Saranac Joy to Ale
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery

Light amber with a 1/2" cream colored head, which slowly fades. Light lacing.

Aroma is caramel, grainy, grassy.

Taste is caramel, biscuit, nutty, slight spice.

Thin body, lively carbonation. dry finish.

A nice seasonal ale.

A completely No offensive no off flavors light ale. East to drink and ok.

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours yellow with a hint of red, nice head and some lacing. Aroma and flavor feature caramel malt, spicy/earthy malt, and moderate bitterness. It's a solid amber ale, not particularly memorable but very enjoyable on a warm February Sunday afternoon.

 

I got a bottle of this beer from my bestie whilst in Kentucky for New Years. It poured a clear amber with thin white head that is leaving any lace. The scent had subtle malt notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bright light malt base and good finishing hops. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.

 

The first joy, after emptying a green 12 ounce bottle into a clear pint glass, is the color. It's a bright copper-amber, practically translucent. Lessons have been learned that beers don't have to be murky to taste good. The white head is modest, but enduring. There's some malty hop aroma going on, but it's rather muddled and drab. The body is light, almost lager light and the hoppiness sought in a good ale is also disappointing. It's nicely malty sweet and has hints of hops in the taste, but there is little joy for an ale lover here. There's no depth, no hop bite. Those that love to stare at the lacing in the glass as they imbibe will also be disappointed.

I bought a holiday mix pack. This ale is ok, it's similar in taste to a heineken. The mix pack wasn't great, tastes like they got the same ale base and just added flavor to make different beers. They pretty much all taste the same. Not bad but not great.

Medium bodied with about average carbonation.
Aroma is malty bread, cracker,grain, brown sugar
Taste for the most part resembled aroma. Very mild sourness but overall it was a decent holiday beer

 

Saranac Joy to Ale at 55F was poured into a sham pilsener glass in November, 2020. The ale has a golden color with a thin white head. (This is mis-classified as a red/amber ale.) There is a mild sweet aroma. The flavor is well balanced, medium bodied with a modest hop bitterness that dissipates after swollowing. I view this as a throwback to the American (US and Canadian) ale character common of the 60s and 70s. Matt itself produced Utica Club Cream Ale in the style. I like the better examples of the style, and Joy to Ale is pretty tasty.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours clear amber color with a one-finger foamy white head that reduces to a ring around the edge

S- smells of skunk, wet dog, copper, toasted grains and burnt hair

T- slightly sweet and malty up front with undertones of caramel and toasted barley. A hint of floral hops before finishing clean

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that finishes creamy

O- the smell was off-putting, but otherwise an east drinking ale