McMenamins Hammerhead Ale

A classic Northwest pale ale and McMenamins top selling beer. This rich chestnut colored gem is a model of harmony between hops and malted barley. Hammerhead's signature Cascade hop nose and intense hopped flavor blend nicely with the caramel tones from the crystal malt. This beer has a vocal following. To run out is an unforgivable sin.

Malts: Pale Malt; Crystal Malt

Hops: Cascades

Specifications: Original Gravity: 1.056; Terminal Gravity: 1.010; Alcohol by Weight: 4.7%

Calories/pint: 241

3.2

188 reviews

Portland, United States

Community reviews

3.4 Draft - Light citrus and pale malts. Hazy gold with a rich white head. Citrus and a sweet pale malt. Nice balanced bitterness, but maybe a bottom sweet.

3.2 Light golden Amber hue, minimal head. Light cardboard, balanced. Slight pine. Meh.

3.1 Poured copper in color with a white head. Aroma of caramel malts and grassy hops and resin. Doesn’t taste as fresh as I was hoping for. Just ok.

3.5 Pretty good for a Flagship beer. It was definitely their best Pale Ale on tap today. Re-Rating 4/30/2017: 5, 4, 6, 3, 12.

2.9 "a simplistic but tasty light copper colored american pale ale. pretty by the book as well, but nice enough. refreshing and flavorful, if light and lacking in complexity." 2015 batch pretty dang boring - gotta dock it.

3.1 Golden amber with a tight white he and decent lace. Modest pine and citrus hops with a balancing crystal malt sweetness. Medium body, lively carbonation, creamy mouthfeel and a crisp finish.

2.8 Pours a copper color with a slight floral aroma. A pure hops and mild sweet caramel flavor. Taste is easy drinking except for its bitter aftertaste. A slight too hoppy for my taste but overall a decent beer.

2.8 Draught in a flight at the Mill Creek Brewpub. Pours a slightly hazy amber color. Nose is grassy with some slightly sweet resin notes coming through. Taste is moderately bitter, but tastes extremely old - like it had been brewed upwards of a year prior.

3.0 Decent, but average pale ale. Light bodied, some dry hops bitterness, overall light mouthfeel, but just an average beer to enjoy with food.

2.8 Draught at McMenamins Mill Creek, WA, 5.93% ABV Hazy amber color. Easy Pale Ale, quite malty, with hints of citrusy hops, but spoiled by some diacetyl. Off-dry.

3.0 Poured a near clear amber with a white head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a nice citrus note with some grapefruit and a bit of backing bread. Flavor was a bit thin with some grapefruit and grass notes with a backing grass note.

2.3 Bottle poured into a pint glass. Bottle a gift from friend returning from Seattle. Pours cloudy orange amber with a quickly dissipating head. Smells of bitter citrus almost lemony. Taste is definitely IPA but watery & weak. Glad I didn’t buy it but grateful to try a brew I wouldn’t have otherwise thought to purchase.

3.7 Poured on draft at six arms brewery in Seattle. Golden pour. Boring. Run of the mill lager. Good session beer

3.3 On tap at Thompson’s Brewery and Public House. Pine, caramel and light fruit. Mild bitter finish.

3.5 Copper, hazy, off-white head. Malty with some caramel and toast, a little piney hops. Finishes balanced. Pleasant amber ale.

3.5 One finger of fluffy head with dark amber colored body. Smell is a nice pine and citrus. Taste is pine all the way with a nice malt balance. Solid and tasty. Soft texture with moderate carbonation and medium body. A nice and drinkable IPA with a good profile.

3.8 On tap @ brewpub in Bend OR, in the Old St Francis School. Red-orange , thick white head. Over-ripe tropical fruit-- papaya, mango, mint. Fruity and floral hops, sweetish malts, moderately bitter finish. Very nice.

1.8 This is not a very good beer. Somewhat watery in texture.Some malt flavour.

3.1 Draught. Rich toffee nose with light diateyl. Medium copper color. Sweet toffee flavor, earthy hops, very sweet but ends dirty and bitter. Too much crystal malt here.

3.1 pretty good, not bad overall good balance and blend of malts nohops noticable but not bad

2.7 10 years ago this was an awesome pale ale. 5 years ago it was considered decent. Now it is sub-standard. Look how far we’ve come and how the american pale ale has changed and become bigger, bolder, and hoppier. It’s a golden copper colored pale ale with a moderate amount of head. Aroma doesn’t jump out at you, but it’s mainly citrus and some grainy and slight toasty malt. The crystal malt sweetness is a bit candy-like and slightly artificial. The northwest cirtus hops are not too dominant in the flavor profile. Decently bitter and even slightly sour in the finish. Moderate in all categories.

2.9 This is an ok, middle of the road pale ale. It is like a weak version of their IPA. There is a good initial start with some hops but weak finish, not much nose.

3.1 On tap at some dungeon. Pours a reddish hue with a small white head. Small grainy nose. A sweet caramel malt with light fruity hops. Ok.

3.2 From tap the Seattle brewpub. Pours hazy orange with a small white head. Aroma is roasted malty, light fruity and caramelish. Smooth hoppy and crisp grapefruity. Bitter and light citrusy into the finish. Bitter and crisp hoppy finish.

3.1 Pint on draft at Seattle McMen brewpub Pretty pour...rich color and thick head Nose and initial taste is mild hops...strong? Not so much... Enjoyable but not extraordinary....

3.3 draft.a good american pale ale. nice smooth balanced flavor but nothing spectacular. daily drinker.

3.5 A bit of an unfair rating because I drank it from tap at the Edgefield but it was the fresh hopped version, so I’m guessing regularly it’s less intense. Smelled heavily of pine with lots of orange peel. Resiny hops with caramel malt.

3.1 Draught@McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, Portland Slightly hazy amber color, small white head, lace. Piney, fruity hop aroma. Light to medium bodied. Slightly bready, piney flavor. Some sweetness from crystal malts. Decent APA.

2.7 On tap at the Spar Cafe location. I found it pretty disappointing. It tasted sour like the tap lines needed cleaning. Didn’t make me want to stick around.

3.1 Bottle thanks to Lizzie. Poured a near clear amber with a white head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a nice citrus note with some grapefruit and a bit of backing bread. Flavor was a bit thin with some grapefruit and grass notes with a backing grass note.