Bulldog Amber Ale
Half Pints Brewing Company

 

From my notes from my trip to Winnipeg. Had this one at an airport bar.

Appearance: One finger of head that offered good retention, some minor lacing and an nice amber body the boasts steady carbonation.

Smell: Ample toffee malt backed by a mixture of almonds and walnuts with earthy and floral hops in the background. Benefited from warming but showed good potency before it happened.

Taste: Starts with Toffee malt restrained by a ground nut presents that builds and slowly takes over the beer until a splash of earthy hops cleans things up. Well balanced, as nothing tries to steal the show here.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is a great foamy presence that helps out the entire beer, and as stated before the transitioning is slow, methodical and well done. The aftertaste is a nice blend of all four flavours with the only detriment is there is a bitterness that has a slight edge here.

Drinkability: Refreshing, even with it's medium body but was a bit gassy. Exceptionally smooth ride though, and that bitter touch in the aftertaste doesn't do enough to stop it from being an all night drinker.

Final Thoughts: A great "Welcome to fall" drinker which this was timed perfectly for, as you start to move onto the heavier stuff from the lighter offerings of summer. The thing that got me was the ground nut taste, and I make that distinction as it reminded me of my Omah and when she would grind walnuts and sugar to put on crepes and I foolishly stole a taste of the nuts, not realising the sugar was absent. Regardless, I would certainly recommend this well done Amber.

 

Poured from a bottle. No bottle date could be found. Copper color with a quickly settling head. Sticky lacing is left down the glass. Not getting much of an aroma. I get caramel and some grassy hops. Nice mild, clean flavor. Just enough caramel malt to give flavor but not too much to make it taste artificial. Very little hop character. Light body and nicely carbonated. A very approachable beer but also not very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From a bottle, pours a clear copper color with a wispy thin ring of white head.

The smell is mostly malt, caramel, a little toffee, but mostly buttered popcorn. The flavor is light floral and earthy hops, more caramel, a little toast, butterscotch. It is a bit syrupy and leaves a very thick coating aftertaste.

Look, amber ales are rarely excellent, but when you miss, it is easy to miss bad.

 

 

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a Carlsberg tulip glass.

A real nice clear copper light orange body, real thin carbonation with a large soapy off white to egg tanned head. Forms four fingers tall with some soapy retention and minimal lacing.

Real large notes of caramel sticky quality almost toffee like doppelbock character. Good toasty brown ale like notes and almost biscuity aromas. Bouquet is a bit of a one hit dominant nose though.

Palate is fairly solid. Caramel notes are more subdued compared to the nose, but a light toast and caramel in the mid palate. Not much aftertaste, and a little watery as well. Some mild wet sensations but the caramel notes manage to just dominate and almost burst. Muted hop quality and indistinct, but some muted bitterness letting the malts shine a bit.

Overall a pretty easy drinking flavorful amber its nose is a bit of a one note wonder but sings loudly.

 

 

Serving glass: Poured from tap into pint glass.

Appearance: Rich amber with decent beige head.

Smell: Spicy and fruity, almost reminiscent of Belgian yeast. Lots of caramel.

Taste: Caramel, some nuttiness. Quite fruity and spicy - once again, a little Belgian mixed in with this otherwise English Ale.

Feel: Moderate carbonation with a semi-dry finish. A little thin.

Overall: Nicely balanced Amber.