Buffalo Bills Alimony Ale
This traditional India Pale Ale was first produced in 1987 for a customer going through a divorce. Alimony was one of the first craft IPAs and gained cult status after articles appeared in Newsweek and Playboy. Brewed with an abundance of hops from the Pacific Northwest, 70 IBUs and 6.8% ABV. “It’s irreconcilably different.”
3
268 reviews
Hayward, United States
Community reviews
Poured from 12oz bottle, pours a clear copper orange with a bubbly white head, aroma is of older hops with some basement and dirty laundry notes, the flavor is better than the aroma, not saying much though, sweeter front end with a hops, abv actually tastes bigger than 6.8, ugh, freaking waste of $15 on ipas tonight.
Rated on 02-18-2012 (Bottle) This beer’s appearance is a small smooth fizzy off-white head that is fully lasting, hazy golden body, very fizzy, lively carbonation observed, and no lacing. The aroma is malty, citrus and earthy hops. The flavor is lightly bitter, citrus hops, malt, and a semi-dry finish. The mouthfeel is lively and this beer is medium bodied. For the style, this beer is far from tasting very hoppy and needs a lot more flavor for a higher rating. A very lackluster tasting beer.
I had one of these yesterday after a few other brews, so I thought I’d hold off and rate from a fresh bottle today. Forewarned by yesterday’s experience, I poured it VERY carefully only to have the same results as before. A Huge head formed immediately, darned near filling the glass. Although I stopped pouring, it continued to grow and overflowed the glass. It was a combination of creamy and rocky... and Alive! What little I could see of the body was a hazy dark straw color, nearing amber. A half hour later, I could get some aroma, sweet grainy malt covered by some very ripe oranges, an orange peel, and a touch of the floral. The flavor was oranges, grainy, and had a bitterness that began in the middle and lasted into the finish, not very strong, but pleasant. I’m not sure if this brew, a bit lightweight for an IPA, was entertaining or aggravating, so I’m giving it a fair to middling rating.
Bottle. Pours amber with a small white head. Aroma of malts, citrus, caramel and bread. Flavor was lightly bitter with citrus, bread, caramel, grapefruit and pine.
bottle. amber with one finger head. very sweet and malty base, rather mild hops. not quite sure what this beer is trying to be. not bad though.
From a bottle, clear copper color with two finger head. Nose is a little odd, citrus and caramel malts. Light body, slightly sweet, a bit of off flavors. Some funk in the finish and a bit of metallic flavors. That being said, it’s not terrible, middle of the road ipa.
First off if you see a beer with a big mouth weirdo on the label talking about "irreconcilably different" I think the last thing you need to be doing is comparing it to other beers. B.) this isn’t an IPA I don’t care what anyone says but I appreciate the uniqueness and the sentiment to cheer up a newly divorced friend. and Lastly having been down this same road I really appreciate what they did here: tons of foam represents the difficulty and haziness of the time, the sweetness speaks to your newly found freedom and the 6.8% alcohol helps to make the pain go away no matter how bad things get or how you feel. Good job guys!
out of the bottle at thirsty beer shop in singapore. pretty rough stuff - loads of raw sugar in the malt and a dusty finish with modest bitterness. a poor choice of mine considering the shop had several hundred american beers to choose from
Bottle: thanks, Kevin! Hazy amber with orange highlights; thick & chunky beige layer of foam sits on top. Aroma is quite malty; caramel, bread, sweet graham cracker notes. Hops cascade softly on top with light citrus, grapefruit, orange peel. Not really a stand-out anywhere, but not bad, either. Taste follows right along with lightly citric & rind-y hops, grapefruit peel, caramel & graham cracker malt sweetness. Some leafy, pine-y hops in the finish, with a sticky malt mouth coating. Again, not bad, just kind of bland. I typically don’t like my IPAs this malty-sweet, either.
I remember picking up a six pack of this for Sunday football. I dont remember the beer itself much. Nothing special.
Pours amber color with a white head. Aromas of caramel, malt and fruit. Pretty muted flavors, mostly caramel. Lacks hops on the finish.
November 2011. Bottle. Pours amber color with a white head. Aromas of caramel, malt and fruit. Pretty muted flavors, mostly caramel. Lacks hops on the finish.
Bottle. Hazy medium amber with golden highlights, ginormous foamy head that stays put, slowly caving in on itself. Aroma is pretty soapy, oddly enough. Caramel with intrusive plastic notes flood the palate, with only moderate bitterness. Just not very pleasant flavour country. Pass.
12 oz bottle pours amber with a off white head. Aroma of sweet malt and citrus. Taste is malt, citrus and pine.
Amber pour with a white head. Aroma is full of bread, perfume, grass and toffee. Flavor is similar with a lot of flower and perfume notes from the hops, as well as some sweet toffee and a little bit of pine. Low bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
Came in with the notion that this would suck ass. Recieved a bottle as a gift and it has no aroma, but hte flavor i a weak, but serviceable ipa.
Love e label and the name, but the brew is very average. Not a bad beer, but nothing about it stands out and there are some major flaws.
Pours murky brownish amber with some bold and brawny foam that won’t fall down. I had to wait to taste it. Citrus hops nose with carmel malt, some floral some apple in the back and medicinal alcohol. The nose is not real big. Taste is both sweet and bitter. Alcohol on the palate and a rubbery taste that I couldn’t quite get into. I kept wondering what went wrong? Went down dry but tasted like pencil erasers and didn’t fade well. I would pass on this next time.
I agree with others here, this brew is decent, but not great. Lacks hoppy aroma and taste. Drinkable, not one of the worst ipa’s I’ve had.
Bottle at SBT. Golden ale, slight citrus hop, sour egginess, dry citrus funk finish. Dry, citrusy ipa with reddish body. Quite bitter overall.
Pours a hazy golden brown with a thick white head. Aroma of malt, slight hops and a tart/sour note. Taste is alcohol, slight hops, a lot of malt and an off/sour note. Really weird, kinda disgusting. I don’t like this beer
Pours cloudy light orange. A good pungent pale. It has a reasonable (east-coast) hop bite, but this one is definitely well balanced, and shows as a good standard pale. Full flavor, just a bit minerally. Good though.
Its not too bad or good. Just ok. The aroma is weak, hint of grain. Appearance is amber with no head or legs. Palate is minimal hops with a grain wash finish, kind of flat. Overall its just ok
This $1.59 bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a very large sized head of foamy finely sized off-white colored bubbles that were long lasting and left behind a typically carbonated transparent light brown orange colored body and a thick foamy lacing. The aroma was mild hop. The mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start mediumly tingly at the finish. The flavor contained notes of hops. An OK quaff-able brew with a so-so flavor. Forgetable and nothing special.
Orange pour with a white head. Nose is straw, grass, and grain. A bit of bread, some mild citrus peel, and just a sweet malt nose overall. The flavor is just kind of sweet with a lot of grain, bread, and toast. A light bitterness, some straw, grass, and a light citrus peel quality. Very meh.
Pours a slightly hazy copper with a finger of rocky white head. Settles quickly, minimal lacing. Aromas is hoppy, citrus, pine, with underlying malt and hay. Starts moderately hoppy and a builds a litte, fades into tones of honey and wheat, finish mildy malty and nutty. Bitterness lingers. Moderate carbonation and medium body. A crisp mouthfeel and a slightly astringent finish. Not super hoppy, but a drinkable, enjoyable IPA.
Good IPA but not great. Ok sweet smell and sweet tasting hops. Not much head and very little lacing. OK not great.
Not a terrible IPA, but not great. Pine and some citrus and somewhat bitter. Lacks in balance and the hop choice is not the most appealing.
First had this beer 20 years ago, and then it vanished from the area. Funny to see it back after all this time.
12oz bottle. Small off-white head, lightly hazy amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, bread/caramel, some grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, some pine, light bread. Medium body, light resin.
12oz bottle that cost about $1.75. Bright orange yellow color with good head and good lace, fits the style. Smells like a touch of citrus hops and not much else. Taste is bitter, citrus, hoppy, solid IPA but just doesn’t wow me when compared to everything out there these days.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 10-18-2011 20:27:48