Big Hole Headstrong Pale Ale
Headstrong Pale Ale, inspired by the legacy of authentic British pale ales, is crafted with imported British grains, a special strain of British yeast, and hopped with prime Kent hops for a floral hop aroma, rich texture, and well balanced malt finish. Note: this beer is also brewed at Matt Brewing Company.
3.2
227 reviews
Belgrade, United States
Community reviews
Can. Mount Albert, Canada.
Holy diabetes Batman! Mega sweet nose, floral, hoppy. Decent pour with medium head. Sweet going down, cut with a nice hop finish. Interesting and actually pretty good! I wouldn’t return to this often but it would be worth another look down the road. Cool stuff.
Can. Pours clear amber with white head that retains. This is a pretty decent pale ale. I would have loved to see more hop flavour.
pours clear reddish-copper with a nice off-white head, persistent. malty and floral, along with nice caramel malts. pleasantly surprised by this one. would imagine myself buying a 24 of this during a hot summer day. medium bodied, lively carbonation. just really nice. still feel that it’s more of an IPA though...
i would describe this as a macro type brew plus hops. it was quite nice, smooth and easy drinking but a nice flavour from the hops. and this stuff is pretty cheap.
Review from notes, sampled 1/17/2008
Picked this up on a trip to Montana a few months back.
Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a big fluffy slightly off white head that dissipates to lace on the glass. Aroma is a weak bready malt and citrusy hop. Taste follows the smell and leaves a tangerine type tart taste in my mouth. Body is medium to thin. Not a great beer, but definitely better than a BMC. I could see myself mowing the lawn and grabbing a couple of these afterward.
Old rate. Can from LCBO. Red copper ale with an off-white head. Light malts and british hops in aroma, with light caramel. Good malty base, with nuts and peat notes, decent lingering bitterness, smooth and balanced. Medium bodied. Pretty good.
Huge foamy head. Palate is very similar: very carbonated and light. Pretty much foams in your mouth...that’s a little weird for me. Smells sweet with a hint of yeast. Flavors of old wood, roasty malts, and citrus. Palate is a bit too foamy/carbonated for me.
From 500 mL can. Pours deep amber with light foamy head that holds a lace through the drinking. Initial hay on the nose with very slight floral. The malt is a bit disappointing, with too much cereal but some caramel. Decent balance of floral and citrus hops. Bitterness predominates the taste and the finish. Average carbonation. Overall enjoyable.
Light, citrus aroma. Flavor is of medium hops and that’s about it. throw in the carbonation and you have a medium-bodied pale ale. Nothing about this brew sticks out as unique.
12oz bottle from a restaurant in Gardiner, MT
Appearance: Pours clear amber with a small off-white head, some lacing
Aroma: Pale malts, caramel and biscuity
Taste: Malty, caramel, grassy and some citrus in the finish
Decent. I’m positive the bottle said it was brewed in Belgrade, MT!
Slightly orange tinge to a typical golden pour. Nice head that’s sticking around for a good bit. Surprising scent. Cascade Hops? I know I have smelled that before. Citrus and tart smells mixed with the hops. Reminds me a bit of a fresh air market I was at this morning. Definite pale ale bite! Right in the back of the throat. Not overly harsh though which is a good thing as I’m not a huge fan of the style. I have a friend (pintbypint) I think would love this. Easy drinking. Rather nice, one of the better Pales I have had.
saturday night sampling at beerbistro in Toronto. pours a nice amber and is slighty yeasty with toasted notes. some woody character and finished dry and bitter.
Headstrong Pale Ale pours an amber-orange colour with a nice tanned head that is foamy and leaves great lacing as it dissipates slowly. The carbonation is very intense with tiny bubbles all over. Aroma of floral scents with caramel malt. The bitterness and the sweet malt are very well balanced. Both are long lasting. Beautiful creamy and smooth mouthfeel. This one is an awesome session brew. Strongly recommended.
Pours a clear golden yellow with a thin white head and good lacing. Aroma is malt and citrus hop. Taste is a little skunky, mostly malty with a hint of hop. Fairly boring beer with an abrupt mouthfeel that is mildly unpleasant.
473 ml can from LCBO. Pours light amber in colour, huge off white head. Aroma and taste are slightly on the bitter side, seems an unusual hop to me!? Don’t know. Love the new look cans!
Clear orange, thick creamy beige head. Aroma of orange and mild pine with some biscuity malts. Taste is earthy bitterness with sweet roasted malts. Average.
473ml can from the LCBO. Pours amber with no head. Some faint hops in the aroma. Flavour is dull and flat. Not much going on here.
473 ml can courtesy of a trade with Boutip. Can says Big Hole Brewing Company, Utica, NY, USA 13502. Pours a slightly hazed gold with a moderate linen white head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left a semi-transparent film with each sip. Mild aroma of malt with some floral hops detected as well. The flavor is malt with some graininess to it it, slightly earthy, with some very mild floral hops towards the finish. Light bitterness at the finish. Slightly slick mouthfeel. Overall, a simple and drinkable pale ale.
473ml can. Can says it is produced in Utica. Pours a slightly hazy, yellow / orange, with a considerable off white head. Aromas of citrus, raspberry, herbs. Taste is malt, honey, toasty bread, a little citrus. The finish starts sweet, then ends with a metallic bitterness. Definitely one of the best "cheap" beers at the local liquor store.
473 ml can. Pours a fine honey color. Short lived head. Very fresh aroma of caramel apple. Yum... Moderately floral , not too hopped for me. Plenty lively for an imported micro , more pep then old speckled hen. The aftertaste is almost that of a blended rye whisky.
Bright amber colour. Tasty, yeasty aroma with amber malts. Very toasty. Light bitterness with woody hop notes. I wish we had something like this in Quebec. I like a good english style bitter.
Picked up a single 12-oz bottle from Flanagans in Appleton, Wisconsin. Pours a clear golden amber colored brew with a medium off white head that dissolves fast and leaves behind no film or lacing. Aroma of citrus hops, honey, and caramel malt. Flavor is medium bodied with flavors of floral hops, dry malt and a touch of grass. Finish has a sharp bitterness that quickly disappears to a dry aftertaste.
Clear golden coloured body with a mild copper and orange hue with a very thin white head - decent, but not typical of an english pale. Aroma of metal, citrus, lemons, yeast and a bit of very low a.a. hops. Medium-bodied; Astringent hoppiness up front with a very low flavour profile and a balance favouring citrus and yeast than malt or body. Aftetaste shows a lot of metallic twanginess along with bittering hops, a touch of sweetness but mostly dry and citrusey. Overall, not such a great beer - this isn’t a typical english pale, more of a kolsch (i know, not an ale) or a mild american pale, since the malt isn’t noticeable at all. Still not a horrible beer, and definitely nice for me to try - since I can’t get it all over. I sampled this 473 (such a wierd size) mL can purchased from the LCBO in downtown Ottawa, Ontario on 08-April-2009, sampled back home in the states (Washington) on 16-October-2009.
500ml can 5.5%. Poured clear amber with large bubbled white head. Mild sweet floral hoppy aroma. Medium bodied, crisp carbonation. Lot’s of malt charaacteristic, notes of caramel with citrus. Moderate bitterness throughout.
Courtesy of Jake65. Amber pour with copious carbonation, a sudsy looking thin white head and some moderate sticky lacing. Aroma is citrus and earth with a defined sweet caramel toffee malt sweetness that rounds out with some grassy notes. Flavor is floral and citrusy with a subtle malt sweetness coming in the form of caramel. Sweetness is not overly done, in fact she seems a bit attenuated resulting in a semi-dry finish. Palate is light to medium, filling out the brew brew warms slightly. Quite enjoyable- would make a great session brew indeed.
Pours copper with orange and pink hues mixed in; bubbly one finger white head. Aroma is nicely balanced, good pine and grass hop notes with a bit of citrus as well, and the malt comes through in a caramel, toffee, and biscuit sort of manifestation. Flavor starts slow, then builds to a nice grass and citrus hop character. Malt is less pronounced, though the finish has some distinctive caramel and molasses notes. Palate follows suit with the flavor, starting quite thin, then building to a solid finish. Really an above average brew, drinkable, and good for the style.
Bottle: Two fingers of fluffy beige head atop a pure copper colored pour. Aroma is mild with malty sweetness, caramel, candied sugar, faint citrus, and light florals. Flavor is malty, a bit earthy, bready, and lighter in the floral hops. Some lingering bitters in the tail.
Cloudy amber with a large tan head that leaves some lacing. Aroma of citrus, sweet malt, caramel and mild vegetation. Taste of caramel, light floral hops, minute citrus and moderate vegetation. Lively mouth feel with a little oiliness to it and very little bitterness on the finish.
On tap at Smokeless Joes. Appearance: Ruby red, some visible carbonation, small off white head. Aroma: some initial caramel with a hint of hops, cherries and a little yeast. Flavour: initially dry but with a hop forward character, tangy malt and some pine resin. Long bitter sweet finish.
Poured a dark copper/orange colour with a creamy ivory head. Aroma was malt>hop. Flavour was decent enough, echoing the aroma, but mouthfeel was thin, and the finish was metallic.