Eric Jourdan Northwest Amber Ale
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

Eric Jourdan Northwest Amber AleEric Jourdan Northwest Amber Ale
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From:
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 9.92%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 16, 2015
Added:
Nov 09, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ChrisCage:
Photo of ChrisCage
Reviewed by ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

4.34/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A- This one pours a coppery brown color that is half way yeast hazed, but still, I am able to see through the liquid. The head is quite impressive, starting out about two fingers thick and eventually settling into a one finger thick layer of creamy textured froth....sticky looking! Lacing is modest and carbonation appears to be fairly average and normal looking for an Amber Ale. Nice overall!

S- Well balanced aromas of pine and citrusy hops....in particular, I detect grapefruit and perhaps some orange zest! Mellow malt sweetness that is of toffee/caramel or molasses. It finishes bitter and leafy....typical and welcome for this style!

T- What nice balance between malt sweetness and hopped bitterness! Initial flavors of caramel, creamy yeast, brown sugar and perhaps some dry grains are balanced on the finish with leafy fresh citrus like hop bitterness....very cleansing on the palate and theres a lingering heavy bitterness at the back of the throat after the swallow.

M/O- The tartness of the beer is somewhat mouth puckering at first and then it gets much more mellow into the 2nd and 3rd taste....carbonation is somewhat palate scrubbing and the body is along the lines of light to medium. This is highly drinkable and makes a great session beer....I think it is a well crafted example of a Northwest Amber Ale! Too bad this wasn't being produced any longer!
Dec 16, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Kmat10
Reviewed by Kmat10 from Canada (AB)

3.62/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
650ml bottle poured into a chalice

A- Clear golden copper, two fingers of head that stay around

S- Lots of Citrus, little toffee, pines, earthy hoppiness

T- Peppery earthiness, more earthy taste than citrus, decent amount of bitterness

M- Medium-bodied mouthful, very clean and smooth

O- Pretty decent beer nicely balanced. A nice hoppy amber
May 22, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by KStark from Canada (BC)

May 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by IanSpindler from Canada (AB)

Feb 27, 2013
Photo of IronDjinn
Reviewed by IronDjinn from Canada (AB)

3.98/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From a 650 ml brown bottle. Pours out a hazed yet bright russet copper hue, with a tall rocky ivory head that possesses excellent retention.

Grapefruit rind, spicy, leafy hops on the nose, balanced with some sweet bready, caramel notes.

Spicy and leafy hops up front in the flavour, grapefruit rind and pith, with clean neutral grains minding the backbone. Clean, dry finish, with an underlying herbal hop character lingering in the aftertaste, curiously coating and triggering on the base of my mouth rather than the palate.

Medium-bodied mouthfeel, clean, smooth and somewhat creamy texture, tied together with some effervescent carbonation.

This is a well put together beer for what it is, granted it is not the most complex of styles, however it delivers and the subtlety of craftsmanship shines through. I disagree with the reviewers who are calling this an IPA or Red IPA (although the lines with the latter can easily blur), I think perhaps they have yet to come across any of the intensely hop forward Red Ales that the West Coast of the U.S. is capable of producing, and have been for quite some time since it is a catch-all style that runs the gamut of extremes depending on the brewer.
Feb 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Nov 28, 2012
Photo of canucklehead
Reviewed by canucklehead from Canada (BC)

4.12/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I agree with the other reviewers that this is an IPA due to the huge hops profile and lack of malt backbone. Much like Hop Head from Green Flash this is a red ale in colour only. That being said this beer is a very well made hoppy PNW ale that has a great hoppy nose and a big long finish . If this was in six packs I would buy it all the time.

I also think it is great that brewers such as Russell and Philips showcase winning homebrewers in bottled form. It shows the levels at which BC brewing is now at in 2012 and gives great recognition to the home brewers of BC.
Nov 18, 2012
Photo of joemcgrath27
Reviewed by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

3.45/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - clear light copper golden, two fingers of creamy head retained very nicely
S - grains, tropical fruit, pepper, and light caramel
T - peppery and grainy up front, some earthiness, unfortunately none of the fruit or sweetness shows up that was apparent in the nose
M - fairly light, peppery and hop dryness lasts throughout
O - its a good beer but not a really good amber, the maltiness just doesn't shine, its still tasty but just not what I was hoping it would taste like
Nov 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by pudoo from Canada (BC)

Nov 17, 2012
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Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

3.53/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
650ml bomber poured into pint glass 9/11/12 from notes

A clear copperish amber with plenty of big bubbles feeding a well sustained two finger foam that leaves some soapy lace

S some citrus and earthy woody notes mixing with the Phillips house yeast and a little toffee

T some spruce and more rind then I could smell, everything from the nose is still there, its pretty basic but decent

M not overly thick but far from water, bubbles are in-between airy and creamy, sweet rind lingers on the finish

O OK brew but I found it pretty simple, it tastes like a few of Phillips brews, somewhat generic but enjoyable

Worth a try but beside their Black Belgian IPA on the shelf for the same price I doubt I’ll be stocking up on this one
Nov 16, 2012
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.78/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
650ml bottle - nice depiction of an organized homebrew setup on the label.

This beer pours a slightly hazy medium bronzed amber hue, with two flabby fingers of densely foamy, puffy, and bubbly eggshell-white head, which leaves multiple layers of honeycombed lace around the glass as it displays stellar retention, gently sinking away.

It smells of bitter piney, leafy hops right up front, before a meaty caramel malt takes hold, followed up by some tame citrus peel notes, and a further herbal, earthy hoppiness. The taste is more zingy piney, forest floor hop bitterness, a kind of laid-back bready caramel malt, a consistently overshadowed, but still prominent citrus pith character, and fading herbal notes.

The bubbles are fairly restrained, and generally innocuous, the body a wavering medium weight, and mostly smooth, but as is the case with such hopped-up offerings, an expected, though inoffensive astringency kind of worms its way in. It finishes still good and hoppy, little changed since first crack and whiff, with the malt continuing its downward influential dive.

A pretty tasty affair, and, yes, much, much more of a west coast IPA, than any semblance of an amber ale - the malt backbone is just too weak, relatively speaking, to proclaim otherwise. Definitely worthy of a go, if you have any form of hop-head predilection, believe you me.
Nov 14, 2012
Photo of Cookeeman
Reviewed by Cookeeman from Canada (BC)

3.53/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
First I'd like to say Congrats to Eric Jourdan, King of the Carboy, for winning the home brew competition with this (or some beer that led to this) delicious brew. This deep amber coloured ale is seriously more NW ale than amber ale! It packs a solid hop whallop, which is deceiving because the aroma is very tame. It has a smooth pale malt body with a hint of sweetness, and the lacing is incredibly heavy, which we don't often see from Phillips. The hops are citrusy, with hints of grapefruit, and a little of that typical northwest pine. The finish lingers a decent while, too. An all-around very well-put-together brew, very sessionable. The flavour is totally west-coast, think I'll have my next one with a cedar plank salmon steak. Cheers to Eric!
Nov 14, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by rodrigueZflyingf0x from Canada (BC)

Nov 14, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by ericj551 from Canada (AB)

Nov 12, 2012
Photo of CookstLiquor
Reviewed by CookstLiquor from Canada (BC)

3.65/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 650ml bottle. This beer was named after the CAMRA homebrewing contest winner and this is apparently his winning beer which Phillips brewed. It says it's a "Northwest Amber Ale," but one sniff of the piney nose and you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a NW pale ale or IPA. Hope definitely dominate. The palate follows suit, although there are some nice sweet malt flavours to balance the huge hop hit. There is a persistent hop finish that sticks with you. Very bitter at the end.
Nov 09, 2012
Eric Jourdan Northwest Amber Ale from Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 15 ratings