American Pale Ale
Eureka Brewing Co.

 

I’ve been working on “going with my gut” on things, as in if I have a doubt about something, I trust my first instincts and run the other way – FAST – which is what I should have done when I saw this beer alongside several other offerings at my local market.

But no…in spite of the price (inexpensive), and the presence of twist-off caps, which, with few exceptions, always seems to be a red flag signaling a bad beer, I grabbed a six-pack off the shelf.

It delivered on “pale” in terms of color, which was a surprisingly pleasant deep gold. Even the aroma was characteristically hoppy, though not overwhelmingly so.

But the taste somehow invoked thoughts of fresh-squeezed cardboard. It was flat and tasteless, though I’d have to admit that it’s a half step above the popular, watery yellow macros we’ve all run to BA to escape.

All in all not a beer I’ll try again.

Pours a clear amber colored beer with very little head formation.

Smell is very sweet with a trace of sulfur aroma. No hop aroma or fruitiness.

Taste is slightly sweet and a little malty with a bit of herbal hop flavor. Not much bitterness or much other flavor either. Think "Artificial Pale Ale flavoring" and you will know what this tastes like. Telltale oxidized malt taste too.

Mouthfeel is water.

"Beer Flavored Water" is the best way to describe this. Don't waste your money on this one.

Appearance: Crystal-clear medium golden color, with a small white head, which retains well, excellent broken lace, and a few streams of small, slow-rising carbonation.

Aroma: Pleasant aroma of mild citrus, bordering on herbal, hops and light malt, each of which vie for dominance, with the hops winning out, although not by a great margin.

Taste: Smooth light taste of malt and herbal hops, towards the finish of the taste, the hops turn to a bitter medicinal character, which lingers on for a remarkably long time. There is also a metallic note at the back of the mouth. The finish is a bit dry.

Mouth feel: Smooth and light, very pleasant, with a refreshing sting of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: This beer is quite pleasant and simple, well suited to a long, hot summer. Also a good "cross over" beer, in that it has a little more character than a macro, but not so much as to put off a macro drinker. For what it is, it is not that bad.

Presentation: Packaged in a brown glass longneck bottle with a twist-off crown, served in a standard pint tap glass.

Thanks to HardTarget for the gift of this sample.

Brown twisty that states it’s part of the “California Heritage Series”. No useful data like abv or date. Brewed by the “Eureka Brewing Company” in Cold Spring MN, funny that that town can support another brewery….
Aroma: A moderate level of fresh citric hops, fairly clean and simple.
Appearance: Dark gold glass with several small carbonation feeds that support a thin but creamy head that left a fair bit of lace.
Flavor: Watery and light. There are a small amount of hops, and a hint of caramel malt, but all of it is gone in an instant. I needed a third of the glass just to tease those flavors out. As it warms a bit, some adjunct flavors come out that don't help much.
Mouthfeel: Water, with a lingering mouth coat.
Overall Impression: Wow, what a weak beer. As a lawnmower; outstanding. I could slam 8 of these in about 5 minutes. If you are looking for the most inoffensive, watery, weak beer possible (and I KNOW that’s why you joined BA), this is it. No problems drinking this, but it left me REALLY wanting to drink a beer.

The beer pours a clear yellow gold color the head is modest in size, frothy in texture bright white on color and the lace thin. Nose is sweet malt, clean and fresh with a thin malt start, the top skinny in feel. Finish is lightly carbonated, the hop barely perceptible and the aftertaste dry, not a good beer in any category.

Clear bright yellowish gold with a moderate off-white head, decent carbonation and light lace. But it's all down-hill from there: Sweet honey-ish malt aroma. Sweet malt flavor with virtually no hop character noticed. Light-medium bodied with a bite in the finish.

Would turn down if offered.... disappointing. Much more like a Premium American Lager in disguise.

Per label: "100% Barley malt and special toasted barley" & "English hops" & "Double hopped for aroma and unique flavor" (pretty funny -- double hopped ... NOT!) & Cold Spring, MN on label (contract brewed by Gluek Brewing Co.)

Lasered date (?): 02156 (Julian?)
Tasted: 08/16/03

($4.29 / 6-pack)

Bought locally (Randall's coolers), a day in my fridge, reviewed 45F-60F.

There's a small, busy white head that sits flat atop a clear, amber/gold beer. Lots of fine carbonation. What little lacing there is is runny.

The smell is quite hoppy. What a nice surprise. There's also a tinge of metal, and a very slight spoiled milk sweetness. The front is sweet... almost sugary. The middle is too sweet, with some maltiness. There's some nice hoppy bitterness in the finish, but that darn sugary taste comes back. Overall, this isn't very good. It's really two-dimensional, and one of the dimensions is bad.

Strange that here the brewery is listed as being in Pennsylvania, yet on the bottle it states that it was brewed in Cold Springs, Minnesota. Anyway, it pours a medium to dark golden color with a thin white head that quickly vanishes into a trace amount of lace. Nose is dominated by stale grains with a hint of spicy hops. Body is light and watery. Taste is grain husks with a touch of sweet honey followed by a bitter and spicy hop bite. I’ve seen this beer many times being sold in 6-packs, but I never wanted to risk buying that many. Finally, I saw it being sold in singles and grabbed a bottle. I’m glad that I waited and only bought the single so that I don’t have to drink any more of these.