generallee's Beer Universe Profile

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: It has a beautiful deep amber colored body with very good clarity and a tall, thick foamy head. The head is beige in color and it hangs on well making some cool lace rings on the glass.

Smell: There is a sweet candy like malty aroma that fills the nose. Hop notes are very mellow and barley detected.

Taste/Palate: Just like the aroma the flavors character is full of rich sweet caramel, sweet doughy and bready malty deliciousness. The hops are, like the aroma, mellow compared to the maltiness and offers just some mild bitterness towards the finish. The body has a good solid medium feel with a smooth almost creamy texture.

Notes: This is another very solid offering from Saranac.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The bottle has no freshness date or abv% listed. I got this as part of the Saranac "What Ales You" 12 pack.

Appearance: The body has a rich amber color with a slight reddish hue and good clarity. On top sits a small cap of off white foam. This head quickly fades to a ring of lace foam that is slick and sides down the sides of the glass.

Smell: Its aroma is very light with only very slight hints of biscuit like malt and herbal/dried leafy hops.

Taste/Palate: The flavor is very simple and safe. There is a modest bready and biscuit like maltiness with some light hints of red apple skins and caramel like sweetness. Mixed into the malt is a weak dried leafy hop presence. The finish is fairly dry, quick and has mild hop bitterness with just a slight acidic touch. The palate feels light to medium bodied with a smooth mild carbonated texture.

Notes: Overall it's not bad but to me, it is rather simple and light.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The bottle has no freshness date or abv% listed. This bottle was part of the Saranac "What Ales You?" 12 pack.

Appearance: The body is black as night and blocks out all light. On top of this dark opaque brew there is a light tan colored head which is tall (about 2 and a half fingers thick) and long lasting. It also makes great intricate lace patterns on the glass as I drink.

Smell: Its aroma is full of dark roasted and toasted barley malt with inviting deep coffee notes.

Taste/Palate: There is a nice mellow roasted barley and toasted maltiness with the same coffee like notes in the nose. There is only light malt sweetness here before the hops come in and adds bitterness and dryness along with earthy and herbal spice flavor. It is not bone dry but it finishes on the dryer side with nice hop notes and roasted notes quick fading off the tongue. It has a solid medium body, smooth texture and good soft yet active carbonation.

Notes: Overall this was good solid dry stout. I am a fan of Saranac but this one still surprised me. I would take this over a Guinness Draught any day!

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The bottle has no freshness date or abv% listed. This bottle was part of the 2009 Saranac Winter 12 pack.

Appearance: The body has a garnet color with good clarity. On top sits a thin half inch thick head which is beige in color and fades quickly. Lacing is very minimal and slick leaving a mostly clean glass behind.

Smell: It is light overall in the nose with some malty sweetness and hints of leafy, almost herbal/metallic hops.

Taste/Palate: There is a rich bready sweetness up front with some light roasted grain notes as well. This maltiness meats some hop flavor in the middle it and adds a nice moderate balance of hop spice and bitterness with just a very slight metallic edge. It seems to finish quickly and fairly clean. It is dryer than it started but there is still a thin residual sweetness mixed with thin hop bitterness. The body is light to medium with average carbonation.

Notes: For the style it seems just a little on the light side but everything is in good balance for the style. Once again Saranac has brewed another decent easy drinking beer.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a Pilsener Glass. There appears to be no freshness date or abv% on the bottle. This was part of the Saranac Summer 12 pack and I sampled many of these throughout the summer and into fall as they went on sale.

Appearance: The body has a bright golden color with very good clarity and lots of beautiful carbonation. It produces a nice two finger tall head which slowly settles down to a thin cap that make some slick spotty lace on the glass.

Smell: Its aroma is light and manages a slight straw or dry hay like aroma with just the lightest kiss of hops.

Taste/Palate: The flavor has a simple and fairly clean white bready malt with light sweetness and a slight fruitiness off in the distance. Hop flavor adds just enough bitterness and grassy/leafy notes for balance. Its palate is light bodied and very refreshing with nice bubblely carbonation which is in good balance.

Notes: Overall it was a nice easy drinking and refreshing beer.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a Pilsener Glass. The bottle has no freshness date but it was part of the Saranac Summer 12 pack and I sampled many of these throughout the summer and into fall as they went on sale.

Appearance: The body had a clear yellow gold color with some visible carbonation rising up the head. Its head was white in color and slowly faded to thin skim of foam on top of the beer. Lacing was minimal and slick.

Smell: There was not very much here to note, just light malt notes with hint of rye bread and light hops.

Taste/Palate: Like the aroma there is a light malty base with hints fresh rye bread. There is only a mild sweetness from the malt that is balanced by pleasant hop bitterness. Its plate has a light to medium feel with active carbonation.

Notes: This is a nice refreshing summery beer. It is note overly complex or extravagant but it will satisfy on a hot day.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass. The bottle has no date or abv%.

Appearance: As advertised the body has a pale yellow gold color with a light and fluffy foam head. The head fades to a thin wisp of lace that hangs on top of the beer to the last sip. There is very minimal lacing on the glass as it is slick and just slides down the sides of the glass.

Smell: The aroma is delicate and has mostly hopy notes with pale biscuit/grainy malt underneath.

Taste/Palate: Like the aroma its flavor and palate are delicate as well. This makes for a very refreshing and easy drinking beverage. Its base has a light biscuity flavor that mixes with and then quickly gives was to modest leafy/citrus hop notes. The finish has light hop bitterness fading off of the tongue.

Notes: Overall it's a nice refreshing drink that could also make a good cross over beer for BMC drinkers who would be overwhelmed by more hopy complex beers.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. There appears to be no freshness or born on date on the label.

Appearance: Its body has a brownish color with reddish amber highlights. It produced a light beige, two finger thick head. It is a slow fading head that fades down to a just a ring of lacy foam. Lacing on the glass is spotty and slick.

Smell: There is a definite sweet maple syrup like aroma with a touch of toasted malt.

Flavor/Palate: It has a very sweet mix of thin toasted bready maltiness covered with maple flavored corn syrup. I also get some buttery notes as well. This flavor reminds me of a frozen waffle covered in a Log Cabin like breakfast syrup and butter. This one is all about the sweetness as there is only a very slight hint of leafy hops in the middle that tries in vain to add some bitterness. The finish has some maple sweetness and a bit more roasted maltiness fading off the tongue. With all this sweetness it is still fairly light on body and thin in texture. Carbonation is light as well and makes the thin texture somewhat slick.

Notes: For me this beer is way too sweet. I can not help thinking that I should be putting this on pancakes or something. Drinkability for me is very low, as I couldn't see drinking any more than one of these at a time.