Canned American amber ale from one of the five (if I’m not mistaken) Pizza Port brewpubs in California, the first of which started making craft beer in addition to selling pizzas in 1992 and therefore widely regarded as pioneers in the nineties craft beer boom, not to mention the company gave rise to Port Brewing and Lost Abbey in 2006. Relatively young (four months) sample of 50 cl. Coarse, off-white head consisting of fairly large bubbles and therefore not retaining very well, breaking open in instants but leaving a thin rim around the edges of the tasting glass; colour is indeed perfectly orangey amber, clear with not much fizz. Primarily malt sweet aroma, with hints of toast and caramel, an unfortunate presence of H2S (sewer water) and some cooked red cabbage, but luckily some more redeeming impressions too becoming stronger as these two odours fade away: tulips, marmelade, honey, a lot of peach, bubblegum, walnut, overripe mango, mashed banana, grass, weeds - I’d say almost ’Belgian’ odours; unfortunately I get very little of the dry-hopping advertized above. Sweetish onset, restrainedly fruity with hints of peach, some banana and gooseberry, soft carbo as expected, sourish red berry touch; smooth and slick mouthfeel, flavour profile dominated by caramel malt sweetness, biscuity too, with a clear toasted accent in the end; finish is a simple continuation of this caramelly and lightly toasted malt sweetness, a bit nutty, with a relatively late, peppery, floral and subtly resiny hop bitterness, drying a bit, but far less than I hoped for, so that simple, juicy, caramelly malt sweetness is your last impression after you swallow, with a somewhat watery effect and a certain metallic ’zing’, though there is also a kind of ginger-like spiciness to it, albeit very, very subtle, as well as a certain ’powdery’ yeastiness in the last sips. Almost reminds me of a soft, thin, sweetish ’spéciale belge’ à la Palm Spéciale: an amber ale alright, but lacking in American hop character (or character altogether). Perhaps Pizza Port’s cans do not travel well, I can imagine this has more crispness and a more lively hop bouquet when fresh. The only way to find out, is to visit one of Pizza Port’s brewpubs, I guess... In this form, this is among the poorest canned craft beers I had so far, I did not enjoy this as much as I hoped I would.

Can, thanks SirLimpsalot. Amber with a white head. On the sweet side with light hops, malt, caramel, grass and some grapefruit. Medium bitter and with fairly light body.

Tap at Bud. Medium orange-amnber color, clear, with lace. Nose of caramel and chocolate malt, grass, earth. Tasty malt flavor, nice balance, well done but not very interesting.

Whats Brewing 2014. Amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is fruit, malt, hop, caramel. Flavour is the same. Easy drinkable beer.

Can 16fl.oz. [ As Pizza Port The Chronicale ].Clear medium amber orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, nutty notes, moderate hoppy, citrus, orange - citrus. Flavour is moderate sweet and bitter with a average to long duration, old malt, fruity, orange, dusty malt. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20141227]

Brown color with a minimal and quickly diminishing off-white head. Aroma with notes of dry fruits and light caramel. Flavor is slightly malty with some notes of toasted malts. Bittery final with some dry mouthfeel.