Dead Horse Amber Ale
Moab Brewery

 

had this on tap at a detroit style pizza spot outside of salt lake, and its good, different as ambers go, like real hoppy, almost red ipa, a little old school in an appealing way, way more robustly flavored and less generic than anticipated, and as such a real nice drinker, especially with the pizza, crisping even with the bitterness. copper colored, a tad lighter than the style generally looks to me, average white head from the faucet. fresh in the nose, toasty but not too sweet on the malt side, piney and botanical and even kind of gin-like on the hops, balanced but bold, higher alpha and punchy, i like the malt depth without it getting into that caramelized range too much, a hint of graham cracker here as well. the flavor is great, hoppy early but not too intense to be drinkable, resinous, weedy a little bit, fresh, lightly nutty from the grain, a subtle honey note too, hearty without being heavy which is hard to do, and its rad how they pack so much character into a beer thats so low in alcohol, certainly getting more into this pint than a lot of other utah brewers operating under the same restrictions. good enough carbonation, a little oily hop linger, lots of personality for something just called an amber, perhaps even a subtle little yeast note, and for me this one is pretty underrated overall...

draught
Thin white head. Medium golden tinged orange appearance. Somewhat restrained, medium lightly toasted caramel malt, for the aroma. Slight bite of wood, with an herbal hop note, and light amount of medium toasted malt, for the taste.

 

 

 

 

This ale somewhat misses the mark for me. Despite its classification as an amber, it's surprisingly light-bodied and lacks the richness I typically seek in this category. While I'm a fan of amber ales, this offering falls short of delivering the robust flavors and fullness that make ambers my go-to choice. The experience is underwhelming; it feels like the beer's potential for complexity and depth got lost somewhere in the brewing process. It's not a brew I'd reach for when craving a satisfying amber ale experience. The one I have is 5% ABV, not 4% as noted here. (updated Utah liquor laws) 5% is still too light for an Ale in my opinion.

One of the two Mild styles I can find in Utah and one I fairly enjoy

16oz can, purchased at the grocer for $8.99/4pk

Poured at fridge temp into a can-esque glass

Pours a clean copper/rusty color with a bright white head

Heavy malt, followed by rich barley and some caramel

Fairly bitter (as per the style) and quite malty as well. Caramel begins to shine as it warms up

Creamy, bit moderate to higher on the carbo than I'd expect.

Overall I certainly have a bias because of the style and my limited access to it, but as advertised this beer really does pair well with food. My favorite time is Pie N Beer Day (Utah Pioneer Day holiday) because it pairs very fine with a steak or beer pie.

Ambers are not my favorite, this one came from BIL, and billed as one of the best he’s had. Upon closer inspection, this is an English Mild?! It has a nice pronounced bitterness, and finishes strong on the malt, with a bit of astringency that could be dialed back a tad. overall pretty enjoyable!

 

From a variety pack during our Utah RV trip.

Had from a fellow traveler's growler at the air BnB

On the pour into a tiny skinny glass that was available at the BnB, a solid 1.5 fingers of just barely off white sticky but attractive looking foam on top of a relatively light golden amber verging on brass. Some lacing was left. Slight chill haze.

Aroma is nutty roasted barley and a caramel sweetness slight hop bite in the back. Comes off as quite toasty. I like a toasty amber. Compared to flavor aroma is a bit light.

The flavor is a full blown malt bomb. Sweet caramel malts mixed with a toasty nutty biscuit malt are right up front with a noticeable traditional bitterness from hops in the back. Throughout an almost English ale vibe is present giving even more full flavor, and boosting the sweetness of the malt making this very full flavored especially for the color.

Feel wasn't all that memorable, it wasn't bad, but nothing stood out. There was a slight dryness leading into a full bodied long malty finish. Definitely an armchair beer, but it has some lawnmower properties. (Armchair to Lawnmower is the beer feel spectrum now)

Overall this was a very nice amber ale with the malt character I am looking for in something called an amber. At the same time, despite the sweetness, it is balanced nicely to prevent it from being cloying. Very nice and I'm excited to try the hefeweizen.

 

(shaker pint pour at the brewery on 13 Sep at 8:15p... review copied from notes taken on my phone, assessment made with the Breckenridge Amber I had earlier in the day in mind...)

Now we're talkin'!... This is more like what I want in an amber... more caramel cookie, dry toasty bite... poured in a dirty shaker... an 'amber' and yet they call it an English pale mild?!

what I can add from memory: My initial reaction to this was of relief because of the 'bad taste' the Breckenridge Amber had left in my mouth... an auspicious first few sips, but the Moab didn't reveal any more, actually just kind of getting more dull as it went (or was I just losing my sense acuity from a long, tiring day?) (2019)

 

 

 

Looks good, slight malty taste. Just OK.

Gotta love when the brewery calls it an amber ale and BA calls it a mild ale - english pale. So this beer might be one of three different styles, who knows.

Color appearance gives credence to the amber ale assertion, as it is light amber in color, rather than 'pale'. 1/3" white head. Aroma of malty dustiness, no hop character. Purported English yeast was also lost on me aroma wise. Poor showing for the BA folk style designators, you're 0/2.

Taste is a little bitter amber ale, mild toasted caramel and toffee feels, some copper to it. The copper, probably doesn't really jive with the mild ale style either. You would think it would be smoother at this session strength. Its not a pungent ipa like bitterness, but given the lack of anything else to the beer, it stands out. This is a beer for someone who isn't that much into beer, even by session standards, its below average in terms of 'any' taste, much less one that you would actually want to go back to. Forgettable stuff.