Abbey Single
Southampton Publick House

Abbey SingleAbbey Single
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From:
Southampton Publick House
 
New York, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.2 | pDev: 7.38%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
22
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 30, 2014
Added:
Feb 13, 2003
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ommegangpbr:
Photo of ommegangpbr
Reviewed by ommegangpbr from New York

4.63/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
On tap at the Blind Tiger in Manhattan.
Pours into the tulip glass with amazing clarity. Looking through the glass leaves one with a perfect, golden upside down reflection of the world.
Scents are clean, yeasty and Belgian with some grassy notes.
Flavors are right up my alley. Fresh, well brewed pilsner bite and tartness with with a lingering and pleasing edge of Belgian yeasty goodness. Made me think of a cross between Victory's Prima Pils and Ommegang's Hennepin. The light sweetness with the grassy hop character are really enjoyable to me.
Drinability on this guy is perhaps its most impressive feature. At 4.5% I could see myself guzzling this stuff by the bucket if given the opportunity.
Light and flavorful. Hope I find this again soon.
Feb 21, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.36 by stomioka from New Jersey

Aug 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by bacher468 from Pennsylvania

Jul 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gww1864 from New Jersey

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by xenjoiii from New York

Sep 04, 2012
Photo of tpd975
Reviewed by tpd975 from Florida

3.63/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Ratebeer Winter Gathering.

A: Pours a light clear golden yellow with a small white head. No real retention or lace noted.

S: Aromas of light sweet fruit, yeast, with hints of bread.

T: Yeasty and fruity in a nice way. Hints of doughy bread, light baking spices, and white pepper.

M: On the lighter side of medium, smooth

D: Good, a nice little beer.
May 27, 2010
Photo of weeare138
Reviewed by weeare138 from Pennsylvania

4.02/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Appears a hazy light gold with steady streams of lacing and a 1 finger white cap that quickly fizzles out. Scattered bits of lacing are left around the glass. Mild bits of yeast sit at the bottom.
Smell is of tart lemon, wheat, grains of paradise, mild caramel, and sourdough bread.
Taste is of the aromas with a deliciously drinkable Belgian yeast and tiny funk.
Mouthfeel is zesty, carbonated, and prickly with a sweet tart, semi-dry finish.
Jan 17, 2010
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

4.32/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Big thanks to gory4d for somehow coming up with this rarity. Served in my Westvleteren chalice. Bomber of the December '08 release.

A - Poured with a big quick-dissolving off-white that dissipated to a hazy film and solid ring. Not much in the way of lacing. Hazy blonde color with peach and straw highlights - lots of bubble streams racing upwards to the top of the glass.

S - Definitely authentic Belgian smell with lemony citrus, bubblegum, summer fruits (peach, banana, pear), and some herbaceous and medicinal yeasty character. Smells just as good if not better than the brews of this style that I had in Belgium. Some nice crackery malt character with hints of honey.

T - The taste is a slight step down in that the complexity has been smoothed out. There's also a slight metallic note in the finish that suggest that this brew might be nearing the end of its useful lifespan (to be fair, the bottle says "Not Intended for Aging!"). Still there's some nice lemon and bread flavors to this with some faint honey and fruit flavors in the periphery.

M - It's a light body, with a good amount of carbonation that is style appropriate and very refreshing. There's some residual stickiness That being said, this isn't my favorite combination of textural elements.

D - It's a table beer - so drinkability is a big element of this brew. The 11oz went down super quick and it'd be awesome to have more of this for a long day of brews. Not sure why Southampton has these super-limited session beer bottlings. If you like Westy blonde you will dig this.
Oct 22, 2009
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.12/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with a fluffy head; nice retention and lacing

Smell: Fruity, with pears and bananas, along with tart lemon underneath

Taste: Fruits, up the pears and bananas up front, and a growing lemon tartness by mid-palate along with subtle undertones of butterscotch; after the swallow, the peppery yeast elements accelerate the profile a notch

Mouthfeel: Medium body with spritzy carbonation

Drinkability: My bottle had a bit too much age on it but this was still clearly a fine brew
Aug 14, 2009
Photo of WesWes
Reviewed by WesWes from New York

4.22/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
The beer pours a hazy pale gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great! It has a nice pale malt scent along with a dry, tart fruit scent. It has a really nice, fruity aroma. The taste is good. It has an easy drinking pilsner malt flavor with loads of fruity yeast esters. It's tart and refreshing. The mouthfeel is good also. It is a low bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a damn fine beer. It's simplistic, yet well brewed and easily drinkable.
Jun 23, 2009
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

4.65/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottled December 2008; Sampled March 2009
This seems to be pretty well carbonated as a reasonable pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass still produces four-fingers of pale, just off-white colored head that leaves quite a bit of lacing on the sides of my glass as it slowly recedes. The beer is a hazy, orangish straw color that shows more of the same, just brighter when held up to the light. The aroma is nice and rustic; a mix of bread like yeast notes, a touch of lemon zest, fresh grain aromatics, young ginger notes, some light herbal hops (more like a mix of wild flower notes with some herbal weed'ish notes). I really like the whole grain note that this beer has, it mixes with the yeast driven notes quite well and makes the aroma seem nourishing some how.

Light bodied and effervescent as it rolls across the tongue, this beer is quite dry and has a solid lightly herbal hop note as well as a touch of lemon zest character. The solid grain character is also in the flavor with a grassy grain character, a hearty cracker note and yeasty character that accentuates a fresh bread like character. This has a fair amount of hop character to it, which is definitely nice in a lighter beer like this; it has a solid bitterness that provides a crisp bite in the finish along with a peppery carbonic bite. While quite dry tasting overall the citrus hop notes accentuate a perceived sweetness in the middle and end of a sip. This seems to accentuate a note that reminds me a bit of pickled ginger, there is also an earthy white pepper note, some savory herbal notes (not quite sage or savory, but something). I really like how light bodied this is, it is not watery though as it does have some texture to it; this is a beer meant to quaff a couple liters of over a hot, sweltering summer afternoon.

Allowing the beer to warm up from its serving temperature of 50ºF / 10ºC really boost the complexity and flavor volume; this is quite the hearty beer for being so low in alcohol. I just love beers like this. Light, low alcohol, and Belgian inspired, these get me every time. This particular beer has a nice lush body to it compared to some of the others in a similar vein. This is a beer I would be happy to have lots and lots of on hand, it is just a really good libation to have a full glass of. Too soon my 22oz bottle of this beer is long gone, if I had another couple of these I would easily continue to consume these for the rest of the evening.
May 03, 2009
Photo of gford217
Reviewed by gford217 from Georgia

4.13/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bomber courtesy of beerbill poured into a tulip.

Pours a bright cloudy golden yellow with a big creamy white head that shows great staying power and leaves spotty lacing.

The aroma is mainly dry bready malts and some German hops that lend a grassy smell to things. There is a hint of light fruits in the nose, but it's really dominated by the light toasted malts.

The taste takes things in a bit different direction as the first sip brings a slightly tart lemon flavor that comes in after the bready malts make their appearance. The finish has a bit of hop bitterness and some tartness from the lemon lingering as well.

The mouthfeel is super crisp and very dry with tons of carbonation and, in a word, refreshing.

This is an excellent session ale from Southampton with an interesting lemony twist in the flavor that makes it a little bit unique. Extremely drinkable.
Apr 25, 2009
Photo of Bitterbill
Reviewed by Bitterbill from Wyoming

4.55/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
I got this bottle in a trade with Nutbrown. Thanks Alan!

Bottled Dec 2008.

Near room temp, it pours a hazy straw gold with a huge head of foam.

The smell is all yeasty and spicy and earthy
with big notes of pepper and some lemon zest.

The taste lemon zest starts things off nicely with a nice tartness. The pepper isn't as big in the taste as the nose and I like that. Nice yeasty flavour with an earthy malt backbone and some candy sugar sweetness and there's some grassy notes as well, man I'm loving how all the flavours come together here.

Second pour and no huge head of foam to deal with this time and the liquid becomes more cloudy and look at all that bubbly action going on. Wow. It doesn't feel as carbonated as it looks. Great head retention here and the lacing is first class.

The mouthfeel is light and the carbonation is a smidgeon under medium. It finishes with a nice lemon flavour kick. Delicious.

Drinkability? Power packed with flavour but the abv is unreal for such a tasty puppy. I could drink a *lot* of this! Another winner from the gang at Southampton!!
Apr 09, 2009
Photo of gory4d
Reviewed by gory4d from Texas

4.32/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to shaebs99 for picking up a this and a few other bottles in Southampton last weekend.

Pours a cloudy pale orange with a thin white head. Some lacing. The smell is straw, funk, and mild citrus. The taste is clover, grain, faint tropical fruit, with a bitter, funky finish. The carbonation is mild but full, giving some heft to the medium body. This should be in six-packs: I'd drink it all the time.
Feb 21, 2009
Photo of Nickls
Reviewed by Nickls from District of Columbia

4.13/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
(From notes)

A - Poured with a nice finger of frothy/foamy white head. Great lacing for the style. Deep golden/yellow color

S - Touch of hop bitterness, light yeasty sourness, some hay like aromas

T - Touch of sweet malt, yeasty and light bake bread flavor. Good bit of hop (earthier) bitterness in the finish

M - Thinner MF with nice snappy carbonation. Dry, dry finish

D - Hugely drinkable and refreshing. Such a low abv, but a ton of great flavors. Dry finish and refreshing yeastiness really makes this easy to quaff. Outstanding here

Overall, really great brew and although nothing overly complex, still a well packaged beer. Very good stuff, and would be great in the warmer months.
Feb 15, 2009
Photo of JohnQVegas
Reviewed by JohnQVegas from Tennessee

4.37/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours crystal-clear yellow-gold with a healthy, creamy white head. Not a whole lot of visible effervescence.

Nose is nice and yeasty, bit of banana and some tropical fruit.

Grainy, cereal-like malt note up front, soft. A nice, grassy hop presence lends a crisp dryness - beautifully balanced and drinkable. Some tangy yeast comes out as well. Finish is lightly bitter, yeasty. Very nice.

Mouthfeel is light bodied, crisp, course-bubbled carbonation.
Feb 05, 2009
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz bottle shared courtesy of dickinsonbeer.

Poured a medium and cloudy yellow color with a small sized white head. Aromas of yeast, citrus, lighter spices, and bready. Tastes of breadiness, citrus, a little fruity (bananas), and spices.Very drinkable and would make a great session beer.
Jan 30, 2009
Photo of LilBeerDoctor
Reviewed by LilBeerDoctor from New York

4.2/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle. Pours a slightly cloudy gold with a thick white head. Aroma of skunk, yeast, light fruits. Flavor is yeasty with sweetness in the finish. Some tart lemon notes, citrus, and grapefruit really come into play as the beer warms. Very crisp and dry. Light and spritzy with a decent amount of carbonation. Very nice and drinkable, lots of flavor too.
8/4/9/4/16 (4.1/5)
Jan 11, 2009
Photo of goodbyeohio
Reviewed by goodbyeohio from Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
64oz courtesy of half time.. $16.

very confused about glassware for this one.. reviews tout it as the ultimate session beer, but belgian pale has me leaning towards a royal chalice of some sort.

i opt for one of the weirder, super-widemouthed tumbler type glasses in my collection. holds a decent amount but allows for wafting of scents. nice.

it's a light yellow color- although it's solid and consistent in its hue. somewhat hazy but primarily clear, bubbles are clearly visible maneuvering leisurely through the sunrise-tinged mass of beer. the beer is crowned with a thin, seductive creamy melange of random air pockets and webby lace. aroma bears a medium yeast character, complimenting nicely the honey and lemon rind in the nose. bready but not overly so.

first thing i notice here is a strange ratio of taste depth/complexity to body.. this could go down like water, however the tart, grassy flavor of the beer prohibits this. big sips are met with a mind-numbing tart shock before the aftertaste mellows into freshness. dumped into a chalice, i continue.

creamy malt flavor begins like cheerios in lemonade.. bready and tart with raw, milled grain up front and the perfect buttery phenolic interspersed between taste sensations. peach pit bitterness caps the initial sip and raw citrus membranes enhance the malts. this single ends with a pure, fresh aftertaste of delicate euro hopping. amazingly clean and complex for something so light.

puts petit orval to shame, unfortunately, and chalks up another victory for southampton. overall, this might be the brewery with my personal highest beer success ratio. well done, philly!
Mar 21, 2006
Photo of jakester
Reviewed by jakester from Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I got this bomber from a friend of mine who was at the SPH last weekend. What a gal! I drank this from a Kasteel glass.

Pours a pretty but hazy goldish/orange with a one finger head of white bubbles. Looks highly effervescent. After a few minutes the head drops to islands and a ring, but there are splotches of lacing throughout.

Really great funky Belgian barnyard-type smells. Crisp, citrusy, grassy, yeasty candi sugar in there also. Smells like a winner.

Whoa! Tart, yeasty, fruity, effervescent as hell, horsey, lemony, you-name-it-y. There is a lot going on in here. Fermenting hay, mown grass. Not really gueuze-like, but you can get the idea with this. Very nice beer. Aftertaste is a long, bubbly sour fruit. Delicious.

Mouthfeel is effervescent, tart, crisp, just slightly sweet. Makes your mouth feel full from the carbonation. Great burps! Finish is crisp and dry.

Bring it on! I would love to have this all day. It would take all day to describe what is going on in here. A truly wonderful expression of the style. And at 4.5%, a great session beer.
Aug 08, 2005
Abbey Single from Southampton Publick House
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 22 ratings