Hales Northwests Best Cedar River Amber Ale

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Yet another weird Trader Joe's-only beer -- this one coming from Hale's up in Washington. First I plow through four Gordon Biersch-brewed TJ's beers, now I come across a Hale's-brewed TJ's beer. Since when did all of these decent breweries get into bed with the King of Cheap-o Beer Retailing? Oh well, onto the beer at hand.

Pretty much a typical, by-the-numbers Amber Ale. How does this vary from about 101 other Amber Ales out there? Good question -- to which I have no solid answer to.

This does look decent enough. And I have no problems with the aroma. And I can't find many faults with the flavor profile..., nor the malt bill..., nor the hop profile. And the mouthfeel? No issues. And I can't say I'm all that outraged over the simple drinkability.

But really now.... Who wants something that merely "doesn't offend"..., that doesn't go out of it's way to appeal or disgust...? Me, I would rather have a beer at least attempt to make a statement (for better or worse), rather than something like this that merely sleepwalks through the motions.

A perfectly flawless beer -- but also something that is perfectly and utterly boring too.

Music: Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil".
//TB

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

This amber ale pours with a deep amber body with virtually no head or lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with a flowery hop note. Not much to the flavor. It’s slightly sweet yet slightly bitter with a touch of fruit and a little hops. Light to medium bodied and very smooth.