Pail Ale
Black Bear Brewery

 

 

Bright amber with a thin blanket.

Smell is pear, corn, apple, and a sort of grape stink.

I taste a lager style beer first. That funky grape comes in, followed by a faint burnt rubber.

Tangy, thin, and pilsener-like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured on-tap and served in a tumbler pint, the beer is a crisp, clear, golden-copper coloring with a very thin, whispy, white film coating on the top. Fruity and floral nose, with a biscuity backbone and hoppy presence. Subtle nose, but inviting. Flavors are very smooth and balanced, with a tangy caramel backbone that transitions into a very floral, slightly bitter finish. Good hops presence of resiny and rich character joins midpalate. The beer is slick, and remains light on the tongue. Tangy, hopped aftertaste. Very smooth, balanced beer that is a little hop heavy for a pale, but I'm not complaining.

 

 

Bought a growler from Burby&Bates and poured into a 24oz glass.

A- Light orange brown. Cloudy look with a very nice 1/2 inch to inch head. Lacing trailed down the glass with every sip.

S- Orange smell and sweet hoppy smell.

T- Some orange and hops, but no sweetness as was expected from the smell. A little bit bitter and almost metallic.

M- Very smooth to drink. Leaves little residue and has medium carbonation. The after taste is a bit bitter.

D- A solid beer, but a little too bitter in the end to give a high score in this department. However I will definetly buy another.

Serving notes - cold, on tap, shaker glass. This place seems to prefer serving beers without head.
A - Floral hops fill the nose.
A - No head. Opaque, cloudy straw color.
M - Medium body with low to medium carbonation.
T - Floral hops from the start of the sip all the way to the aftertaste. Slight hop oiliness. Malt sweetness just present enough to prevent the hops from being too much.
D - Nice hoppy beer that manages to stop short of being out of balance. This is a good American pale ale.

This APA was a bright amber/orange color off the tap in Orono at the pub. The head was a beige finger's worth that left good lacing but the retention was only decent. The aroma was pleasant, citrus rind and some leafy hops over pale malt. The flavors were similar, orange rind, grapefruit and some herbal notes though the malt was not big enough to properly balance the hops profile. Tart and acidic but also crisp and refreshing. The mouthfeel was average, the carbonation lively and the body medium. One of the better beers they make.

22oz bottle received from deltatauhobbit an embarrassing amount of time back. Into my Guinness pint glass

A: Pours a clear orange with a massive head and tons of carbonation. There's a pretty solid network of lace as this disproportionately large head recedes.

S: Smells of citrus (cascade) hops with orange and fresh-cut pine. There's a sugary sweetness that makes me think "alcohol" for some reason. There's also a mildly vegetal aroma but all said and done, pretty solid

T: Starts off with a massive bitterness, a little too much IMO and mildly abrasive in nature. No real malt character to speak of, this is a strong display of bittering hops with a *little* bit of flavoring hops that have a citrus note to them. Finishes dry and bitter

M: Light, well carbonated and a pleasing dry finish

D: A chug-worthy nightcap, if that means anything

From a growler bought at Burby's.

Pours a clear pale yellow color with a very slight reddish tone, plenty of head and a good amount of patchy lacing.

Smell is weak, mostly malty, not much hop presence.

Taste starts out malty with a good amount of carbonation, surprisingly slick and buttery which makes it more enjoyable if it wasn't there.

this is from notes.

this beer pours a golden ale with about 1/2in head that subsides. the main aroma i get is a butter smell with hints of citrus. the flavor has a slight hop bitterness in the front with some bubble bum sweetness in the middle finishing with nut. while the descriptions might sound good this beer is unbalanced and i find a lettuce flavor through out which is very distracting to the overall taste. the mouth feel is ok, but not noteworthy.

overall i would not purchase this beer again. while it is not bad, there are much better representations of a APA from maine.

Black Bear- Pail Ale

Label has a Black Bear eating out of a metal "Pail"

A- Slightly cloudy orange with a small head. Quick disappation of the foam.
S- Big grain odor. Sunflower seeds, flour & wheat.
T- Again big grain flavors dominate here. Big doses of sunflower seeds, flour, spelt, flaxseed, oats, wheat, and a modest buttery malt backbone.
M- Dry with a chewy malt finish.

Overall- A unique flavor thats for sure. Not bad, I wouldn't mind sitting in a bar in Bangor (Orono) drinking pints of this.

On-tap at The Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine.

The bartender said it was his new favorite, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

This Pail Ale pours a peach color, kind of a funky red-yellow. Your mouth is greeted with low-key bittering hops and a medium body. This is followed by a very fruity mid, almost like a hard cider, with - is that hints of champagne? Weird. After the fruitiness has worn off, your mouth is left to savor a long and wonderful honey wheat finish, which sparkles with just a touch of fresh clean pine. This is the longest finish I've ever experienced in a pale ale.

This is definitely the most complex tasting pale ale I've had to date. Give it a try if you find it on tap, it's worth the experience.