Starr Hill Pale Ale
Starr Hill Brewery

Starr Hill Pale AleStarr Hill Pale Ale
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From:
Starr Hill Brewery
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
English Pale Ale
ABV:
6.08%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 12.97%
Reviews:
70
Ratings:
85
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 20, 2014
Added:
Jul 04, 2002
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  6
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bubbaoyster:
Photo of bubbaoyster
Reviewed by bubbaoyster from Virginia

5/5  rDev +35.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I flat love this beer!

Beautiful marriage of the hop and malt. A pleasant grain flavor gives way to a blending of hop notes and just the slightest hint of alcohol in the finish.

Beautiful color and head and plenty of hop at the end. The standard for what a great American IPA can be!
Jul 29, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaredtp from Tennessee

Sep 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by dillida from Pennsylvania

Jul 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by ramblinwreck101 from Georgia

Mar 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by bcsbeer from Florida

Mar 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaymo18 from Virginia

Feb 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by shoretaxi from New Jersey

Jan 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by swfeidt from Pennsylvania

Jul 28, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by dgherm from Pennsylvania

Jul 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by TheMarkE from California

Jan 11, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by avisong from Virginia

May 08, 2012
 
 
Rated: 3 by AndrewMichael from Virginia

Jan 31, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by Windigo from Virginia

Nov 28, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by cfinch2 from Virginia

Nov 21, 2011
Photo of output01x
Reviewed by output01x from Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to Dan3279 for this trade.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle (Best Before May 2011) into a pint glass.

A moderate pour yields a 2-finger off-white fluffy head that slowly recedes after a few minutes to a thick coating. The body is a hazy honey amber color with rogue carbonation bubbles racing toward the surface from everywhere. Great lacing clings to the sides of the glass throughout consumption.

Grassy hops with notes of citrus create an enjoyable nose. Grapefruit, orange peel, and honey can all be found deep within the bouqet of smells. While the aromas are certainly pleasing and inviting, they unfortunately lack strength.

Floral, spicy hops are nicely balanced by sweet, bready malts. An odd grassy acidity finishes each sip as an aftertaste.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, this beer is may be a little thick for the style, but the carbonation really helps to move this beer along. It has great drinkability that makes this beer a decent thirst-quencher.
May 21, 2011
Photo of Reaper16
Reviewed by Reaper16 from Alabama

2.88/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12oz. bottle served into a Sierra Nevada nucleated pint glass
Thanks to my friend Colin for bringing down a sixer of this beer!

Pours a conventional, SAC Amber color. It was pretty clear until the little bit of yeast sediment poured out, leaving a very slight haze. One finger of eggshell head quickly dissipates to a thin ring, but it leaves behind some well-structured walls of lacing. All in all, this pale ale from Starr Hill looks line your run-of-the-mill pale.

Starr Hill Pale Ale has a pretty tight nose. Some distant grains and a nervous kiss of caramel. There's a small orange zing to the hops but mostly the lupulin comes across as grass clippings. A trace amount of diacetyl comes through. It's a little below-average, frankly. Though it'd be good for an English IPA.

The taste follows the nose. It's pretty balanced, but in the way that is kind of boring. The hops are sort of lemony, with a component that's like grapefruit that has sat out on the kitchen table for 12 hours. The finish is sort of soapy, like a pine-scented bar of Dial. the malt is lightly bread, very lightly caramelly, and a bit buttery. There's nothing wrong with the flavor profile, it's just not very lively.

Starr Hill Pale is on the lighter side of medium-bodied. Appropriate carbonation. Decent ABV%. Balanced flavor profile. Sound good right? Not quite. It sounds average. This is about the most average pale ale I've ever had. Not that that is a bad thing. I would never scoff at this beer. But I don't see myself buying it if it were available in my area. This would make a very good introductory craft beer for friends, or a good general-purpose party beer.
Mar 09, 2011
Photo of allrizz
Reviewed by allrizz from Virginia

4.26/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Its appearance was a light yellow and clear.

It poured leaving a nice head about two fingers thick and dissipated slowly.

It had a mild aroma of hops.

It tasted hoppy, not overpowering yet dominate, with a hint of fruitiness.

It left a nice aftertaste and went down smooth.

I rank this beer amongst one of my favorites and will definitely be drinking more of it.
Jan 02, 2011
Photo of StoneTSR
Reviewed by StoneTSR from Colorado

4.06/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
APPEARANCE: Poured from a 12oz. Bottle into a standard pint glass. Color was a near-brilliant, ever-so-slightly hazy orange with a nice, neat and evenly distributed head filled with thousands of bubbles of exactly the same size. The head dissipated very quickly, but/and the lacing... Bottle is good looking, but Starr Hill was not able to outdo its own Northern Lights IPA label with this one.

SMELL: Earthy and hoppy in the nose. Not much there in terms of smell.

TASTE: After trying Starr Hill's Amber and the Northern Lights IPA I can clearly say this is my favorite from the brewery so far. Very nicely balanced pale ale. Enough malty sweetness to cut an otherwise hoppy beer so that although it remains interesting to the palate it is, by no means overwhelming.

MOUTHFEEL: Very refreshing. Crisp and sparkly.

OVERALL: I could see myself drinking a lot of this beer if I lived in Virginia. Very drinkable, very thirst quenching. This is the type of beer I crave after a long shift of bartending. Reminds me a bit of Stone's Pale Ale. Well done Starr Hill.
Nov 25, 2010
Starr Hill Pale Ale from Starr Hill Brewery
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 85 ratings