk Pale Ale
Warbird Brewing Company

 

 

Aroma: Deep carmel notes, toasty malt character, orange zest, and clean ale yeast character.

Appearance: Deep slightly cloudy amber colored pour. Off-white sudsy head with sticky lacing abounding.

Flavor: Orange and carmel flavors up front followed by some pithy hop resin bitterness. Toasty munich notes and a dry, bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation. A little oily and no alcohol heat.

Overall impression: A darker, richer American Pale Ale. Definitely more dark malt character than I'm used to but still drinkable and nice punchy, layered hop character. Nicely done.

Deep bronze color with a good sized, off white head. Heavy malt aroma-caramel and treacle like quality to it. Mild hop presence-on the low end for a pale ale. The malt dominates the flavor as well. Hop presence is there for sure but the malt is quite heavy handed for a US pale. Nice caramel flavor. Lingering bitterness. Hops are more felt in the finish then upfront. Solid body for the style. A nice beer-very "beefy" for a regular US pale. I just read these guys are closing-too bad, I found this and their Irish ale quite nice.

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass. Thanks to my friend Dennis for hauling back a 12-pack of this from Wichita, NE.

A-Hazy orange-amber brew, murky and looks almost carmelized. Orange-tinted off-white head, medium-sized off the pour, but quickly reduced to sparse bubbles.

S-Resinous, slightly herbal hops with a big, toasty-bready maltiness.

T-Troasty maltiness along with a slightly biscuity note; hop flavor is bright resin-citrus, in line with the malt flavors. Bitterness comes in to create a pleasantly balanced, safe interpretation of the style. Finshed with a bright, lingering hoppiness and assertive bitterness.

M-Medium-high carbonation, moderate body. Moves nicely and sweetly in my mouth.

D-Fine drinkability. Easy and sessionable brew. Easily some of the sweetest labels I've seen before.

Another nice extra I received recently. I try more new ones through extras then anything else and you got to love that. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this cool looking bottle was consumed on 05/20/2009.



The pour was very nicely done. Rich amber in color, very clear with a nice head of white up on the top that hung on for a few moments before settling down into a thin film along the sides. Some nice carbonation initially but it settled down nicely. Light aroma of orange and pineapple with a hint of some underlying sweet malts. Nice touch of biscuit like flavor mid palate as well, but nothing earth shattering here. Descent light body on this one made it a very session able pale ale, though if I am being honest nothing here would really make me come back and try this again anytime soon.



Overall not bad, a bit above average, but nothing that would make me stop and think.

From this morning's tasting:

The color is a clear copper and there's lively carbonation. A nice, foamy head remains at one finger and leaves light to moderate lacing.
There's a light caramel malt in the aroma, light fruits and pure, clean hops.
A nice hops bitterness is first on the tongue and the malt backing makes for great balance. There's a light buttery, toasted caramel note as well. The hops are a very citric flavor, tasting strongly of grapefruit. A nice, dry finish lingers.
The body is moderate. The mouthfeel is a nice mix of creamy and crisp and carbonation is moderate.
This one reminded me very much of GL's Burning River: a pale ale that's nice and hoppy and better than some IPAs.

Pours a hazy deep amber color with an off white small quickly disappearing head. Smells nice and full of citrus and some toasted malt. Grapefruit with a touch of alcohol.

Wah wah wah...

Then I tasted it.
The first thought that comes to my head is stale. Burnt sugar and stale bread. There is some sort of hop pungency in there but it is hidden under the layers of alcohol and syrupy toffee tasting strangeness. Maybe this brew is for some people, but I see it as a poor representation of the style. It very well could have been a bad bottle.
Couldn't finish this one, ouch...

A - Poured out a somewhat cloudy, orange/amber color with a thick, foamy,small, off-white head. It left minimal lace.

S - It smelled of citrus, roasted malt and some mild floral notes.

T - It tasted very nutty for an APA. Nice bitter hop kick and a biscuity malt flavor.

M - It was crisp and sharp. A light to medium-bodied pale ale.

D - My first try from Warbird, it's pretty good ad pretty unique.

Thanks to Spaulding for sending this brew my way; 12oz bottle into a Corsendonk tulip.

Warhawk pours an attractive, bright copper hue with crystal clarity and a good carbonation level. More of an IPA-color (and ABV!), but the rocky tuft of khaki head retains well and leaves some nice lacing behind on the glass. The aroma I can dig--soft honey and floral hop notes balance with hints of pale & caramel malt. Mango and grapefruit yeast esters in the background.

The flavor, unfortunately, is where this beer breaks down. The sip begins with some sweetened malt and light booze notes, then gives way to stale biscuits, toasted grain husks, and an off-kilter hop bitterness. Flavors are out of whack and way too assertive in this Pale Ale, a style more accustomed to subtlety. Mouthfeel is crisp and decently carbonated, but thicker than necessary. Finishes dry and almost metallic, with a lingering bitterness. Although this beer needs a good bit of work, it certainly wasn't unpleasant to consume. Quite the opposite, actually, but Warbird is not quite what I look for in a Pale.

12 oz. bottle received from Phil. Tried 13 Sep 2008.

Medium sized tight cream colored head. Clear burnished copper color. Aroma is sweet, pineappley and somewhat soapy. Starts with a roasty almondy caramel sweetness. Hop flavor muted but jumps out in the finish. Aftertaste of burnt sugar and ethanol.

12oz bottle obtained via SS08 from kirok1999. Thanks for the opportunity.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 2" beige head above the clear orangey amber brew. Pillowy head lasts incredibly, with tons of chunky lacing. Aroma is sweet and fruity. Taste is moderately sweet upfront, then goes floral yet bitter, which dominates through the swallow. Mouthfeel and drinkability are pretty good.

Solid beer. I just moved to the area and am pleasantly surprised with the offerings from Warbird. This one has a nice golden glow and gave me a nice head on a pour into a glass. The smell is sweet and less flowery than I expected, but still reminiscent of the style. It has a nice flavor with general smoothness and a mild amount of hops on the end. Has a nice grapefruit flavor that fades appropriately leaving a nice aftertaste. It is a really drinkable beer that I imagine I will be drinking around the lake this summer.

Had to come back and add some more comments. This beer has become my new go to for a reasonably priced treat. If you're in the area drink some. I'm excited to try some of their other offerings, but it will be hard to make that transition knowing how reliable this one is.

Pours clear, dark amber with a healthy fluffy tan head. Sticky head too. Nice looking brew.

Carmel malt smell with a mild, spicy hop aroma. Some dark fruit-raisin smells as well.

Hmmm. Bitter taste from start to finish. Grassy, floral bop bitterness, a tea-like flavor. Little malt character gets through. Aftertaste is a lingering sharp bitterness.

Smooth, medium bodied mouthfeel.

Maybe on a hot summer day, this would be refreshing served ice cold. But as it warms, the bitterness becomes much less appealing. My first Warbird, but I'll try others and hope for the better.

Notes Sep 6, 2008 Copper color pour,with a nice off white head that stays around till the end nice carbonation. A very nice floral hop aroma. The slightly sweet malt and Cascade hops give this real balance, and a nice mouth feel I throughly enjoyed this offering,and would gladly drink again.A good craft brew. Thank You

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a tumbler glass. Bottle is dated 1/16/08, so it might not be the freshest.

Appearance: Sizable light tan head. Body is a dark slightly hazy orange/red. Similar in color to a barley wine.

Smell: Slightly hoppy, with some malt and alcohol aroma.

Taste: Hops and some malts. Not alot going on. Certainly nothing out of the ordinary for the style.

Lazy ascending bubbles travel through the copper liquid. Creamy cap of foam, with intricate lacing all the way down the glass. Faint caramel aroma, maybe some overripe fruit.

Buttery toffee and caramel that is balanced by a light bitterness. Earthy dry hops in the aftertaste. Full bodied and creamy. This is nicely balanced and a good session candidate. No hint of the 7.30%(!) abv at all. Reminded me of a lighter version of Alpha King. Too bad I only picked up one bottle!

Third bottle of the 4 different ones I bought today. Not impressed so far.
Pours a rich copper with nice sticky lacing. Hummm, maybe some hops here?
Some citrus hops in the smell, just a bit of sweet malt too.
Taste is nice if a bit watery. Lots of bittering hops that linger quite a while. A nice mix of citrus and dark malt notes that blend quite well.
Feels a bit thin and is well carbonated.
Easy to drink, the best of the 4 so far.

Pours a very nice medium-copper color with great head and some very nice lacing. It has a fantastic floral/citrus aroma that fills the nose and the same goes for the taste, an extremely good APA with a great (maybe cascade and others) hops combination. It goes down well, and overall is a great example of the style.

Pours a rich amber/copper color with decent clarity. A large two finger slightly yellowed head forms on tops and lingers with good retention. Some nice lacing as it subsides as well.

The aroma is pretty good. A slight hoppiness giving a touch of citrus. Some caramel maltiness is also in there.

The taste is ok. This one is sweet up front with some caramel, and finishes with a slightly bitter citrus hop.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice carbonation tingle. Finish is slightly dry.

Drinkability is moderate to high. The flavors fine for a pale. Nothing out of the ordinary, but not bad at all.