Left Hand Stranger Pale Ale

Sane or senseless? Harmless or harmful? Sometimes it takes awhile to get to know a stranger. Initial impressions are not always reality, so you must delve deeper. Beyond the initial floral hop aromas, malt sweetness is revealed, yet with a spicy undertone that exposes a very rye sense of humor. Take your time to get to know the Stranger. It’s strangely satisfying.

519 reviews

Longmont, United States

Community reviews

1.8 Poured from a bottle. Yellow with a tiny white head. Very little aroma and even less taste. Disappointing beer by a good brewery. We’ll not drink it again.

3.2 Bottle. Pours a dark orange colour with a thin white head, mild malt and fruit aroma, taste is lightly bitter, with a dry fruity.

3.4 Nice, drinkable, pale ale that I would get again. Forcing me to write a comment though is really annoying

2.7 Bottle from Brother Martin. Mild citrus aroma but that’s the best bit. Grassy, cardboard malt with just a hint of bitterness. Too watery and bland to leave a telling impression.

2.9 bottle from ales by mail not much on the aroma . orange copper in colour slight white head quite sweet on the taste with a little hop kick a very slight bitter finish a nice beer

2.7 Bottle from We Brought Beer, Balham, London - golden amber coloured pour with white head. Aroma and taste is light fruity grassy and malty, some faint citrus hop, watery body, pretty bland and subdued (Note this bottle was a month over best before) but still cant imagine it being any punchier "in date" (maybe a re-rate here)

3.5 Bottle from Coppers, Newcastle. Bright golden coloured with orange marmalade and burnt toffee flavours followed by a smooth pine and citrus finish. Very nice but slightly thin in the body.

3.3 Pours a pale colour. Taste is hoppy with some tobacco, oily on the palate, not a bad beer

3.1 Pours a light gold color. Aromas caramel, light fruity ester and hay. Flavors of light straw, light caramel, some grass and slight floral. Medium sweet. Light in flavor and complexity. Average and mainstreamed all around.

2.9 Poured from the bottle into a Samuel Adams glass. The pour produced a crystal clear, light amber body with a rocky white head of foam, which diminished fully with some moderate lacing (The clarity of the brew gave me pause, thinking this might be a watered down ale). The aroma of the ale was yeasty, with light hop notes. A medium mouth-feel, with crisp carbonation. The bitterness of the hops is the dominant taste, making this a dry ale, with some hint at the sweetness of the malt. As advertised, there is some note of spice in there, though I think it would be quickly muddled if served any colder than the suggested temperature (my sample was at 57.5F). A little bitter for my liking (not much of a hop-head, sorry), though not bad.

2.8 Almost clear pale golden amber.Thin head and lacing.Oily, thin palate, metallic.Not a horrible beer but lacking much. Expected more from the LHBC.Results are possibly due to consumption after best buy date but seems on par with other reviews.Best buy date: 09/18/14Consumed: 11/08/14

2.5 Very faint aromo of some hops, floral, and citrus. Pale gold in color with w thin white head. Thin sweet malt up front. Sweetness fades quickly. Notes of biscit and bread. Peppery bitterness comes in, fairly mild. Finish is a light bitterness. More like a pilsner than a pale ale. Watery mouth feel.

2.6 Stranger, eh? Very Strange. People are strange, and so is this beer. Nothing like the paragon of virtue, truth and the American way of Brewing: BLATZ. Think about it. Or not. OK stuff, but I couldn’t see myself walking across the street to get anymore….UNLESS…I was out of Blatz, Blatz Light, Hamm’s, grain belt, shaeffer, Schmidt, and innumerable others. So do your fat old body some good, and hie down to the local market & grab a case of Blatz. Watch as the other shoppers enviously eye your grocery cart and try making small talk as they know you are sauve, sophisticated, keen, eagle-eyed, pillar of the community.

2.9 Bottle from Kris Wines, London. A mildly fruity hop aroma, not much depth of flavour.

3.2 Pale light golden, softest cloud and head very little lacing. Oily sweetcorn, brassy malt, light spice. Initial taste is weak bitterness, tinny malt and builds to spicy sweetcorn middle. Pressing carbonation and grassy hay dryness. Finish is releasing creamy and lightly bitter. Not terribly hoppy or juicy and a light spiciness to the linger. Drinkable, odd, unsatisfying. Bottle, Beets.

1.7 The "Strangest" thing about this is how comparable it is to a Budweiser. Really Really disappointed in this one

3.3 Bottle. Golden with an off white foam. Aromas are grain with lemon rind and pithy grapefruit. Lager like nutty malts with hints of lime. Flavours are clean grain with citrus hops and a grassy, floral character. Good.

2.7 355 ml bottle. Pours clear pale golden color with a small head. Okay, this seems to be a let down from the get-go, very faint herbal notes on the nose, barely notice the hops, lots of wet hay. Flavor is just as bland, hay, faint resinous hop notes and some orange. Grassy bitterness on the finish. It is crisp and refreshing but there isn’t just enough flavors here. I wouldn’t classify this as an APA. 2413

3.6 355 ml bottle. Clear amber with white head. Smell is hoppy floral and fruity. Taste is sweet fruity and floral hoppy. Semi sweet with low bitterness and low carbonation.

3.5 Bottle. Pours a clear, deep, golden with a small white head. Aroma is a bit bready with citrus fruit and floral hops. Flavor is fruity with hints of pineapple, lemon, peach and more citrus, bready straw notes, nice spices, and grassy, floral hops with some nice hop bitterness on the finish. Light body with medium carbonation. Solid APA.

2.8 Bottle from Beer Gonzo, Coventry. Slight aroma of peach, caramel. Taste is slight sweet fruit, pretty malty background. Some spiciness from the rye. A bit dull but still refreshing.

3.3 Bottle from Lazy Dog Macon. Pours transparent gold with white head. Aroma of fruity hops and citrus. Taste of bitter hops, citrus and caramel. Pretty good.

4.1 Appearance: I poured a bottle of Stranger Pale Ale into a pint glass, and found that it left a thin but decent white head; it looked a bit like clouds on a weather radar, and I wondered if anyone used the Stranger to tell their future. It was a bit hazy, but a deep golden amber in color, almost like honey that has just started to crystallize and is darkening. Aroma: Instead of the nose full of conifer needles that many pale ales offer, the Stranger had a nose balanced between floral scents, sweet caramel scents, and a subtle touch of pine. It was a familiar and comforting smell, but it felt new and surprising at the same time. Flavor: The mouthfeel on this one is somewhere between an Amber and an IPA, which is nice. There are a lot of bright flavors on the tip of the tongue, followed by richer ones in the middle of the tongue and the insides of the cheeks. It is a thinner beer, which works well in its favor. Such light and subtle flavors wouldn’t communicate well in a thicker beer. Overall Impression: Stranger Pale Ale is one of my favorite Left Hand brews. It’s not overly alcoholic, or overly hopped. It has refreshing and relaxing quality to it. Picture a late-afternoon barbecue, or a local baseball game: Stranger should be there. It’s a great segue into the evening from the afternoon. http://bit.ly/StrangerPA

3.2 12 oz bottle. BB 19/11/2014. From alesbymail.co.uk. Clear deep golden colour with a small white head. Fruity hops, mild bitterness, cookies, sweet caramel malt and mild fruit tea notes in the aroma. The flavour is fruity and resiny hops, moderate bitterness, strong sweetness, cookies and caramel malt. Not bad.

2.8 Where and how: bottle 355ml Aroma soft, nice aromatic wrap. Slight feel of caramel with fruits. More hops at mid-end. Appearance : Top: medium bright top, nice lace on glass. Base: almost clear, amber-gold. Palate : medium carbonation, mid bodied front with thinner finish. Taste: Mild toasty malt notes with citrussy hops. Felt a bit washed-out. Other notes just passable.

2.6 Rated from notes taken 8 Sep 2013 -- It’s an okay pale ale. I think how they are marketing it is clever, but the beer itself is unremarkable.

3.5 Bottle from deeside drinks emporium. Pours a clear golden with a small white head which fades. Aromas of sweet pineapple, straw and slight citrus. Taste has a pale malt flavour with mild citrus and earthy hints. Nice APA

4.5 I like this beer, however it is darker than it’s predecessor. Side by side you couldn’t tell the difference between the Pale Ale and the IPA. Still an overall delicious brew to drink.

3.2 Bottle. Archer Road Beer Stop, Sheffield. Clear, dark gold. Minimal head. Quite grainy. Some orange. Tastes grainy sweet. Turns dry, and light bitter. Thinnish palate. Some bitterness, with more grainy sweetness at the end.

3.5 Bottle. Golden pour with a thin white head. Mild hops, malts and a hit of spice in the aroma and taste. Decent APA, not a world-beater, but still a nice brew.