Rust Belt
Sprague Farm & Brew Works

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours into your glass with a deep copper color with a generous amount of head. Strong pine and citrus scents are evident. The taste is pretty hop forward for a Amber ale in my thoughts. Hops are strong grapefruit and pine. Mouthfeel is pretty thick and this one is very easily drinkable. This by far has to be my favorite Sprague beer.

Gee, a lot of glowing reviews for this one but I found it to be quite simple and ordinary. Maybe I failed at having it after my IPA and the flavourful M.L.B.?

A-Dark copper with a thin, light tan head. Reduced to a thin cap and left spotty lace.

S-Light malt sweetness and a touch of spicy grapefruit. Nothing crazy here but decent.

T-Somewhat thick, mildly robust with a nice floral, leafy, aspect. Then....fades to nothing. I was totally let down with the micro second burst of interest. I even put M'eh in my notes as far as the taste was concerned.

M-The star of this beer with a medium body that seems more robust than it really is.

D-Again, maybe my selection of drinking order hurt this beer. I will have to give it another try during a future visit to see if this is true. I simply did not find this one overly complex or interesting.

My first beer that I ordered at this small brewery. The color was a deep red and had a decent hop character to the smell. The taste reminded me a little bit of Arrogant Bastard with it's grapefruit like hoppiness. Head retention was a bit off and only lasted a short while. The balance was pretty good but did tend to favor the hop end of things, not that I minded though. Overall this is a great beer from a great small brewery and can't wait to get back to drink this one again.

A smooth ale that has a nice hint of bitterness.
Has always had a nice amber head every time I have downed one.
Dark rust color- most of the time it is pretty opaque; in a good way for an ale.
Evidence of hops- but not enough to scare away the timid.
i would estimate that it is a heavy ale and that you need to mix a glass of water for every 2.5 beers.

Careful out at the farm or your friend might need to help you home
I swear there is more alcohol in these brews than is advertised and more than it seems like. Too much mixing and matching at Sprague's can ruin your bad reputation!

Pours a dark amber with a thin creme head. Flavor is hearty. Thick, meaty, floral, leafy, and what I expect an amber to be. Robust and complex. I like. I like much. Feel is thicker on the liquid body. Carbonation is lower but gives enough of a boost to the feel. This is a good amber. A very good amber. When I saw that the score for the beer after 2 reviews was an A+, I was really interested to see what I thought of this one. I was not disappointed. I'm lucky to be able to try this one. If you have a chance to do the same, take it.

Should be a top 10 amber when it has enough reviews if everyone gets the same beer I did. Soooo... How far is Venango from NYC?

Had this brew at the Venango Valley Inn, just a few miles down the road from the brewery. This one pours a cloudy copper color, with a creamy beige head that retained itself for a good while. Subtle combination of sweet malt in the nose, and a slight floral hop note as well. Taste is a very nice combination of caramel and toasted malt flavors, and a crisp floral hop punch that gives this beer a balance that is sensational. Very slippery on the palate, and VERY drinkable! Getting this beer so close to it's source probably helped, but in any case, this beer is stellar! Can't wait to get my growlers filled at the brewey the next time I'm in town!