# James Squire Pale Ale - New Beer



## waggastew (12/8/11)

Went to a James Squire tasting session last night hosted by Chuck Hahn. They were launching the 40 Lashes Pale Ale, hopped with NS, Amarillo and Galaxy. Was not a bad drop, alot more flavour than the Kosi Pale Ale with a touch of acidity to make it a good summer quencher. Its more of an Aussie PA style but seemed pretty popular with the beer snobs.


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## bignath (12/8/11)

I was at one those tastings last week, and thought that pale ale was fantastic.

I love JS beers, the only one i don't like is the sundowner lager.

Am on the waiting list for the pale, cant wait for release day to get me some.

Was a good night too. Mine was hosted by Michael Jackson - seriously, that's his name. And yes, he did prefer to be called Jacko. Was a pretty good bloke too.


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## pbrosnan (12/8/11)

I tried this at a tasting a couple of months ago in Perth and thought was a bit bland. However the beer was served very cold, lager temp, so may be that destroyed the taste and my buds.


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## argon (12/8/11)

Inhad this a month or so back at the fox in south Brisbane. 'twas ok, nothing to write home about. Certanly better than all the other selections. Dey and very sessionable though, with a very subtle hop finish. But as above it was served fizzy and very cold. Maybe should have let it warm a touch.


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## Aus_Rider_22 (25/8/11)

Sipping on the JS "one fifty" lashes Pale Ale. 

Obviously a different beer to the 40 lashes. IMO it's a JS Golden Ale without the Amarillo aroma. Pretty unimpressed.


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## waggastew (25/8/11)

Interesting feedback. Maybe they kegged a 'freshy' for the night as I picked up the Amarillo and NS from the aroma. Chuck filled me in on the Galaxy. Its no hop bomb but is a damn sight better than the Koscuisko PA if you ask me. Do you think they would up the hops for the promos to get you in and then 'water it down' for bottling/mass production?

PS. Chatted to a mate the other day about the JS night I went to. They kicked onto another pub around the corner with Chuck Hahn. Apparently he threw the corporate card behind the bar and they all had a very merry time indeed! Bummer I pulled the pin earlier due to it being a work night. Still, fair play to a bloke who has plenty of dough in the bank to want to go out on the sauce with a bunch of strangers. Must be on a tight leash at home and likes to cut loose when on the road?


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## mckenry (30/8/11)

I had the one fifty pale ale at the AB in Glebe last night. I am a fan of th JS beers and always defend the Golden Ale, when others have gone off it. Anyway, my bro & I had a jug of it. Fairly underwhelmed. Back to the Golden Ales. Was hoping for a big hop punch, but no.


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## Pollux (31/8/11)

Grabbed a six pack today at the bottle shop. Have tried it now both poured into a glass and straight from the bottle. It's sessionable, but nothing to write home about....

And the bullshit on the bottle.....

"A clean-finishing Australian-style cloudy pale ale for cracking refreshment. Malted wheat adds to its refreshing character and a concoction of hops creates fruity aroma with hints of passionfruit, grapefruit and citrus"


Please........concoction of hops? I'd be shocked if the hops actually ever touched the kettle or were just waved over the top....

It's sad to see JS lose it's way so badly, I can remember my first ever JS beer, it was the 2006 Hop Thief and it was freaking fantastic.....


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## Liam_snorkel (31/8/11)

_Never Forsake Flavour..._
indeed.


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## ged (31/8/11)

Schooner at the Norman today. Pretty average. Very similar to Kosciuszko - probably the same recipe. A bit cloudy, slightly grainy malt, barest hint of Galaxy. For something to drink with an incorrectly cooked steak, it's better than VB.


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## eamonnfoley (31/8/11)

All their regular beers are macro swill nowadays. Only ones worth buying in my opinion are the mad brewers range. I loved the smoked weizen.


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## bignath (31/8/11)

Wow, this is disappointing about these comments.

I had this a few weeks ago as it was unveiled at a tasting night i attended with Jacko, and i loved it. 

Saw it advertised in the junk mail at Dans and thought, Cool, gotta go get me some. Sounds like it may not live up to the hype. 

FWIW, everybody who attended the night went home raving about this beer - some attendees were CUB employees, and other's were local winery/pub owners.

Seems like a shame, but i'll still go get me a sixer to try.


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## waggastew (31/8/11)

Big Nath said:


> Wow, this is disappointing about these comments.
> 
> I had this a few weeks ago as it was unveiled at a tasting night i attended with Jacko, and i loved it.
> 
> ...



Exactly my experience as stated above. Do you think they bunged on 'Special Batch' beer for the promo night or it was just fresh?

Kinda like the 'Special' wines some winemakers have been caught doing for competitions


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## OzMemphis (31/8/11)

I had a couple of these @ Sydney Airport with some mates and we loved it.
Certainly hope its not that bad out of the bottle, picking up a case on Friday!


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## kevo (1/9/11)

Had one tonight, remined me of a stone & wood, just turned down several notches.
Not bad, not great, won't rush, but would have another.

Kev


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## andreic (2/9/11)

Bought a sixpack last night and had a few.

I quite like it. Its not very hoppy for those of you that have tuned your palates to full on APA hopmonster beers but I got the slightest pleasant whiff of hop aroma. There's a slight refreshing tartness to it. Its a light, refreshing easy drinking beer. It'd work well for a session.

cheers, Andrei


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## probablynathan (2/9/11)

Had this one a few times now. First tasting was on tap I was unimpressed by it but it was the first release and I think they may have tweaked it a bit since then. second tasting was at a James squire dinner and I enjoyed it, and talking to a few other people there I was not alone in having revised my opinion of this beer. 

So if you tried it and didn't like it when it first came out give it another chance you might be surprised.

Personally I prefer it over Sundowner, Pilsner and Golden but not as much as the IPA, Amber and Porter. and at 4.2% It will make a good summer session beer.


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## .DJ. (2/9/11)

Had one last night...

Where are the hops? Tasted like Tooheys...


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## ekul (2/9/11)

I was at the bottlo last night buying some coopers yeast so thought i should splash out and try one of the 150 lashes. 

I didn't think the 150 lashes was a bad beer, but i expect more from this brewery. I really wish they would start making the golden ale with hops in it again. This current golden ale they make is not a patch on the original recipe. 

It seems to me that they are putting lass hops in all their beers to appeal to a larger market. Their sundowner was an 'alright' drop in a pinch, but i tasted one the other day and it may as well have been a tooheys.


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## ledgenko (2/9/11)

I am in agreeance with Pollox here ... The hop Thief .. is James Squires best yet beer ... bring it back !!!!


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## Tanga (2/9/11)

The JS golden ale was definately lagerish on the nose and in the glass. Waste of money.


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## Aus_Rider_22 (2/9/11)

.DJ. said:


> Had one last night...
> 
> Where are the hops? Tasted like Tooheys...



That was my impression.


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## loikar (2/9/11)

Aus_Rider_22 said:


> That was my impression.



Funny That...

http://www.lionco.com/brands/beer-spirits-...ustralian-beer/


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## jakester (2/9/11)

I picked up a case of this after work today. Wish i bought a single bottle. As said above, where are the hops? Turn the Galaxy up a couple of notches and it could be a good beer. Only thing i can think of is they dont put much hops in to keep within a budget, as all their beers are priced the same. Damn shame though, wish i forked out the extra and got the Stone & Wood, this being a fathers day present to myself and all!


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## Will88 (2/9/11)

I found this pretty disappointing. My dad and I cracked open a bottle each and his first comment went along the lines of "it's very bland for a james squire beer".

After reading about the hops used in this one I was expecting something more. It's not a terrible beer but it doesn't stand out either. Just another gateway pale ale.


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## Malted (2/9/11)

ekul said:


> It seems to me that they are putting lass hops in all their beers



Yeah where are the masculine hops? Damned girly beers!


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## logie (2/9/11)

all the james squires beers are fantastic, the best ones ive had are the speculator and the 100 lashes while on a visit into melb town and dropped into the brewhouse there on Russel st, since i first stared brewing well over 6 yrs ago ive come to appreciate different styles and brands of beer other than the old vb and draught that to me quite frankly just dosnt cut it anymore, personally im a fan of full flavour proper beer that will taste just as good after a dozen with out that sickly tast you get with commercial beers


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## Liam_snorkel (2/9/11)

cool story bro


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## Aus_Rider_22 (2/9/11)

logie said:


> all the james squires beers are fantastic, the best ones ive had are the speculator and the 100 lashes while on a visit into melb town and dropped into the brewhouse there on Russel st, since i first stared brewing well over 6 yrs ago ive come to appreciate different styles and brands of beer other than the old vb and draught that to me quite frankly just dosnt cut it anymore, personally im a fan of full flavour proper beer that will taste just as good after a dozen with out that sickly tast you get with commercial beers



I don't even know..........


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## bignath (2/9/11)

Aus_Rider_22 said:


> I don't even know..........



:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## mh971 (2/9/11)

logie said:


> all the james squires beers are fantastic, the best ones ive had are the speculator and the 100 lashes while on a visit into melb town and dropped into the brewhouse there on Russel st, since i first stared brewing well over 6 yrs ago ive come to appreciate different styles and brands of beer other than the old vb and draught that to me quite frankly just dosnt cut it anymore, personally im a fan of full flavour proper beer that will taste just as good after a dozen with out that sickly tast you get with commercial beers




Big Call. But is subjective as all personal taste is.

Golden Ale might as well be in a west end draught can now, I remember when you got the Amarillo aroma when drinking out bottle, then it changed and you had to use glass to get it, now it's just not there.

Never Liked the Amber or IPA, only the Porter has any respect points left IMHO.

Will still take Golden from tap as it is usually the best tap selection in whatever place you're at.


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## loikar (2/9/11)

Mick71 said:


> Big Call. But is subjective as all personal taste is.
> 
> Golden Ale might as well be in a west end draught can now, I remember when you got the Amarillo aroma when drinking out bottle, then it changed and you had to use glass to get it, now it's just not there.
> 
> ...



+1

Squires is shit these days
I remember when it was a beer that made you sit up in your chair and say to yourself "**** me! that's a nice beer".


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## piraterum (3/9/11)

ledgenko said:


> I am in agreeance with Pollox here ... The hop Thief .. is James Squires best yet beer ... bring it back !!!!



Hear, hear! The Hop Thief was a mighty fine beer.

I tried the lashes pale on tap a couple of months ago at the Courthouse at Newtown. Very disappointing, despite being a pale ale it tastes like every other bland, tasteless lager on the market. To say it contains hops, is an insult to hops :angry:


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## bkmad (3/9/11)

Had some last night alongside kosiosko pale and the golden ale as well at the Rose in Erskineville. The 100 lashes was the nicest of the 3. I thought it was just a nice easy drinking aussie style pale ale with a touch of hops. I must admit I haven't seen the bottle packaging, but it doesn't appear to be marketed as an APA so why is everyone expecting a shitload of hops? Its not the sort of beer I'll go seeking out, but it is one I'll happily drink in a session.


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## Braumoasta (18/10/11)

Tried the Pale Ale on tap last week. From memory it was nothing real special. 



Mick71 said:


> Golden Ale might as well be in a west end draught can now, I remember when you got the Amarillo aroma when drinking out bottle, then it changed and you had to use glass to get it, now it's just not there.



I would disagree. In the pub I can smell the amarillo when someone walks past with a jug of Golden Ale, the hops are certainly there.


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## MarkBastard (19/10/11)

I had this at the Fox and it was terrible. Absolutely horrible. It was as bad as Tooheys New without exaggerating. It tasted like a filtered Coopers Pale or something. Yuck.


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## bignath (19/10/11)

Had it "fresh" at a JS unveiling/tasting night a few months back.

Awesome beer. was really excited by it, couldn't wait for it to be released onto the market.

Grabbed a sixer a few weeks back. Yuck. Where did all the flavour go?

Didn't taste anything like what i tasted at the gathering months earlier.

I hope they haven't dumbed it down already??


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## Liam_snorkel (19/10/11)

had, no cancel that, _bought_ a pot of it the other night. Drank half, then moved on to another venue.
Underwhelming is how I would describe it, even after reading the reviews in this thread.. still, if it's a choice between this and VB or Draught..


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## Dave70 (19/10/11)

What ever happened to their amber ale? 
A couple of years back I thought I'd found the holy grail of shop bought beers. Now, not so much. Actually, not at all.
Something(s) missing, and my palate's to underdeveloped to detect where these things have gone.


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## Lecterfan (19/10/11)

Pollux said:


> It's sessionable, but nothing to write home about....
> 
> And the bullshit on the bottle.....
> 
> ...



This was precisely my experience over the weekend with it. Well said, sir.


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## WSC (19/10/11)

There could be an issue with freshness of this beer and the hop flavour.

The kegs I have seen are very close to their best before date. But that is from a sample of one venue.


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## MarkBastard (19/10/11)

Dave70 said:


> What ever happened to their amber ale?
> A couple of years back I thought I'd found the holy grail of shop bought beers. Now, not so much. Actually, not at all.
> Something(s) missing, and my palate's to underdeveloped to detect where these things have gone.



At a guess they cut down the Willamette, enhanced the POR, use tooheys yeast and add more sugar.


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## QldKev (19/10/11)

I've given up on the James Squire range, they have totally stuffed them up and gone mainstream. Pitty because the JSGA was the beer that got me to move to AG.

QldKev


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## 1975sandman (19/10/11)

QldKev said:


> I've given up on the James Squire range, they have totally stuffed them up and gone mainstream. Pitty because the JSGA was the beer that got me to move to AG.
> 
> QldKev



I agree with QLDKev. It was the Squires range that got me off the megaswill initially. Thought the beers were good but they have gone downhill recently.


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## craigo (19/10/11)

i had this beer a few weeks ago and thought it was crap id prefer coopers pale to this any day of the week.


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## kymba (19/10/11)

this beer is actually bittered with a weak lemon juice solution and contains no hops, just like all their beers now


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## Dave70 (19/10/11)

Mark^Bastard said:


> At a guess they cut down the Willamette, enhanced the POR, use tooheys yeast and add more sugar.



Well, I guess you cant blame a brewer for hitching their wagon to two of the ingredients found in one of the countries most popular beers in an attempt to, presumably increase the market share. Even though they dumbed down the product in the process. 
But like Ice Cube changing his image to endear himself to a white audience, they both sold out.
The sold out to the man.


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## Bribie G (19/10/11)

So where is it available on tap in Brisbane? Here on Bribie / Caboolture there's only VB, Carlton, Mid, XXXX gold, blonde, blond, blonnddxx, New, Old (which I usually drink), old farts 2% beer, and I actually came across some Bruers Bright which was underwhelming. Caboolture ex-shire is pretty much a no go area for JS.


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## argon (19/10/11)

Mark^Bastard said:


> I had this at the Fox and it was terrible. Absolutely horrible. It was as bad as Tooheys New without exaggerating. It tasted like a filtered Coopers Pale or something. Yuck.



I agree that it is a totally forgettable beer, but not awful... however... last time i went to the fox i ordered one and they poured me a superdry when i wasn't looking. Looked at it, didn't seem right, sipped it, certainly wasn't right. returned to the bar and told them it wasn't the beer i ordered. The bar-girl had to look at the front of the taps to work out which was which. She'd poured the wrong one by mistake... any chance that happened?


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## hsb (19/10/11)

Love the Ice Cube kayak fishing picture, thanks, much more interesting than JS beers. Like Ice T from copkiller to Law & Order SVU.
If JS beers ever did tote AK47's, I missed that era.


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## MarkBastard (19/10/11)

argon said:


> I agree that it is a totally forgettable beer, but not awful... however... last time i went to the fox i ordered one and they poured me a superdry when i wasn't looking. Looked at it, didn't seem right, sipped it, certainly wasn't right. returned to the bar and told them it wasn't the beer i ordered. The bar-girl had to look at the front of the taps to work out which was which. She'd poured the wrong one by mistake... any chance that happened?



Hahaha, there is EVERY chance that happened. I sincerely hope that is what the problem was.

God that place is slack, but I can't resist those cheesy jalapeno poppers.


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## Bribie G (19/10/11)

Just found out where the Fox is (didn't know it existed) - if their beer service is as accurate as their website then look out :blink: 

They show a picture of the pub purporting to be from 1894 and that looks like a Leyland P76 parked outside :lol: 
Or maybe it's a DeLorean which would explain it.


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## Liam_snorkel (19/10/11)

I had it at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow


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## MarkBastard (19/10/11)

Bribie G said:


> Just found out where the Fox is (didn't know it existed) - if their beer service is as accurate as their website then look out :blink:
> 
> They show a picture of the pub purporting to be from 1894 and that looks like a Leyland P76 parked outside :lol:
> Or maybe it's a DeLorean which would explain it.



Haha, I never noticed that!

Be careful with the Fox. I started going there because it's one of the few places in Brisbane that does good American BBQ. The Blue Smoke in New Farm does it too, however it's a small place with long wait times etc. The Fox is good BBQ in a pub environment at its best.

HOWEVER, it's also a really cheap and nasty uni pub some of the time. For example on Sundays they don't serve BBQ, they serve $2 steaks only. We didn't know this and even called them one Sunday night to make sure they were open for BBQ and said can we make a booking. They said no booking needed, just come on down. We got there and weren't allowed to enter via the normal entrance, had to line up with these kids out the front. Thought that was weird. Made it through to the restaurant area to find it set up like a god damn high school canteen full of little shits eating shitty steaks and cheap jugs of megaswill, with mess everywhere. It was freaking horrible, and of course no BBQ available. Was a big waste of our time. But I'll go back there again because of the lack of BBQ options in Brisbane :angry:


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## Bribie G (19/10/11)

Good to see that there are heaps of students who haven't gone vegan and P.E.T.A. - did you end up trying the $2 steak?


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## Snow (19/10/11)

argon said:


> I agree that it is a totally forgettable beer, but not awful... however... last time i went to the fox i ordered one and they poured me a superdry when i wasn't looking. Looked at it, didn't seem right, sipped it, certainly wasn't right. returned to the bar and told them it wasn't the beer i ordered. The bar-girl had to look at the front of the taps to work out which was which. She'd poured the wrong one by mistake... any chance that happened?


Jesus what are you doing at the Fox with Archive just around the corner!!??!!


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## MarkBastard (19/10/11)

Bribie G said:


> Good to see that there are heaps of students who haven't gone vegan and P.E.T.A. - did you end up trying the $2 steak?



haha god no, I felt like a grandpah and I'm still in my 20's.


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## mje1980 (10/11/11)

Some pretty bad reviews of this beer haha. I had a 6 pack a few weeks ago. I thought for a bbq beer it was pretty nice. Sure, not overly full of flavour etc, but i think its a good beer. I had it on tap a few days ago, and there was definately hop aroma and flavour. Again, not at crazy stupid US 2IPA levels, but this is after all a "commercial" craft brewer. If im heading to a BBQ etc and need to grab a 6 pack, i'd grab this again. 

Much better on tap i thought. Looks like a few places in wollongong have it on tap too. Makes going to a pub a bit more bearable hahah. 

For most people here, there is no way you'll ever walk into a local and find on tap your absolute fave beer. I'll never walk into my local and see a mild ale on tap. Gotta be realistic.


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## DJR (10/11/11)

Sounds like the "freshies" were done at MSB Camperdown (much smaller fermenters and better availability of yeast/hops) and since then the general release of kegs/bottles is from a Lion Nathan mega brewery.

That'd explain the big difference people are talking about.

JS nowadays - meh. Since they moved production out to the mega plants the quality is pretty lacking. I'd be interested to see what beers, if any, are being brewed at MSB - probably just the Mad Brewers range.


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## Muscovy_333 (10/11/11)

Bribie G said:


> Just found out where the Fox is (didn't know it existed) - if their beer service is as accurate as their website then look out :blink:
> 
> They show a picture of the pub purporting to be from 1894 and that looks like a Leyland P76 parked outside :lol:
> Or maybe it's a DeLorean which would explain it.




No doubt another broken flux capacitor!


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## MarkBastard (10/11/11)

I ended up having another one of these to give it another go. It was much better than the first time though still not much to it. The mouth feel was completely different leading me to believe I did in fact have a Tooheys Extra Dry the first time.

It's a really really dumbed down pale ale. But it's pleasant enough.


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## Truman42 (10/11/11)

I was given a carton of pale ale by a customer so it's enjoyable enough for a freebie. 
The golden ale is now available in cans (I think 250 ml). What a waste of money.


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## mckenry (15/11/11)

apologies if this link has been posted already.
Tony Jones head brewer reviewing 150 lashes. Talks about it not being overly hoppy or much aroma or something ....



I learnt a couple of things
1 - Hopped with Willamette (tas), Nelson Sauvign (NZ) & Amarillo (US)
2 - Willamette is pronounced wil-LAM-it (I always pronounced it Will-a-met)

Tony Jones reviewing Cider here

Cider review youtube


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## kymba (15/11/11)

they use 36 specks of hop dust in this beer!



mckenry said:


> apologies if this link has been posted already.
> Tony Jones head brewer reviewing 150 lashes. Talks about it not being overly hoppy or much aroma or something ....
> 
> 
> ...


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## mckenry (28/11/11)

mckenry said:


> I had the one fifty pale ale at the AB in Glebe last night. I am a fan of th JS beers and always defend the Golden Ale, when others have gone off it. Anyway, my bro & I had a jug of it. Fairly underwhelmed. Back to the Golden Ales. Was hoping for a big hop punch, but no.



I gave this another shot last night (at the suggestion of SWMBO). At the same venue too. It was great. Not excellent, but yep, great. Very happy with it now. Hops were there! Really is a good Aussie Ale.

I also had the Little Creatures Big Dipper (DIPA) on tap at the same venue. Wow - what a beer. SWMBO loved it and said it was something like I would brew.
Looks like LC are getting it right then :icon_cheers: :lol:


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## beerbog (28/11/11)

kymba said:


> they use 36 specks of hop dust in this beer!



I agree, but it isn't meant to be a big arse APA, although I hoped it would be! :beerbang:


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