Traverse Brewing Manitou Amber Ale
Traverse Brewing Company

A solid amber. A nice balance of hops and malt. Drank both on tap and in the bottle, with no discernable difference. Slightly spicy, the malt really stands out in this beer. It won over the Budweiser crowd. This would be a good session beer.

 

A: Cloudy reddish color with a smaller head of tan/red foam. Some notes of lace.

S: Not bad. Some maltiness and leafy qualities. Again a sour note that seems to be linked with many brews from this brewery.

T: A roasted character gives way to moist and sour malt. Some rye notes and raw veggie qualities.

M: Slick. Somewhat watery as well. Not alot going on for the palate to analyze.

D: Fair. Not a bad brew, but rather boring.

A: Pours a dark amber body with a pillowy off white head. There was little to no carbonation present.

S: Very malty, which gives it a soft biscuity aroma. Very little to no scent of hops.

T: Light bready flavor that leads to an extremely faint hops tingle.

M: Very light which would have be suggest it as a summer refresher beer.

D: This beer goes down very easily and it very drinkable.

Pours a dark amber color with a smallish head that drops to a thick film.
Smell is hops, a spicy resin note and a light malt background.
Taste is lemon and spice up front, hops lighter than in the nose, malt almost missing completely and a hint of alcohol.
Thin bodied with a watery finish, this could still be a passable summer brew for when you have little else in the fridge.

Paid $1.60 for a 12oz single @ Jack's. 5% ABV. Best-buy March of 06' notched on the label.

When I turned 21, I was on a serious Manitou Amber kick. There was something that really appealed to me in this brew way back when, and I'm frankly surprised that I hadn't reviewed it on this site before.

Pours out to a cloudy dark amber, bottle fermented, forming a soapy off-beige head with average retention and sparse lacing. Carbonation is moderate. The aroma is akin to Boston Lager with a fresh Tettnanger and Hallertauer hoppiness balanced by some nice toasty amber malts. Upon swirling, an arid nuttiness is subtley appreciated. The mouthfeel is pleasant with a nice toasty astringency and medium body. Cleanly fermented, and despite the Peter Austin brewing system they use, isn't tainted with caramel or butterscotch like I've noticed in their stout. The taste begins with fresh floral hops, nicely balanced by toast (Munich and Crystal malt?), leather, and nuts in the middle. The malts are held in tow with a nice roasted barley character which lingers on the palate. Leather and wood hang in the aftertaste with a moderate herbal bitterness and a pleasant tobacco astringency. I gulped this down in no time, and could easily put a few more back.

Judging by the other reviews here, I have to worry about the consistency of this brew, but after being pleasantly surprised by this (after many years of not drinking it), I will definitely keep it in mind next time I go to the store.

Obtained and consumed in December, 2004. Light tan head with and a caramel nose rose rising as poured. The beer was poured to retain the small amount of sediment in the bottle. The beer was crystal clear and copper colored. Smelled of caramel, but also woody, too. Hops? Odd, there is a chalky quality. Tasted potently of Munich or Vienna malt. Chalky dry. Sweet with no noticable hop, unless it's a woody british that blends into the flavors of the malt. The last gulp was a bit sour and the head had settled to a ring around the glass. Thin body. With some aging, this might be a reasonable Maerzen, but is not an amber in any sense.

Pours clear, with a deep amber glow and a short, whit head.
Smell iis OK, but slightly astringent with little discernable difference between malt and hops. Beyond the astringent aspect, there is a slight flowery essence.
Starts off sweet on the tongue, rapidly changing to a heavy roasted buttery presence, with a deep, bitter end.
Decent amount of bubbles, not overwhelming.
I would Highly recommend this beer as a delicious, drinkable ale for a hot and sweaty day.

On tap, presented in a shaker pint.

Deep amber in colour, clear, with swift lines of thin carbonation. Topped by a small dense white head. some spotty lace is left on the glass.

Nose is fruity, biscuity, with just a bit of pine & citrus.

Taste is sweet, caramel, biscuity. Hint of nuttiness in there, along with bits of ripe fruit. Ends off dry with some pine & citrus creeping in. Moderate carbonation, medium bodied. Fairly average & straight forward amber ale.

The color is copper, with a light tan head that circles the glass. The smell is sweet almost like bubble gum. The taste is clean at first, than becomes slightly burnt. This beer leaves the mouth feeling thick and dry, but wanting more. Overall I liked this beer but wished there was a bit more complexity to it.

Amber in color with ruby highlights, smallish white head, no lacing. Smell is very sweet, mostly caramel. This beer however is completely unbalanced and not too well made. Caramel is really, really strong in this beer. Slight grainy flavor along with it. No hops to speak of. There is also a pungency here in the malt taste that really strikes me in a bad way. Body is thinner than I would like but not watery. The flavor is intensely malty at the start and then all of the sudden it goes away. Nothing after the initial hit. Really weird. No thanks to this one.

Poured a rich copper color with some fluffy head to it,smell was buttery and somewhat sweet.Taste was of vanilla and caramel with some late fruitiness,a different tasting pale ale,pretty enjoyable.Its nice to come and drink the local Michigan brews there are alot of quality brews made here.

Not a bad effort. This american pale ale obviously is not like the english ones, but, what the heck, I tried it and was pleasantly surprised with its caramely flavor and hop finish.

This amber is quite unique. The aroma is one of a buttery caramel apple. The caramel flavor of the malt overshadows any other flavors that may come out in the brew. Very much like a light version of Saranac Caramel Porter.