Independence Harbor
Custom Tap Brews

 

Very light amber, minimal white head.
Smells estery, slightly sweet, a little off.
Tastes like it smells “off”. There’s a little caramel from the darker malts, some bitterness, I’d guess 30 ibu, a lot of yeast. Tastes like someone’s homebrew.
For God’s sake DO NOT LET IT WARM A LITTLE. This must be kept as cold as possible, the off flavors and rancidity comes shining through when it gets above 40 degrees. Wow, sure regret this one.
Not for me.

 

Good for a cheap beer?? Infinitely better than Budweiser or anything like that, but then again what isn't?
Paid $8 for a six pack and I would pay $10 for this before I'd pay $2 for the commercial brews. I can't even give any specifics. It's just "not bad"
If craft beer was cheap beer.

From the 12 oz bottle in a snifter. This decent little quencher pours a
light red tinged amber with a modest head of white foam that settles
to a thin ring and faint dusty film. Nose of toasted malts, light cereal grains,
caramel, and honey. Flavors expand on the nose with a fine presentation
of honey, caramel, light grassy hops, light toast, and faint tea hints. Mouthfeel
is medium light, medium light carbonation, smooth, and a crisp finish
honey touched finish.

Overall, a good one after mowing the lawn which is most likely coming
sooner than I would think!

Cheers

Purchase from Aldi in Charlestown West Virginia. Nothing fancy but very drinkable with a touch of honey. Poor man's Devils Backbone Vienna Lager! LOL

Best of the Red Ales that I have tasted

12 oz. bottle, perhaps some coded bottling information on the side? Another new one to me from the beer section at Aldi; this one brewed by Rock Wall Brewing Company, out of Rochester, New York.. these are the same guys that produced what is marketed as Wild Range Brewing Company IPA, which I thought was a pretty fine beer, so let's see what we've got here. "Ale with honey added" "Forget the tea, drink the ale!"

Poured to a clear stemless wine snifter.
Pours a honeyed sienna orange body, decent clarity, no sediment visible, kind of still & thick looking, with hardly any head at all, merely a minor tan bubbles that turn to a skimming and dies out quick. Carbonation is moderate, bubbles show when given a swirl.
Creamy, fruity, & sweet smelling. Kind of musty, sticky, and artificial smelling as well. Not off-putting or anything, but definitely overly sweet in character.
Taste is the same: sticky, fruity, sweet. Notes of green apples, and authentic honeyed sweetness is apparent. Gives me a sort of "gluten-free / sorghum" malt type of vibe in a way. Brown bready malts & bread crust are there on the finish.
Feel is super smooth, creamy, easy-drinking, but it feels a bit thick & heavy for the low 5.50% abv. The smoothness of the body makes up for the slight heft on display.
Overall, no where near as good as the Wild Range Brewing IPA, but not a bad beer at all for the bargain price. I could see these happily pleasing the non-discerning craft beer drinker; despite this beer's low ratings here on BeerAdvocate.

Independence Harbor Amber Ale -----3.25/5

Chilled bottle poured into a chilled mug. No date visible on bottle. Purchased a 6 pack from Aldi in October 2021.

L: Light amber color. Very little foam after pour. Rather transparent liquid. Moderate amount of bubbles present. 3.75

S: Not much here, good or bad. 3.0

T: A bit sweet, but I am unable to detect the honey the brewer claims is added. A tad bit of bitterness on the aftertaste, but it isn't unsavory. 4.0

F: Very drinkable, no overpowering flavors or harshness. Tastes rather light. Could drink several without issue. 4.5

O: Will buy again. 4.0

BOTTLE:

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE

 

Independence Harbor, Amber Ale brewed by Custom Tap Brews. This Red/Amber American Ale pours out of a 12 oz glass bottle into a pint beer glass. The color is a a nice deep golden amber color, slight copper color. Small white head on top, that sticks around but it is not thick. There is some lacing to this brew, it sticks to the side of the glass well. The smell is rich with mirror roasted grains an malts an a slight sweetness. There is a slight hop bitterness at the end as well. So far Independence Harbor is a nice inviting brew. Now for the taste, it is Bold with flavors. The mild roasted grains an malts come out at first them a nice easy going sweetness an milt hop bitterness ties it all together. The body of this brew is a light medium. There is nothing overpowering about this brew, it has a super nice balance to it. This brew would go nice on a hit summer day or with a lunch or light dinner. It goes down super nice and it is light an crisp. For the money is a good drinking brew. Was kinda hoping for for more from this brew. Just seems like something is missing, maybe it just me. The mouth feel is Bold, Rich, Clean, Smooth, Crisp, and Refreshing. Overall I'm am going to give Independence Harbor a solid 3.75 out of 5. I would definitely look this brew up again givin the opportunity too. Custom Tap Brews did a nice job with this style of brew.

12 oz bottle brewed by Rock Wall Brewing (NY) and sold by Aldi for$7 a6 pack.

Pours with a nice, clear amber colored body and a good head, but the head proved to be a bit weak.
Aroma. Hop forward aroma with dank, earthy Euro hops. A touch metallic.
Flavor. Much better, less bitter and more malty than the aroma suggests.
Feel. Smooth, medium body with medium carbonation.

 

Sold at Aldi’s 6/2020. Don’t buy again.

 

 

The beer is dark straw in color with a white head that doesn't last very long. It smells estery, but not in an overbearing way. There are some good malt notes in the nose as well. The taste is more foreward on the fruity ester notes. The maltiness is in the taste but is is somewhat over powered, The mouthfeel is nice. It is thick and carbonated well. Overall it is an interesting beer but not my go-to.

This does not taste very good. Not horrible just borderline drinkable. I'm actually cutting lime wedges right now to help the flavor. I'm on beer number 2 and there's no way I can drink another, even with squeezing a lime and tossing in the wedge remnants. It says 'honey added' however I don't taste it. I've had a sweet honey once. Her name was Megan and she was fabulous. It resembles nothing like her. Hold on... Are we talking about that gross Independence Harbor Amber Ale? Yes, yes we are. To sum things up this reminds me of O.E. It's not a good beer. Drinker beware. :)

Nice, but not outstanding beer. Dark, rich color, but limited bouquet. Not enough honey to make it sweet. I grab a couple six packs of different Aldi beers every visit they are inoffensive and inexpensive. I wonder if they still make Genesee Cream Ale at that location.