Pale Ale

A: Light to medium gold, light wispy head, very clear, a few small patches on sticky head on the side of the glass - 3.25, S: Very lagerish aromas, quite grainy and very doughy, a touch of bubblegum and some subtle sweetness - 3.50, T: A solid hop bite for a pale ale, some grapefruit, a touch of spiciness, all the hops are nicely balanced with a medium malt base, there's a hint of sweetness on the tongue as well - 3.75, M: Medium bodied - 3.00, D: A quite drinkable APA, a closer representation of the style than their IPA in my opinion - 3.00

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 11-13-2009 00:49:50 | id: 1036761

Nothing like getting a new canned brew from a brewery I haven't heard of in a trade, thanks vasdef42! Pours into my glass a orange-ish yellow with good clarity and a half inch of white bubbles on top. Aromas of crisp malt that's slightly toasty and bready. Mild herbal, floral hops with a kiss of citrus. Slightly spicy but the overall aroma is a bit too muted.

First sip brings crisp toasty, bready malts upfront segueing into herbal, somewhat citrus hops that also carries some spiciness as well. Good balance between sweetness and bitterness here. Would have like a bit more of a hop flavor here.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with fast moving carbonation. Could use a bit more body here but as is it is quite easy to drink and session-able. Overall, I'd say Pale Ale is a hard style to crack as Sierra Nevada holds the gold standard in my book for a readily available session pale ale. This one could use a bit more hops and a bit more body. Glad to see a new CO brewery and hope to taste more from them as they grow!

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 10-28-2009 01:12:20 | id: 1025631

First time I've seen this one outside of Boulder so I picked up one of this and one of their IPA. There are some great pale ale/ipa/dipa available in cans around (speaking of dale's and gordon, of course) here so this will have a lot to live up to.

Can states it was made with snow melt - seems a little cheesy and gimicky.

Pours into a pint glass a pale golden yellow color. Good clarity and head sticks around a while. No lacing to be seen.

Aroma is mildly hoppy overtones on top of a very bland (i.e. cereal) malt backbone. Not very impressive so far.

Flavor is better than expected but still nothing special. Good balance and the hops are a little more forward than in the nose. A little spicy and a little sweet.

Mouthfeel is medium-light in body and moderate carbonation. Good balance, like I said.

Overall it's not bad but, then again, it's not that special or unique either. With all of the amazing pale ales and IPAs available these days, you need to have a pretty great product to break into the market on those two alone. Hopefully they will do some other styles and really knock it out of the park with those!

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 10-15-2009 22:04:27 | id: 1017135

Golden yellow and hazy with plenty of carbonation. Thick bleached white head that dissipates into a healthy amount of lace. Grainy aroma with a touch of both hops and caramel. Big up front with a bitter middle. A bit of a bite from the carbonation. Crisp bitter finish with a hint of spiciness that reminds me of a decent cigar. Medium mouthfeel. Bold enough to make a good pairing with a cigar.

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 09-26-2009 19:26:42 | id: 1003882

Serving notes - 45F, poured from the can into imperial pint glass.
A - one finger of head upon pour that quickly dissipates to a thin film. Crystal clear light straw.
A - grassy hop aroma with some buscuitiness.
M - Medium body with light carbonation.
T - Same grassy hops from the aroma. Smooth sweetness across the entire palate with some residual sweetness on the back of the tongue. This quickly fades though for a very dry overall finish.
D - very drinkable beer. Could be a little maltier for my personal pallet, but a good effort by a newer brewer in Boulder. Also like the cans.

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 09-05-2009 03:02:37 | id: 989812

A: Decent initial head, but this fades very quickly leaving just a few bubbles by the end of the glass. Surprisingly clear. Golden/yellow with just a touch of amber coloring. Little to no lacing.

S: A faint sweet, slightly grassy scent with a touch of citrus.

T: Initial flavors of caramel and malts are balanced by a hoppy, slightly bitter finish. Notes of grapefruit and pear. Nicely balanced, though slightly watery.

M: Nicely carbonated, but a little on the thin side.

D: Definitely a session beer. No question this beer goes down easy.

A little on the simple side for my liking. This is a good beer, but there really isn't anything special about it. If it didn't taste slightly watered down I'd say they really hit the style, but it's a bit too thin and thus a bit too bland. Decent but not great.

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 05-03-2009 22:37:46 | id: 907380

A - About three to four fingers of head with a moderately hard pour in the glass. Shrinks to a nice coating with some lacing left on the sides. Light yellow in color.

S - Sweet malty scent. Smell reminds me of bread dough.

T - Buttery and sweet at first. Then some hoppiness follows but not much at all. Makes me think this british style not american pale.

M - Watery. Very light and thin. Even the hop taste is gone quickly.

D - Sure you can drink a few with no real problems but the taste is nothing really special. The bitterness from the hops is washed away quickly. The hops don't seem balanced equally with the malts. The diacetyl seems to last more in my mouth then any else.

Serving type: can

Reviewed on: 01-12-2009 02:09:10 | id: 825328

Presentation: 12 oz silver can, fairly simple design with the company's logo and a red/brown pattern. Ingredients: Snowmelt, malt, Patagonian hops, yeast. ABV is marked, but I don't see anything that resembles a date.

Appearance: Poured into a dimpled mug. Gold color with just a slight hint of red, nice head that has pretty good retention, slight lacing.

Smell: Reminds me of noble hops, a bit of a bready malt flavor.

Taste: I'm not familiar with Patagonian hops, and I'm sure they grow in many varieties, but just like the smell these remind me of the noble hops in a lot of European beers. Hops dominate in flavor but are not overpowering.

Overall impression: This is a pretty drinkable beer - in my taste notes it may sound like the hops are too much - but I wouldn't really describe it as a hoppy beer, that is just the flavor that pops out the most. Always nice to see a new local brewer, especially one putting out cans.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 12-07-2008 19:09:20 | id: 797831