Hammerhead Ale
McMenamins

Pours an honey amber with a half finger of head that settles to a thin cap with plenty of lacing. Faint aroma of citrus and lime with a trace of bread. Taste follows nose.

Look: Deep red – almost amber – and opaque with a frothy off-white head that erupts to the rim, holds for a minute, and slowly recedes, leaving sticky lacing behind
Aroma: Lemon-lime, floral notes, freshly baked bread, wafts of pink grapefruit, light caramel notes, fir needles, and Cara cara orange
Taste: Starts off with a little coniferous note and immediately joined by a rush of citrus fruit that mixes in. Limes and orange dominate but there is a little lemon and grapefruit as well. Rich, bready malt and light sweetness balance the hops and develop depth through the close
Mouthfeel: Full, fairly smooth, clean, medium-high carbonation, and a clean and decently soft finish
Overall: This is good stuff and a classic to boot. My first ever McMenamins beer and one I return to frequently if I’m out at one of their awesome venues as it’s an OG for pale ales in the PNW and still a tasty beer. Old school in both hop profile and pale ales of the psat that had plenty of actual malt presence. Nothing mind-blowing these days but just a tasty and well-made American Pale

on draft in a plastic cup, at their the Jerry's Ice House. Tiny little Grateful Dead themed drink spot. Cool music and vibe but this beer is just meh. a lot of crystal malt, some earthy hops. seems like a beer you'd get 20 years ago.

On-draught @ McMenamens White Eagle:

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE

Fresh cans courtesy of darthbaker.

 

 

 

Had this on 2029-05-27 in Portland, OR at Mcmenamins Edgefiekd on tap.

Slightly fruity and beady with some pine and mild bitterness. Cloudy with little head. Decent enough.

 

 

 

 

I think I first tried Hammerhead ale back in the early 90's, on my first ever trip to up to Oregon from California. Back then, it was billed as a seasonal IPA, and it seemed like most of the McM pubs were out of it when I first visited Oregon. Back then, it was a big deal to find Hammerhead on tap, and it goes without saying that there were no bottles or cans of HH. I don't think they did growler fills of it, and I'm not positive, but I don't think you could get jar fill of it to bring back to your room at Edgefield.

My how times have changed.

From a can left by my wife's cousin during a recent visit. The beer pours a copper amber color with fairly decent head retention and lacing. On the nose there's some noticeable dry citrus, but what you really notice is the considerable sweet malt aroma. The flavor profile replicates the nose, with the sweetness and (relatively) low abv. reminding me more of an English pale ale or ESB, as opposed to an ale crafted in the NW. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, but the beer finishes well (fairly clean with a good, lightly bitter finish), and alcohol is barely an after thought. So drinkability is pretty high.

It's become quite fashionable to denigrate the McMenamin beers in the NW, and while most are fairly lackluster, made for the masses ales, Hammerhead remains a tasty, easy to appreciate and enjoy ale. Probably won't be running down to the nearest McM outpost to stock up on a case, but I'm glad my wife's cousin left this behind so I could take a trip down memory lane. Cheers!

Hazy amber with one finger of short duration head that leaves rings of lace.
Smell is bready malt with a slight hint of floral hops.
Taste is bread crust malt with a modest amount hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel is light to medium with alright carbonation. The finish lightly dry and mildly bitter.
Overall a journeyman Pale Ale. Worth having with a meal.

 

 

 

As the lovely waitress brought the glass, and i saw that the color was rather opaque, i felt a little fear, here i was stuck again with one of these self-boasting craft ales with weird raw tastes - that aren't made for a plain beer guy like me. Yet, when the surface of the liquid approached my nostrils, nothing but good intentions were conveyed, and after a few sips, i was able to discover that it was a very enjoyable beer, refreshing, have an enough amount of taste, pleasant to the tongue's olfactive elements, and leaves no annoying aftertaste. I liked it. And it went along good food too, and a good mood in the mcmenamins in Olympia WA downtown.