New River Pale Ale
Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 12 oz bottle with a bottled on date of 102507.

A: The ale is a crisp amber color, light enough to be translucent. The ale does the translucence angle quite nicely, a very pretty ale to look at. A three finger head blanketed the ale, leaving extensive lacing in its wake.

S: The aroma has lsot its hops, leaving only caramel malts to be detected and even they are showing a lot of age.

T: The nose was a little lackluster but the taste works. Caramel and butterscotch duel for attention, both grainy and full. Some citrus hops linger in the background but this is a nice malty pale ale.

M: A combination of caramel and butterscotch works where you think that it wouldn't. Even the dearth of hops is alright.

D: A very drinkable pale ale that isn't afraid to fire on the all-malt cylinders.

Another beer from chaz's mixed case. Thanks. Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a standard shaker glass, the ale appears a clear copper color with about a finger of quickly fading foam. Aromas and flavors are slightly fruity, a bit of floral hops, bitter, mild sweetness, caramel, a bit of citrus. About medium bodied and amply carbonated. Worth trying.

I enjoyed this beer chilled in a Boddington's pub glass.

A - A hazy light amber w/ slowly receding 1/2 inch ecru cap that smears that glass with great lace and visible carbontion is noted rising in columns to the surface

S - A very fruit hop nose w/ citrus and yeast esters that almost have an apple aroma. There is lots of light malt and slight tropical hints

M - The feel is fruity faintly tannic, mildly carbonated for the style w/ slight sweetness and a dry finish

T - An english yeast flavor with subtle dry malt flavors and a sweet citrus taste from amarillo and cascade hops as stated on the package. The malt is slightly toasted w/ a mild creamy sweetness and slightly woody crystal malt taste.

D - A very good pale, I found the hops and malt very tasty. I could see this as a go-to pale, very drinkable

Acquired via trade from dsigmon courtesy of the Ugly Ducking BIF, so a big "Thank You" goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep amber color, with a large off-white head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, pale hops and some citrus.

T: The taste is well-balanced with sweet flavors of caramel & citrus, a decent floral hops bitterness and a hearty malt character. The hops flavor gets a little bit stronger as you continue to drink it, but not enough to dominate. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet. There's nothing outstanding but it's quite solid.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, decent kick, good representation of style, this is a nice beer to drink a lot of as it's flavorful but doesn't try to knock you over.

Appearance: Pours an almost cloudy amber color with a huge head that retains so well I cannot tell if there is lacing

Smell: Somewhat citrusy, with an underpinning of toffee

Taste: Opens with an extremely well-balanced profile between the citrus and the caramel; the flavors heighten a bit after the swallow, but the balance remains its distinguishing characteristic

Mouthfeel: Just a bit too much carbonation, but otherwise medium bodied

Drinkability: I'll miss this fine pale ale - my last bottle and it's 9 months old but still drinking nicely

I poured this new brew into my tumbler at 50 degrees. The beer was not pale as I expected from the label but was a nice amber color with a nice blond head. The beer smelled hoppy so I was afrain I had a hop bomb. However that was not the case. the beer was a nice blend I thought of sweet and bitter. Very interesting brew. i will buy again.

An old standby here in SW VA that I heard was on it's way out. Figured I'd pick up what might be my last 6 pack of one of the best beers brewed in Virgina.

Big old pillowy white head that sticks in clumps and lingers awhile. Hazy straw-amber body.

Aroma is all kinds of hops, herbal, citrusy, earthy, floral. Also a lesser amount of crystal malts, caramel and toffee in the nose.

Piercing yet flavorful bitterness, yet balanced with lots of body. The Columbus, Amarillo, and Cascade all contribute noticeably; grassy citrus, herbal, and floral notes abound. Minerals and salt also prevalent on aftertaste. Could be a bit smoother, but still sits lightly and is very easy to drink (for hopheads). By all means, get some if you still can.

12 oz received as an extra from dsigmon ... Thanks a bunch .. poured into my New Belgium snifter.

2 finger head takes a while to die back.. nice lacing.. slightly hazy coppery lite amber.

Toasted malts and citrus/floral hops play very nicely together... not alot of yeasty esters .. but a touch could easily be mistaken for the nice hop aromas.

Flavor is a very balanced bitter and pale malt in the front that quickly gives way to floral hop flavor with a nice rip of grapefruit. Medium body with lower than expected carbonation .. but that doesn't detract .. actually adds well to the drinkability .. I am only half way done and already want another.

Cheers, I've had nothing but good luck with previous Old Dominion brews and this is no exception ... I can't wait to try the Millenium... Thanks again Brock... Exceptional trader.

Pours a very nice looking reddish amber. Appearance is slightly hazy. 1/2 finger white head that mostly dies but leaves some nice lacing.

Smells of slightly juicy hops with touches of sweetness back there. Mellow, but nice for a lower ABV APA.

The taste is solid. Hops provide a slight juiciness with a respectable level of lingering bitterness. The malt profile is subdued, but adds a very nice caramel sweetness with some bready notes. Relatively fruity. Good all around balance. All the flavors here are both mellow but nicely defined.

Mouthfeel is well done. Medium carbonation lets this drink easily without obscuring the flavors.

Very good drinkability.

Recommended. A good, solid, sessionable APA.

Presentation: 12 oz. brown bottle, bottling date of 5/1/07 printed on the label, poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: poured a hazy burnt orange color, lots of setiment floating inside amongst the carbonation bubbles rising. The head initially filled half the glass (slightly overcarbonated after sitting for so long) before settling into a nice and creamy 1 finger.

Aroma: Floral and piney hops.

Taste: It held up pretty well for sitting on a store shelf for all these months. Floral and spicy hops dominate throughout while the malts remain in the background. Nice balance. The finish is a conbination of the two, with the hops lingering.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, crisp and smooth, almost creamy at times. The carbonation was rather lively and balanced out well.

Overall: I'm sorry to be seeing this one go. Word is the contract between New River and their current brewery will no be renewed. Okay, enough about that, how about the beer? The carbonation on the bottles I've got is so high that I could barely twist the cap off without using a bottle opener. If I see any I'll try and grab one or two that are more recent. Still, this is a nice American IPA for hopheads, and anyone else too. Get it while you can.

I have been saving a few of these since they might be gone for good. This one was a little past the date but still very nice. Poured a clear orangish amber color with a nice 1" head. The floral hops and orange and fruity aroma was very nice. I have enjoyed getting this beer on draft at Old Dominion for years and am sad that I will no longer be able to get this beer when I return to Northern VA.