Oatmeal Amber
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Reviewed on 8/27/08. On tap at JH. Pours a clear amber with a thick white head. Aroma of sweet malt, maybe some oatmeal?? Flavor is bitter initially, followed by wheat and nice sweet malt. Perhaps a little boring, but a good one to slug down. You can't go wrong with an amber!
7/4/7/3/14 (3.5/5)

Again, another one of this John Harvard's beers that I was not too impressed with. The body was a nice, dark red color, but there was no head and very minimal lacing - it reminded me of a cider. The smell was minimal, with faint malts noticed but nothing too meaningful. The taste was pretty malty and a little bitter, which had me thinking that this beer was beginning to turn. As I drank more of it, the taste of alcohol became more noticeable. which kind of caught me off guard. The mouthfeel was a little on the thin side compared to other ales that I've had and what I was expecting. The overall drinkability is okay, but, like I said, later in the beer, higher levels of alcohol become more noticeable in the taste and I feel like that really took more away from a beer that already seemed like it was lacking something.

Had this one last Friday, and it's possible they've changed the recipe, because I remember it being much better than this (the reviewers would agree with me, too). It poured a medium amber color, clear, with almost no head. Smell was almost non-existent, but a bit sour and a bit bready.

The taste was a cross between toasted bread and a dry earthiness, and it just didn't work. It did not have a solid enough malt backbone, nor hop profile. Without either one, it was mediocre at best. Mouthfeel was medium and crisp. It does go down smooth, but it's not something I'd have again. I remember this being better.

Poured a medium amber hue with a one finger foamy head. Decent retention and lacing.

The smell was of light malt.

The taste had a light malt backbone with a hint of oatmeal smoothness. Mild hop flavor.

The mouthfeel was light and dry.

A very unique and flavorful ale.

A - this beer arrives with a dark amber reddish borwn color, a lacy white head rings the meniscus but thats it, no other head upon arrival

S - it has a sweet fruity aroma, sweeter than i expected, and the fruitiness is hard to place, upon subsequent whiff's, i think its raspberries i smell

T - the sweet fruitiness is evident at the very front of each sip, quickly brushed aside by a hoppy bitterness and finished with a nice oatmeal hearty flavor

M - smooth and nice, well balanced sweet/bitter-ness

D - moderate, a little too sweet at times, otherwise very good

Manchester, CT.
Arrive looking deep amber, with absolutely no head. Not even a ring around the edge. Oily glass?
The aroma is nearly undetectable in the bar. I think I need a nasal upgrade. Mild malt with a little bit of sugary sweetness. Some oats, but not much.
Flavor is smooth and mild. Very little bitterness, although containing a rich sweetness for such a light bodied beer. Pretty tasty, and the oats impart an interesting sweetness that's not at all unpleasant. Carbonation was a little too intense for me. A little rough around the eges, but an interesting concoction.