Olney Amber
Lone Oak Farm Brewing Co.

 

 

5 oz pour as part of the "brewmaster's flight." Probably my least favorite beer of the afternoon - it's recognizably an amber lager, but unfortunately has a soapy aroma and flavor with an astringent mouthfeel. Not undrinkable, but definitely flawed IMO.

Poured from the can into a nonic(k) pint glass.

Deep and bold rusty red, with a hint of dark orange and ruby colors throughout. The body has just the faintest touch of haze, and makes a real off white nearly super bright colored head. Reaching a solid three fingers and somewhat fine bubbled, with a good amount of retention too. Quite a decent looking amber.

Nose is fairly clean, with hints of dry grain. Light touch of sweetness, sort of hinting at caramel but kind of light. Whispy and airy if I could use the term, but also lacking any sense of identity or character. Kind of neutral but also nothing out of place or bad.

Palate seems to take things safe and easy as well. Quite a good body and simple malt backbone. Minimal sweetness and a quite surprising if somewhat jarring bitterness of hop that is still… indistinct. Green like bitterness on the finish but nothing distinct or fun to add with this hop profile, it's almost just plain bitterness, with not much of the other "foody" like flavors to it. Still a good if small counterbalance kicks in of malt, and manages to still keep this malt forward with a bitter kick. Perhaps a small touch of orange/citrus hits slightly.

Nice to see ambers, and I am a sucker for a good one. Not too bad here, but the beer just needs a stamp and identity a bit to make it stand out just a little. All the pieces seem to be there.