Upstate Brewing Company Common Sense Ale

Common Sense Ale

 

Upstate Brewing Company in Elmira, New York, United States 🇺🇸

  Other Regular
Score
6.08
ABV: 5.3% IBU: 22 Ticks: 14
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7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Canned from GCT. Poured like I don’t know. Some malts and sweets and sourdough readiness. Pretty refreshing.

Tried from Can on 20 May 2025 at 01:23


6.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Taster at Brewery. Copper colored pour, ring of foamy head. Malty aroma. Taste is malty, faint sweetness, a touch of dryness. Seems thin

Tried on 13 Dec 2022 at 17:42


6.5

And my 2nd Kentucky common to round things out. Thanks to Max!

Tried from Can on 16 Jul 2022 at 21:56


5

Just a little bit of head. VERY malty once it settled.

Tried from Can on 09 Jan 2021 at 22:59


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Not a California Common, but a Kentucky common, closest respected glassware would be a becher glass, I guess.
The appearance was a ruddy dark red almost brown, perhaps I could say \"mahogany\" in color with a thin finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated at a mild pace. Stringy lace.
The aroma had a ton of malts in the front, somewhat sugary with a slight grassy to floral hoppiness ever so slightly at the end.
The flavor leads with the malts, and really brings in the grassy/floral hops at the back end. Malty aftertaste but something different about it than other \"malty beers’ aftertaste\" - somewhat like a sweet pine, but not like pine needles, maybe something herbal to it. I’m probably over thinking it, to be honest. Malty sort of floral/piney finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. Decent carbonation. ABV felt as projected by the brewer.
Overall, I know ratebeer uses a catch all for \"traditional ale\" for a beer of this nature which was traditionally served in mugs as a \"Kentucky common.\" Maybe if more brewers produce \"Kentucky commons,\" this would eventually get it’s own \"style\" on here. Until then, sorry I didn’t have it in a mug, oh well. Tis good.

Tried on 08 Apr 2017 at 21:02


5
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4

Sampled from a 16 oz can this beer poured a dark caramel-brown color with an enormous creamy-fluffy off white head that lingered and left incredible lacing. The aroma was tangy and sweet with notes of corn, faint fruit and a yeasty presence. The flavor was tangy, bready, yeasty and a bit fruity. Medium length finish. Medium body and smooth.

Tried from Can on 24 Nov 2015 at 15:10


6.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Can. Pours hazy dark amber with small off-white foamy head, faint caramel aroma, high carbonation, tangy caramel taste with medium bitter ending, metallic tint. Not very spectacular.

Tried from Can on 03 Sep 2015 at 21:35


7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

The Sampler, Brooklyn tap: Pours slightly see-through dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is nuts, malts, fresh, yeasty bread. Beer is extremely refreshing. I came in parched (too much salty food) and this beer successfully rectified the problem. The acidity was there, but I was surprised not to find the sourness in there, but I suppose the explanation above explains it. Simple and tasty.

Tried from Draft on 27 Dec 2014 at 10:30


6.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

A reddish copper ale with a thin off white head. In aroma, sweet fruity caramel malt with light grassy hops, light acidity, nice. In mouth, a sweet fruity caramel malt with light grassy hops, light mineral notes, rye, OK. On tap at Syracuse Beer fest November 2014.

Tried from Draft on 07 Nov 2014 at 17:35


5.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Location: Sampled at TapNY, 4/26/14

Aroma: The aroma is light and malty, some bread, and pale malts, and not much else
Appearance: This brew pours a clear reddish-orange color with a beige head on it
Flavor: The taste is mild, with a bit of grainy sweetness and some mild bitterness
Palate: The body is light-medium, it drinks alright, clean on the mouth, and a mild finish
Overall Impression: Well, now I understand why this wasn't sour at all. It wasn't suppose to be. I saw that it was a Kentucky Common, and I expected it to be sour, so reading the description on here clears that up. That changes my opinion a bit, but, at the same time, it was just a pretty boring beer. The lack of the expected sourness wasn't my only issue, it also kind of lacks taste in general.

Tried from Draft on 07 May 2014 at 14:54