Woolshed Brewery ‘AAAmber Ale’ Australian Amber Ale

Rating:

“Woolshed Brewery AAAMber Ale has been named after the AAAM brand which is given only to the finest Merino wool once a sheep is shorn. So, having selected what Woodshed believe to be the best Australian hops, and combine this with the rain water collected from a sheep shearing shed roof, the brewers at Woolshed figured that it’d be an appropriate name for their Australian amber ale.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Deep amber with faint strawberry highlights. It constructs a big and rocky three finger head and takes an age to reduce. Not a great deal sticking to the glass though.

Aroma: Not your typical Amber Ale aroma’s for one. It has this weird earthy-ness which we can’t get past. Also picking up old floral hops and a slight chemical-like note. Yikes! Bad start. Tried to find a bottling date but to no avail. This is why cans are so much better!

Flavour: Slightly over carbonated. Very little in the way of flavour initially but some semi sweet malts bring out hints of nutty toffee, honey and very subtle maple. The hops don’t do it any justice…they have this earthy and floral character that kind of clashes with the malt sweetness. The finish is just dirty and earthy.

Mouthfeel: As touched on before it’s slightly over carbonated. Somewhat thin with little body. The 5.4% ABV is well hidden but then again it is only 5.4%.

Overall: We’re thinking this is either really old or it’s infected. It just doesn’t smell or taste right. The over carbonation points to age and poor storage. We won’t name the bottle shop but we’re certainly a little peeved.