Big Head Pale Ale
Mickey Finn's Brewery

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Mickey Finn's Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 6.91%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
5
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 02, 2013
Added:
Sep 08, 2008
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by TMoney2591:
Photo of TMoney2591
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Served in a shaker pint glass at the brewpub.

For once, the name fits the beer perfectly. It pours a semi-hazed russet-amber topped by more than a finger of creamy ecru foam, which hangs around for quite some time. The nose comprises pine sap, orchids, and the kind of buttery toffee you find in a nice box o' Crunch 'n' Munch. The taste ups the pine factor, adds some grapefruit, and tones down the toffee, relegating it to the status of flavor cuckold. The body is a heavy light, with a nice nitrogenation and a consequently ridiculously smooth feel. Overall, a nice APA, though a bit much on the hoppy side for me. Still, a tasty bit o' smoothness to start off an evening at the pub.
Oct 13, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Beric
Reviewed by Beric from Massachusetts

3.99/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Serving: 5 oz sampler
Served: 1 June

Appearance: Nice and amber-gold. Looks kind of like red gold (the metal). Definitely noticeably redder than the other beers I got with the sampler. Looks great. Since it's a sampler, the head is really nothing worth mentioning, but it did, incidentally, sick around longer than two of the other sampler beers (847 APWA and Gudenteit Hefeweizen).

Smell: There isn't really a big hoppy nose on this one, but you can smell hops a bit. Again, the smell may have been compromised by the small serving glass with the sampler.

Taste: Hops hops hops. This is Mickey Finn's 'hop bomb' on tap right now. By no means is it a palate wrecker, but it is substantially stronger in hoppiness than the other beers on tap. Hop heads would love this beer. Excellently made- the hops have a nice strong presence, but nothing overpowering. On the website, it says this beer is close to SNPA. I find that to be a decent comparison, but Big Head may be just a tad hoppier.

Mouthfeel: Nicely carbonated. Small bubbles, as to style, but nice and freshly crisp. Does not feel watery like other options (especially the 847) and feels full on the tongue.

Overall: One of the best beers on the sampler tray, and definitely worth buying a whole pint of. Great beer. Would recommend to anyone visiting the brewpub.
Jun 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 28, 2012
Photo of Vdubb86
Reviewed by Vdubb86 from Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Served in a pint glass on nitro from Mickey Finn's

This beer pours a nice clean amber color with a finger of ecru foam on the surface. It smells of hops and lots of them, piny, orange, lemon citrus aroma. I'm sure there are malts there, but I can't detect them. The taste is of an ungodly amount of bitter hops. This would make a hop-head weep with joy. The problem is I'm not one, and it makes me weep without joy. The slight malt characteristics are nice, but very well hidden. Being on nitro, the plus side is it is super smooth. The problem I have is it is souringly bitter to the point that it's hard for me to drink. If you love hops, go for it. If you don't, then I'd say look elsewhere.
Oct 13, 2010
Photo of Reneejane
Reviewed by Reneejane from Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
This is a replacement review for one I wrote last weekend. I was served a different beer! I sent an email to the brewery; they invited me back in to re-taste it. So, here's the CORRECT review!

The beer was served on cask, with a lovely pillowy-fluffy head, that was creamy white and was like a hop cloud floating over the beer. Rich smells of cascades set my mouth watering right away! Taste was bitter with hops and had a nice maltiness to offset the hops and some creative yeast characters. The brewer noted that the complexity of flavor was in part due to the beer being poured on cask. More complex in flavor than many of this style, which made a beer apart from the rest! Nice maltiness!

Finishes with a cleansing hop flavor at the end.

The head was stable, and left a lovely lacing down the glass to the last sip. The beer was very drinkable, with a great flavor. Went down wonderfully. I am very glad I got an opportunity to have a better taste of this beer. Also, was pleased that Mickey Finns stands by their beers like this.

Special thanks to brewer, Greg Browne.
Sep 08, 2008
Big Head Pale Ale from Mickey Finn's Brewery
Beer rating: 3.91 out of 5 with 5 ratings