Old Overland Amber
Alliteration Ales

 

the forced nostalgia thing is weird, like when beer brands style themselves as something thats been around forever, celebrate something not quite worthy of it, or wax poetic in their branding about bygone eras and phenomena, seems like craft is eager to turn itself back into rainier and olympia and the like again, and many more qualified to orate nostalgia than these guys are already doing it, this feels derivative and even inauthentic, even before i taste the lackluster beer, not trying to beat it up too bad here, but this feels forced, which is an odd thing to do with a generic amber ale, is it not? maybe i just dont get it. anyhow, had this on tap at gramercy, which, conveniently, is right there off overland. it looks the part, deeper copper colored in their dimly lit bar under an average half inch of loose khaki bubbles, fine clarity. the aroma is lightly tangy, and it tastes whats ahead in the flavor where its oddly almost sour right before the swallow, i didnt actually hate that, but my buddy sure did. its thinning anyway, even with some sweetness, has toasted and nutty aspects as is to be expected in the style but lacks an identity outside of its apparent flaw, and even though it presents as fresh enough, its just not really executed at a level befitting of being considered professional, which is a weird look for a restaurant bar i think. not saying this is awful, but its amateurish in a way that isnt flattering, namely on the ferment, and could use some fine tuning from a quality standpoint. i do like the little flash of hops on the back end, the autumnal vibes the malt creates, and the way it handles a variety of foods overall, but we almost had to try to like this, look for positives in something overshadowed by its imperfections. lighter in body and drier than most, good carbonation, also nice features, and there is some promise here. did others find the twang a little off putting in a style we generally seek richness in? we did. certainly nothing to feign nostalgia for here...

Draft at Caffe Luciano's. Mostly clear amber, paper thin beige head, rings of lacing. Malty aroma, toasty, fruity. Taste starts malty and then brings some tart cherry notes, toffee. Not overly sweet and a tingly bitterness at the finish