Sonar
Spilker Ales

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From:
Spilker Ales
 
Nebraska, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.98 | pDev: 13.32%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 17, 2017
Added:
Dec 26, 2014
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  2
Sonar’s innovative and new hop varieties emit waves of aroma to ping your nose and excite your buds. To keep things interesting, Spilker Ales uses a completely different array of mind-bending hops every time Sonar is brewed. The flavor and aroma stay fresh and you get to add a little adventure to your life. Grab a pull of Sonar and experience “the aroma adventure.”
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Ratings by bros:

  None found.

 
Rated: 3.9 by Tbulling from Nebraska

Jun 17, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of Jimbob-gbr
Reviewed by Jimbob-gbr from Nebraska

4.17/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Drank as part of a local flight. Amber in color with good head. Really good lacing on glass. Smelled like a typical earthy belgian ale. Taste was good balance between malt, spice and hops. It was the best of the beers on the flight. I like belgian beers and look forward to drinking again
Apr 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.18 by SweetChicken from Massachusetts

Jan 31, 2016
Photo of BeerWithMike
Reviewed by BeerWithMike from Nebraska

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Sampling right now on 9/30/15. Comes in a single 22 ounce bottle for around $6.49 with a painted-on label. Bought today at the local Hy-Vee. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a .5L "AYINGER" handled glass-stein.

Brew pours a clear darker brown in color with close to a 1-finger foamy white head. Some spotty lacing was seen when sipped. Aroma is of yeast, dark fruits and brown sugar. More going on with the taste as there is some light floral hops, caramel malts with maybe a light hint of orange zest (?) also in the mix. Very surprised as I usually not a big fan of this style of brew for the most part. Very smooth and goes down very easy. First time I tried a brew from this brewery and I really enjoyed it. Lighter side of medium-bodied with good carbonation.
Sep 30, 2015
Photo of OmahaKF
Reviewed by OmahaKF from Nebraska

3.22/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
L15 batch. Smell is typical Belgian yeast (candied fruit) and sweet malt with a hint of floral aroma. Taste is primarily fruity esters with a slightly soapy flavor. I don't get a lot of the citrus hop I was expecting, and the finish is somewhat thin. I prefer Hopluia, but I like the idea of different hop combinations in every batch and would be interested in trying a different batch in the future.
Aug 20, 2015
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.52/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Better spilker than I have had before. Ok drinkability. Different hop profile than I have seen(was marketed as a hoppy beer). Its a passable ok pale, maybe there is a tad of yeast. Americo's bomber.
Aug 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.87 by RDW from Nebraska

Aug 15, 2015
Photo of JEdstrom
Reviewed by JEdstrom from Nebraska

5/5  rDev +25.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This beer seem to me to be more of a Pale Ale than an IPA. It's a great beer either way. It's an amber color. Smell is sweet and a little pine. Tastes is sweet and slightly hoppy. It is very very drinkable.
Jul 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.26 by DaveHack from Pennsylvania

Jul 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.54 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Jul 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.59 by acurtis from New Jersey

Jul 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.36 by Bear1964 from Nebraska

Jul 08, 2015
 
Rated: 3.96 by Chucker17 from South Dakota

Jun 26, 2015
Photo of Ristaccia
Rated by Ristaccia from Nebraska

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Batch L15: 3.75 Overall
Batch D40: 3.75/4.0 Overall
May 31, 2015
Photo of eDLoNNiE
Reviewed by eDLoNNiE from Nebraska

4.96/5  rDev +24.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
I stopped by the brewery & was lucky enough to try two different versions of Sonar. Both versions poured an amber color, with a good head. Where these beers distanced themselves from the competition, was the management of the hop combinations, paired with the malt background. We've all had "hop bomb" beers which initially impressed us with their audacious assaults. I look at beers which feature hops like jazz bands; if you don't have a good rhythm section (malt & yeast), you are doomed. Where both of these versions shined, was their complex flavor profiles. The first one started out with an earthy, almost tea-like flavor & then a strong, crisp citrus finish. The second one started out fruity (melon) & then finished very piney. These are beers that I will not tire of.
Jan 04, 2015
Sonar from Spilker Ales
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 15 ratings