Tangerine Swirl
Pennsylvania Brewing Company

 

 

I am generally not a fan of citrus brewed into my beer. Usually, I find the the flavor too pronounced. I'm not really a fan of tangerine either. But, I received this brew as a gift, and it was a hot day. And, well, I like it. It's a well-crafted beer, unfiltered, and the tangerine is light and gives some brightness, and seems to pull down the sweet malt. No heavy aftertaste, crisp. This is a very nice beer, particularly on a hot day, and can take the place of the other beach beers very easily. I think it's probably underappreciated.

Might as well get Bud Light Orange. It's just about the same thing, only I'd imagine it's cheaper.

 

$ 2.66 (Including tax)/12 single bottle ($ 0.222/oz) at The House of Brews, Robinson Township, PA.
Undated shelf bottle stored at 42 degrees for six days then served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. There are two different markings on the bottle – 1037 stamped on the label and a partially legible row of numbers and some letters at the base of the bottle: best guess is 31011?B10410.
Aroma – weak malt, no tangerine.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.8 cm, aggressive pour), white, dense, good retention, eventually diminishing to an irregular five to seven mm ring fed by effervescence and a creamy complete layer with a few small rocks.
Lacing – poor. A few small irregular islands of tiny bubbles.
Body – light yellow, nearly clear, effervescent.
Flavor – Not much. Initially cold, the flavor is that of a slightly bitter malt. As the glass warms, just a slight hint of citrus appears. The bitterness has faded, leaving a little sweetness on the tongue. The aftertaste, however, allows a return of the previous bitterness, albeit faint. No distinct hops flavor except possibly the citrus, absolutely no vanilla, no alcohol.
Palate – medium, watery, soft carbonation.

Too bad there is virtually no lacing – otherwise, the appearance of this brew would be good to excellent. If it hadn’t been sitting on a shelf at room temperature for god knows how long, perhaps the flavor would have been more tangerine-like.

Appearance 3.75, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 3.5, Palate 4, Overall 3.5.

 

Pours a hazy orange color into a typical pint, thin off white head and plenty of carbonation. Smell is very faint. Initial taste reminds me of an orange cream sickle when I was a kid then the brew flavor kicks in with a crisp clean finish, overall I like this brew and hope to find more

 

I figured that as long as I am in the process of eradicating the dreaded Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody and I just finished two other Penn Brewery beers, this might be a good time to knock this one out, also.

From the bottle: "Penn Brewery 1986 [-] 2016 30th Anniversary"'; "Penn Tangerine Swirl is an effervescent, refreshing ale made with real tangerine and Madagascar vanilla beans blended with citrusy American hops. Enjoy its bright, sunny flavor!"

After Pop!ping the cap, I briefly considered a heavy-handed pour, but then I realized that the hour is late & I do not want to have to deal with a potential mess. It was with this in mind that I performed a gentle pour, instead. An in-glass swirl raised a brief finger of fizzy, foamy, bone-white head that was determined to fall back to wisps. Color was Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was both orange-citrusy and vanilla-sweet. I immediately thought of a Dreamsicle/Creamsicle from when I was a kid! Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but no great shakes, either. The taste was a bit more citrusy and bitter than I would have liked since although I could taste the vanilla, it was getting overwhelmed. Even so, it was still evocative of those summer evenings as a kid, chasing down the ice cream cart as it passed through the neighborhood. The only time I ever passed up a Dreamsicle/Creamsicle was during the summer of 1976, when Pennsupreme came out with their Bicentennial line of treats, including the Boston Tea Party popsicle, made with frozen iced tea! OMFG. I think that I was the only one who liked them and they were gone the next year, but as usual, I digress. It really strikes me that vanilla was a delicate flavor to put up against the unrelenting tangerine in this case. The more of it that I drank, the less I could taste the vanilla. Finish was dry, citrusy and definitely tangerine, but the vanilla seemed to have gone to ground. Sigh.

 

 

 

Slight bitter finish with a mild tangerine / orange flavor, I thought I would like this offering from Penn more than I did. Solid cream ale by most measurements, just wished it spoke to me more. Would buy again without any hesitation.

Many many years ago, the first time I officially dove into craft beer. My wife had done a six month "Beer of the Minth" club...this brewery was the first sent with Yards Brewing beers, I received some of the same feeling as I had with the original two Styles I had in the past, ok...nothing special

 

 

Looks of bright yellow orange clear with a 1/2 inch of frothy head. Smells of fresh squeeze tangerine, some vanilla cream and fruit zest. Taste is good sweet cream ale vanilla mixed with tangerine like fruitiness and a slight toasted malt from the Munich wheat.

Overall sweet and creamy but drink smooth like a fruit beer should with a mild oktoberfest like finish. Quite good!