Beer Review – Anderson Valley Brewing Boont Amber Ale

By limpd on January 16, 2012 • ( 9 Comments )

A long while ago, I picked up a Boont Amber Ale in an effort to redeem Anderson Valley Brewing Company for the Summer Solstice. When we reviewed the Summer Solstice as a part of our summer can contest, we had come to the unfortunate conclusion that it was just awful.

Here is what Anderson Valley has to say about their Boont Amber Ale:

From deep in the Anderson Valley comes the world-famous, award-winning, crowd-pleasing Boont Amber Ale. The Anderson Valley Brewing Company has been hand crafting this amazing ale for over twenty years, making Boont Amber Ale one of the most respected, enjoyed, and sought-after craft beers of all time.

Boont Amber Ale is an ode to balance, with a deep copper color offset by an off-white head. The slightly sweet malty backbone is balanced perfectly with a subtle hop bite and aroma, and a wonderfully fruity yeast profile.

I found the Boont Amber Ale to have the following characteristics…

Appearance: Orange amber with lots of creamy, tan foam.
Aroma: Smells like a beer.
Taste: Lightly carbonated and somewhat unremarkable.
ABV: 5.8%

This was better than the Summer Solstice but still not a very good beer. Not good, not bad, just meh.

Categories: Anderson Valley, Brew Review

Tagged as: Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Anderson Valley Brewing, Beer, Blog Menu, Boonville CA, California, Craft Beer, Northern California, Review, West Coast breweries

9 replies »

tylerbgoode says:

January 16, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Saying that this particular brew smells like beer is like taking in the aroma of a grilling porterhouse steak and saying it smells like food. I personally tend to enjoy Anderson Valley and although the Boon Amber isn’t a spectacular beer, I’ll drink anytime it in a pinch.

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- limpd says:
  
  January 16, 2012 at 1:08 PM
  
  I think you aim too high in your comparison. The Boont Amber is not akin to a porterhouse. I say a better comparison would be grilling 85% hamburger. Also, when I say the aroma smells like a beer, it is because there are truly no remarkable scents coming through in the aroma. The Boont Amber smelled like any other average beer.
  
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tylerbgoode says:

January 16, 2012 at 1:28 PM

My main point was not that a porterhouse is akin to the Boont Amber, just the fact that food doesn’t just smell like food and beer doesn’t just smell like beer. If I remember right the Boont Amber has a sweet smell, probably caramel malt.

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- The Wookie says:
  
  January 16, 2012 at 3:50 PM
  
  To say a beer smells like beer is a valid observation. I have encountered dozens of unremarkable brews that, sadly, just “smell like beer”. Flat on the nose with no noteworthy highlights. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the smell was unremarkable but “smells like beer” gets the point across.
  
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The Wookie says:

January 16, 2012 at 3:52 PM

You seem to be drinking a lot of “MEH” recently … me thinks you need to clean out the beer fridge and start anew.

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- limpd says:
  
  January 16, 2012 at 4:59 PM
  
  Most of the “MEH” involved pumpkin beers. So, I guess I brought it on myself. What can I say; I suffer in the name of research. We have a big DFH tasting coming (end of January?) and I picked up two more barrel aged beers (Firestone Anniversary 15 and the Allagash Curieux) to go with the Yorkshire Stingo and the Ola Dubh 40 for another tasting (mid February?). So, I think I have a cure for the “MEH” on the horizon.
  
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