Pigskin Pale Ale - Beer Valley Brewing Co.

JDV

Texas

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle as a bonus in trade with hopdog. Thanks man! Pours orange with a fluffy lasting white head. Smell is mild fruity orange and tea like earthiness. Taste is very balanced with a nice malt presence with slightly strong orange fruity bitter hoppiness. Moderate hoppiness and spot on for a pale ale. Medium to full body with crisp carbonation. Solid, enjoyable pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2008 20:51:23 | More by JDV

djeucalyptus

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'm glad to see Beer Valley getting wider distribution in the area... every brew I've tried has been solid, and this one is no different.

pours a rich golden orange with a thick, billowy, ultra-white head which takes an eternity to dissipate, leaving some solid spongy lacing. The last pour gets a bit of sediment, making the glass almost glow. Thin head follows the brew to the bottom.

Solid pale aroma, with hints of malt and a good smattering of piney and grapefruit hops on the nose. Fairly typical west-coast aroma, a touch more subtle than I was anticipating, yet very pleasing.

The full flavor quickly made up for the aroma. Definitely a hop-centric pale. Floral, piney, and citrus hops take turns dominating my palette while almost entirely obscuring the malt sweetness, which makes itself known every once in a while just to provide the illusion of balance. A strong and powerful flavor that beautifully showcases the hop profile without going too far.

Medium-full body with some excellent carbonation. Almost creamy, surprisingly so for a pale. Perfect to drink, without any slickness of oiliness.

An impressive hoppy pale. If you like hops, this is a solid brew that's a nice break from west-coast IPA hop bombs. I wouldn't call it neutrally balanced, but it's a very well put together brew with some excellent flavor profiles. Doesn't stand way out in the crowd, but I would never turn one away. An excellent session beer that could easily stand up to some good food pairings.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2008 19:37:30 | More by djeucalyptus

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Beer Valley's hoppier beers would seem to emphasize the sweeter more piney hop varieties, as with their Pigskin Pale with its fat, oozing pinesap aroma. Pigskin pours hazed gold at first. But it is bottle conditioned and will release a fury of small flocs as you pour towards the end of the bottle, so pour slowly to avoid a mad floc storm. On the other hand, the flocs seem to enhance the mouthfeel, which grows more relaxed and full as the beer warms.

This big-bodied ale balances towards the malt with an initial caramel sweetness. I enjoyed its graceful informality and imagine it would be well suited to the arduous task of sports viewing. Just be sure to let it warm up properly.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2008 19:49:37 | More by RedDiamond

cswhitehorse

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The Pigskin Pale poured a hazy copper color with a nice 2 finger foam head with some encompassing lacing. The smell had that familiar pale ale smell with a good malt aroma.

The taste was bitter up front but left with a strong malt presence and some bitterness to finish it off. In the mouth it was crisp, bitter and thin. Very well carbonated. Not a bad pale ale from Eastern Oregon.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2008 07:04:47 | More by cswhitehorse

tbeck

Washington

4.28/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Wife picked this up for my while she was in Ontario, Oregon.

Pours a bright orange in color with a thick white head. Slight clarity. Aroma was citruis and pine. Taste was hoppy with a slight bitterness balanced with malt. Not overly sweet. Good mouthfeel but on the light and thin side. Excellent session beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2008 00:14:41 | More by tbeck

choyhosoi

California

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass

S-Nice smell of hopps hits you at first then a swetter scent.

T-Very nice taste very easy on the palate

A- A orange/yellow color with a nice white head

M-Very crisp taste that has a little bite on the end .
D-This is a great beer I will be asking for another

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2008 21:06:23 | More by choyhosoi

cjgator3

Florida

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a pint glass. I am enjoying this in honor of the start of the first week of college football. Nothing goes better with good football than good beer.

A-The appearance of this beer is excellent. Pours a hazy amber color with a large creamy off-white head that has excellent stick and retention.

S- The aroma is sweet malt and citrusy hops. Very nice west coast pale ale aroma, but a little pn the faint side.

T- The taste is much more flavorful than your typical Pale Ale. Decent malt backbone, but the focus of the taste clearly is the sharp citrusy hops.

M- The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice almost creamy texture and good amount of carbonation. Very nice, nearly perfect for the beer..

D- This is an outstanding APA. I would love to take a few bombers with me to tailgate at a football game.

Overall, Beer Valley Pigskin Pale Ale is solid Pale Ale that really surprised me. If this beer was available where I live, I would definitely purchase again. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2008 00:36:49 | More by cjgator3

alarusse

California

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a large, slightly frothy head, which gives way to a hazy, amber-orange gradient with olive-colored edges as it settles in my glass. A very pretty beer to look at, actually, as the head is a nice firm, off-white.

The aroma is nothing special, and does not overpower (or maybe thats just my semi-stuffy nose). Mostly hops mingle in the air above the glass.

Interestingly, there is almost no lacing (a few tiny, scattered spots only) on this pint, in contrast to some other reviewers. Perhaps different batches produce these variances?

I enjoy the taste of this beer. While the hops certainly dominate, there is a substantial sweetness and citrus flavor which lend complexity. To be honest, it is a little bitter for my palette.

Carbonation and mouthfeel are nice. The taste does linger slightly, but certainly not too much. A mildly bitter aftertaste.
In my opinion, the beer really shines in its drinkability. Despite its hoppiness, the beer drinks like water.

I would recommend this one. Nice name/label, too. I can't wait to take this to a couple of college football tailgates this year!

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2008 22:52:03 | More by alarusse

Reidrover

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark golden alomost burnt orange beer, with a very large off white head, thats very thick. Aroma pretty strong citus style hopping, malts weakly behind. Very hoppy even for a West Coast Pale. Citric hops, all through, weak malt backing, hops wear out a bit in the middle of the mouthful, then re-emerge in all their glory in the back of the throat and linger ever after. Nice enough on the palate, nothing extraordinary for style. Over all a nice hoppy Pale. on the verge of IPA territory

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2008 20:59:45 | More by Reidrover

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.4/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Glowing kumquat with butterscotch borders. A few slow moving bubbles blip-blip-blip-blip through a sparse cloud of superfine yeast, eventually bumping into the underside of the pale khaki cap. The head looks even better as it melts and plentiful lace is a definite plus. As the beer falls with drinking, thick sheets cover the glass. It's a fantastic look.

The aroma is classic for the style. It features pale malt and an abundance of grapefruit and orange zesty American hops. I had no luck determining the hop bill, but it's safe to say that one or more of the C's are present. Gotta be Cascade... and Centennial.

Pigskin Pale Ale is right in my fun zone. The way to create a legendary American pale ale isn't rocket science: use nothing darker than pale malt (a little caramel is okay), don't use too much of it, then hop the living hell out of the beer with nothing but fresh American hop cones. Mission accomplished. These guys know their way around a mash tun.

As a showcase for fresh hop flavor and borderline abrasive hop bitterness, this stuff is hard to beat. In fact, it's pretty close to being an IPA. Check that. Now that mid-bomber are arrived, it does come across as an IPA. Compared to another APA that is actually an IPA, it isn't as caramel malty as Three Floyds Alpha King, but it's at least as hoppy.

Specifics include biscuity malt with the lightest toasting imaginable, then a few dozen Roman candle's worth of incandescent lupulin brightness and pine sap resinousness. I almost expect to see chunks of white grapefruit rind and bitter orange floating in the glass. 45 IBUs seem like at least 70.

The mouthfeel was good-very good for an APA during the first several mouthfuls. At this point, it's good-very good for an IPA. It has developed a lightly supple chewiness and is remarkably smooth given the raspiness of all those alpha acids.

Pigskin Pale Ale is my third Beer Valley beer and it's the best of a mighty delicious lot. If you consider yourself a hophead, find a fresh bottle of this fantastic APA as soon as possible. Whenever I need to fill out a box at Liquid Solutions, this is the beer I'll do it with. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2008 13:27:49 | More by BuckeyeNation

brentk56

North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a huge head that sticks nicely and leaves a nice pattern of lace behind

Smell: Lots of nice tangerine and lemon citrus; a touch of the biscuit

Taste: Opens with a nicely balanced biscuit and citrus profile that sways to a pithy citrus by mid-palate; after the swallow, the pith remains and builds in a grainy direction - just a little rough

Mouthfeel: Medium body with plenty of carbonation

Drinkability: Very nice APA; I could quibble here and there but I think I will just enjoy it, instead

Thanks, JohnGalt1, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2008 00:00:04 | More by brentk56

Spikester

Oregon

4.3/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle.
Pours amber with large off-white head and good amount of lacings.
Aroma is floral hops.
Taste is big citrus piney hops with a very nice malt undertone. This is a powerfull APA. The amount of hops would be adequete for many IPAs. Mouthfeel was fine.
I didn't mind the extra hops in this brew as it was so drinkable. Will have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2008 02:30:32 | More by Spikester

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz from the Coop.. for the very reasonable $2.75 .. shared with a buddy while talking about work and listing to King Britt's "When the Funk Hits the Fan".

Very big head on this one.. huge lacing for a APA.. slightly hazy lite golden brew... suprising... lacing dries to a crusty bubble mess. :)

American C's hops are front of the aroma... citrus and piney.. pretty warm at this point.. only a trace of malt aroma.

Good bitterness is braced by a balanced caramel sweetness... pine and citrus rind are known very well mid palate.. Lingering toasted malts and a touch of gun metal. Lower than expected body that does not diminish the overall quality.... a Flintstone vitamin quality (Amarillos?)

Reminds me alot of the Owyhee Amber but with a bumper crop of hop flavors .. Could use a touch more body... Had I not had the Amber exactly prior to this one, I would probably have scored it higher... not alot of negative other than the big carbonation. An overall bonus is how fresh this brew tastes.. I've had it quite a few times from bottle and have been fairly impressed everytime.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2007 09:50:27 | More by JohnGalt1