Archives: Gettysbrew 9/21/97

Gettysbrew
Gettysburg, PA
Sun 9/21/97 1:30pm
[brewpub has since closed]

House brews:
Golden Ale (2 variations)
Hefeweisen
Raspberry Wheat
Lemon Wheat
Pale Ale
Brown Ale
Brown & Tan
Summer Ale over Ice

Brewpub was located in an historic barn, which was said to have housed injured soldiers during the Civil War.

Took a sampler and tried all 9 beers.

1st Golden Ale: Not much head. Very light in flavor. More aroma than taste. Watery body. Needs some work. John's note: I guess there's a beer in there somewhere. 5.5

Hefeweisen: Also no head. Little aroma. Not a traditional hefeweisen flavor. Slightly better flavor than the first beer, but still on the watery side. Decent finish. John: slightly cloudy. Not a bad finish, but still not that much flavor. 6.3

Raspberry Wheat: Is the hefeweisen with raspberry flavoring. They added the correct balance of flavoring: not overwhelming, not too subtle to notice. Has the underlying problems of the hefe. Nice aroma. John: What Becky said. The raspberry doesn't help this beer that much. 6.5

Lemon Wheat: Is the hefeweisen with lemon flavoring added. Becky: I've had better cough syrups. John: If they took the beer out, it might make a decent lemonade. This is pretty ghastly. Becky: Doubt even the dying Confederate soldiers in this barn would like it. Drink it, yes; enjoy it, doubtful. Becky: 4.7. John: 5.0

Pale Ale: Only one with a real head. Hey, it smells like a real beer! Too much spice (cinnamon perhaps; definitely some clove) to make this beer live up to its potential. But more drinkable than the first four. John: This is a little more like it. Not a bad aroma. A little spicy, and not enough hops for my taste. Still weak, but an improvement. Becky: Definied the aftertaste as molasses. Gingersnap beer anyone? 7.0

Nut Brown Ale: No head. Spicy aroma. Badly blended flavors. Something in there is jarringly out of balance. John: Very spicy aroma. Odd taste - I have a hard time describing this beer. It has an indeterminate fruit flavor and a spice flavor. Not pleasant. 5.3

Brown and Tan: A mix of the 1st Golden Ale and the Nut Brown: Neither were terrific on their own. The combination brings a slight improvement. The strange flavors of the nut brown are tempered by the lack of flavor in the Golden Ale. 5.7 John: This isn't quite so bad - the lack of flavor in the golden ale mutes the weird flavor in the brown. 5.6

Summer Ale over Ice: Wonder the wisdom of serving their beer over ice - too watery to start with! Big time lemon aroma. Thankfully not as ghastly as #4. Maybe the ice cubes helped. John: maybe they need to call this Gettysburg lemonade stand? I wonder if they have a bad batch of yeast. Or are they making "microbrews" for Budweiser drinkers? 5.3

Golden Ale #2: Their new "hoppier" Golden Ale. Faint head. Not an unpleasant aroma. This one has some definite possibility. First time we've encountered any real hops today. John: this is the best of the beers here. It has a subtle but pleasant taste. A slightly weak finish, but some definite signs of hops. This is the only beer I would consider drinking again. Becky: Ditto what John said. In fact I finished it while he was hoping for another taste. 7.5

Consensus: One decent beer and it even needs work. Will be surprised if business still here in '98. Don't expect us back soon. Not much in the way of food either.