General Lenoir's Old Ale
Howard Brewing Company

General Lenoir's Old AleGeneral Lenoir's Old Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Howard Brewing Company
 
North Carolina, United States
Style:
Old Ale
ABV:
7%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 5.57%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
11
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 23, 2014
Added:
Jun 07, 2013
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
General Lenoir’s Old Ale is a truly experimental recreation of a handwritten recipe dated 1795 by General William Lenoir. Brewed to replicate the ingredients believed to be used in the 1700’s this deep copper old ale has strong caramel and roast notes with a full body and moderate bitterness. With sweet malt notes that linger at the finish and hints of spicy yeast flavors we believe this 7.0% “strong” ale was made to fulfill the appetite of the hard working men and women of the land. Not the typical flavor of today’s ales, we hope this beer makes you think of what beer may have been like 218 years ago right here in North Carolina…Cheers!
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Irish57:
Photo of Irish57
Rated by Irish57 from North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

Apr 18, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

3.51/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Medium brown pour with a sudsy khaki cap. Piney hops meet caramel and heavily roasted malts, robust bread, and earth. Taste is swill like in intensity but not from the booze, roast is huge, earth is huge and burnt bready yeast, booze leakage and piney hops add to the clash, drinkable but rough. Feel is surprisingly thin however given the robust flavor combo, carbonation is way to high for style, booze leakage is felt here too. A look into the past... thank God we have better beer now!
Aug 23, 2014
Photo of 5thOhio
Reviewed by 5thOhio from South Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
When pouring I got a whiff of bready malt, but not much else. Appearance is a brownish red---or maybe reddish-brown. I didn't give it a good pour, so can't comment on the head but it had little lacing.

Taste is malty with a subtle dark fruit flavor, like plum or raisin, not really strong enough to get a good descriptor. Good bit of bitterness, more than I expected from an old ale. Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation, but not as viscous as other old ales I've had. Not as boozy as other iterations of the style either. Slightly tart aftertaste lingers until the next sip when the malt and hops take over again.

Hard to judge since it's not a modern craft version of an old ale but taken from an actual 18th century recipe. Not a bad beer at all and certainly interesting to sample. Props to the brewers at Howard Brewing for giving us the opportunity to see what a beer from the past tasted like. Hope they do this again. I'd love to try it fresh on tap.
Jul 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by mikeincharleston from North Carolina

Jul 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by KevinGordon from North Carolina

May 20, 2014
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.65/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A: The beer is hazy amber in color and poured with a short beige off white head that quickly died down, leaving a patch of bubbles in the center of the glass and a small collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of spruce are present in the nose.
T: Just like the smell, the taste has flavors of spruce tips along with hints of earthy yeast.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is rather easy to drink for an old ale and seems less malty compared to others in the style, but thus might have something to do with it being based off a 1795 recipe. Nonetheless, it is quite easy to drink.
May 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

May 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by tdm168 from Pennsylvania

Apr 11, 2014
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bases on a 215 year old recipe.Pours an amber shade with a clingy full one finger slight off white head atop,the head sticks like glue as it settles ever so slowly into a frothy mass.Aromas are on the lighter side with some caramel and boozy fruit detected but again it's light.Flavors are yeasty with a touch of phenolic-like spiciness wich was not expected,a little bit of toffee and caramel sweetness is there as I drink more.The bottle label says "not like today's ales" and that is correct,a different beer that's not bad.
Apr 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by kbuzz from North Carolina

Aug 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Lugenbeast from North Carolina

Jun 09, 2013
General Lenoir's Old Ale from Howard Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 11 ratings