Brewer's Art Birdhouse Pale Ale | The Brewer's Art

3.19/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Can from Total Wine poured into a glass. Orange-ish, hazy amber with bubbly head, spritzy carbonation and a hint of citrus in the nose. Taste was at once citrus hops, but I sense some orange or orange peel as well. Perhaps the can color (or perhaps it's really there). Regardless, not sure why everyone wants to put an orange slice in an otherwise decent, drinkable Belgian pale ale. This one never quite got there for me, taste-wise; and I wouldn't buy it again. But it paired well with lunch and would likely be worth trying on tap, just to be sure.

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4.28/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Very cute can, does a good job of skirting bs MLB rules

Solid Belgian PA pour: translucent amber, fluffy white head. Could easily be mistaken for an an APA.

The aroma is clearly Belgian, though brighter than most pales brewed in Belgium. The yeast profile is spice but somewhat muted, and the malt takes center stage with big nodes of toffee, biscuit, and caramel.

Tastes like it smells: light spice from the yeast, a variegated malt profile, and then a nice, dry finish of old world hops. There's a tiny bit of cereal at the very end that just seems a little off, but overall this is a good regional representation of a Americanized Belgian Pale, in the vein of Fat Tire.

EDIT:
After several sips, my expectations adjusted and the cereal finish actually began to compliment the beer.

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4.02/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Extremely refreshing Belgian pale ale. Decent hop presence, found there to be equal malts to provide a very balanced brew. Worth seeking out. On tap at the Brewers Art in Bmore.

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3.99/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Best by May 5th.

The colour is gold. An inch of foam that seems to be long lasting.

I get some spice and yeast and a candi sugar like sweetness in the smell. Maybe some grassy hops.

Quite sweet from the candi sugar/caramel malt that the yeast is bringing. Spicy with some cloves hints of banana. Hops are way dialed down. Again, perhaps some grass.

Mouthfeel is fine.

No indication on the can that this was a Belgian Pale. For what it is, it's very good.

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3.94/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is an interesting pale ale with beige lacing and a melange of earthy hops and wild yeast in the nose. Light and delicate in the body which is nice but does expose a touch of metal after the initial noble hop note crests. A little strange, but very quaffable. You could do much worse on a hot summer day at the beach or a barbecue.

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4.25/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

The beer of living dangerously. Seriously, the gall these guys have to brew a pale ale that is true to the style and not some giant hoppy sellout. Cheers! I believe it pays to go to belgian style breweries. Already bucking a trend (or, hopefully starting one...) by brewing a beer that shows culture, an style and knowledge rather than selling out to the hoppy masses....whoa... soapbox! This beer is balanced, not anything forward, not imperial, not bourbon barrel, not "session" not wait-listed...just pale ale. Versatile, refreshing, and drinkeable....good news, I have 6 hours till my flight so I can drink a lot of it.

So....rating

Look - Darker than pale, average head with a little lace poured at the source in a tall european style pub glass.

Smell - Belgian. Yeast, bread, subtle hops, fresh. no off odors, no overbearing clove or banana. No Booziness, no oak, no overhopped pineapple juice smell.

Taste - A slight nod to the hoppy masses, but only slight. Very balanced. Belgian yeast, malt, little bit of citrus, pleasant hoppy bitterness.

Feel - clings just long enough to the pallet. It is not "thick" or oily, but definitely not thin.

Overall - Excellent beer. A pleasure to not be part of the brewer's private alliance with hops in its war on grain and yeast. So nice to see the occasional effort to show brewing skill rather than creating a stoutPA or AmberPA or KolshPA... Please come to Michigan!

PS - speaking of skill... exactly the right amount of toast for the tourine. Shocking how many people can't get that right either! I'll come hungry next time and try more from the excellent looking menu!

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3.47/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz can, unclear date code

Dark golden Amber, white head. Earthy hop aroma. Taste is fairly balanced but a touch of Belgian yeast flavor. Medium body, easy drinking

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3.75/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

While not a fan of the style, decided to try since I tend to be an affeciando (?) of MD / Baltimore beers.

For the style, felt it was stury and not overpowering. Decent brew and worth trying; even if you're not into the Belgian Pale Ale style

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3.02/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Greetings:

It's 3am and your anchor has been dragging since sundown. You're about to be in the drink with a boat in the rocks when you should be on a boat with a drink on the rocks. But I digress. Funky. Hoppy. Imbalanced.

So little karma so little beer,
SLK

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4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a malt forward ale done extremely well. Not too sweet, but just the right blending of makings that produces a english/belgian style pale ale of the highest quality. Pale Ale lovers should run, not walk, to seek this out and consume in quantity.

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4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This is a tasty hybrid Belgian style pale ale with light fruity American hops but a definite Belgian yeast character.
Pours a crystal clear orange/Amber with a big fluffy white head. Smell is Belgian yeast with sweet caramel-like malt and some recognizable American hoppiness. Taste follows the nose but with great complexity. Notes of pepper, orange, bubblegum, plenty of sweetness balanced by spicy yeast and the hops. Good stuff! Mouthfeel is about average, somewhere short of medium but pleasant.
Overall, a really solid pale ale. Not sure why but I was expecting a light, underflavored pale ale since it's Baltimore Orioles themed (and thus marketing to a larger crowd would take importance over flavor) but I was entirely wrong in a good way. Would get again.

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3.73/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a can glass. Pours orange red with a fluffy white head. Smells of citrus hops, a little grassiness. Tastes of earthiness and slight citrus with a tad of Belgian grain and yeast flavor. Beer is light bodied and extremely drinkable. Overall an above average beer.

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3.42/5  rDev -10%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Quick review. This is a weird pale. Lots of malt, lowish carb & bizarrely high sweetness. It's not bad, just weird. The sweetness kind of doesn't work for me personally.

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4.01/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Rich gold/amber, some lacing. Interesting aroma that reminds me of my trips to Brewer's Art (though, when there my appreciation of each aspect takes a backseat to friends and people watching). Lots of cereal grain (corn tortillas, I swear!) balanced by tart orange. In the flavor, fruity esters are more apparent, while the grain and citrus continue to duke it out. Moderate bitterness finishes things off for this medium bodied brew. Plenty going on for 5%--well done!

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4.5/5  rDev +18.4%

I think an outstanding pale. Pours a clear light amber, well-carbonated. Light citrusy hop aroma, taste is grapefruity, on the sweeter side. Light and refreshing. Would definitely have again.

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3.87/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

DATE TASTED: October 24, 2014... GLASSWARE: Barley Creek pint... OCCASION: World Series watching--the O's, so close--thanks for the souvenir beer, brother Jer... APPEARANCE: slightly hazy, pale orange body; subtle bubbles; creamy two-finger of-white head; lacing reaches to the sky ... AROMA: lemon, wheat grass and some dampened malts; a light-hearted pale ale that leaves some parting signature--late spruce, but the Belgian aspect is clear... PALATE: soft, bubbly and active--wonderfully creamy at the tongue and tickling at the teeth....TASTE: lemony citric; copper metallic malt; hops are balanced, active--not demonstrative, but sensibly tasty... OVERALL: fighting my natural Baltimore Oriole bias, I have to say this brew is a light, soft, slightly fruity can of fun that is not memorable, but one that I would love to try on tap in Baltimore soon...

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3.58/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A big thanks to the creator of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a rich golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is kind of sweet, fruity. Taste is hops up front, surprisingly so since they were not detected in the smell. Some malts, well balanced, hints of fruit. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is an easy drinking and quality beer.

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4/5  rDev +5.3%

I was down in DC this past weekend to partake of DC Beer Week, which is where I scored this and several other CANs in furtherance of The CANQuest ™.
From the CAN: “In Honor of Icterus Galbula”, which translates to the Baltimore Oriole! I love it! Please tell me that they vend this at Camden Yards.
I CRACK!ed the CAN and it was like the nursery rhyme in which four and twenty blackbirds were baked in a pie and when the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Firstly, a Baltimore Oriole is a member of the blackbird species and secondly, when the CAN was opened, some of its CANtents flew out and onto my fingers. The inverted Glug was their singing, resulting in both a pseudo-cascade as well as three fingers of dense, rocky, orangish (not tawny in this instance) head with decent retention. It began to fly away slowly, leaving sticky lacing in its wake, or should I call it bird droppings? Color was Amber to Deep Amber (SRM = >9, < 13) with MD (not NE)-quality clarity. It is so great to have enough reviews under my belt to be able to allude to them as clichés. Nose was deeply grassy, like the lawn had just been mown or the dank had been harvested from the hydroponic garden in the basement. Good birdies! Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was not as intense as the nose, instead giving a slightly spicy, bready malt flavor. I was reminded of spice cake. Finish was dry as one might expect any time that spices are either present or invoked. I MUST send a CAN to my brother, the lifelong O’s fan!

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3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

This is a Belgian Pale Ale? Really?

Pours a basically clear amber hue. Nose seems to hint, very mildly, at being Belgian. Tastes mildly fruity. Almost a roasted thing on there as well.

It's a decent beer, and it hints at Belgian characteristics. But it lacks a definitive punch that might make it interesting.

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3.79/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: The clear amber liquid lingers under a one inch lid of foam with a reasonable amount of lacing left behind

Smell: Toast with a spread of manjar

Taste: Just like the aroma, the beer is rather malty and reminds me of the manjar spread on toast that I tasted in Chile earlier this year (manjar being like a creamed honey or caramel flavor just not as sweet); spicy yeast blended with earthy hops add balance in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: An interesting twist on the APA style; ultimately, a bit sweet for my tastebuds

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4.48/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Nice brown/orange ale with great 2-3 finger head with great lacing and nice retention. Smell is of fresh grains and hops. Not the citrus hop variety but very floral or piney. Still smell very nice and fresh and earthy. Once again the taste profile is about as solid as you can get for an Pale Ale. I think it tends to lean towards the English style with sweetness and malt balancing out the hop profile. Very fresh grain taste as well which I really like. It also is very full bodied ale, not like some of these watery and thin but citrus hopped session ales lately. This is a classic very well crafted pale ale and I highly recommend. I'll be finding this one frequently if possible.

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3.74/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from the can into a tulip glass.

Copper to bronze red body, and quite clear with some ruby red highlights. Minimal carbonation with a two finger light head that settles to a soapy collar. Fairly decent looking appearance.

Small hints of sticky and sweet Belgian? yeast with a bit of toasty brown bread and faint caramel. Quite a decent balance and inviting.

Light palate provides some easy drinking and flavors. Slight caramel and crisp hop bitterness in the mid palate. Big roof top dryness with some almost saison pepper like quality. Small sweet caramel finish, with a light body, but full enough to let the flavors come out. Bit of an interesting take between toast, caramel, and Belgian dry quality.

Overall pretty decent and easy drinking pale ale from them.

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3.69/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12 oz. can into a Burley Oak snifter (the date is smeared on the can bottom, but this is newly canned, so I'm not worried)

A: Copper body that pours with a vigorous head that decreases rapidly. Nice bit of lacing with just a bit of froth on top and for a collar.

S: Smells a bit Belgian, with a mostly malt nose to it.

T: Easy drinking with only a slight bit of hops, but it is mostly the standard malt taste for a pale ale. One of the better pales for me.

M: Smooth, just a wisp of carbonation felt on the back-end.

O: Good stuff, and up there for MD pride beer (i.e. Orioles, Camden Yards, Baltimore, Old Bay), but for me it can't compete with Flying Dog's Dead Rise.

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4.28/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12 oz can into a standard pint glass. Moderate hand. BB 25 Nov 2014 is stamped on the bottom of the can, presumably the best by date.

A: Classic amber body with good clarity. 1.5 fingers of off-white head. Good retention. Nice lacing.

S: Malty, nutty and sweet. Belgian yeast character with a light spice. Bread. Lightly toasted noted. Faint indistinct fruit. Grass. Hops are relatively subdued.

T: Hop bitterness initially. A nutty, not overly sweet, maltiness develops and fades. The hops reemerge and the beer finishes mostly dry and clean. No alcohol presence.

M: Moderate carbonation with a low-level creaminess. Slightly chewy. Moderate body. Smooth, smooth, smooth.

O: Delicious pale ale with a firm bitterness that sits superbly with the toasty, nuanced malt. Quality brew that is nicely sessionable and comes in a kickass Orioles-orange can. Bonus. Go O's!

Prost!

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3.45/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Brewers Art Brew Pub.

Poured a light amber color with a small sized white head. Aromas of some grassiness, grains, and lighter caramel. Tastes of the same graininess, caramel, and some citrus. I found the body to be on the thinner body.

Notes from: 9/25/04

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