Here’s Silver City’s year-round pale ale. This beer features both NW pale and British pale malts in addition to Munich and Caramel with Centennial and Amarillo hops.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 4.8% ABV. 15 IBUs. Washington.
Burnt orange color with a nice fluffy head.
A fairly closed nose, but it’s got a little bit of malty grain, but that’s about all I can get.
Mouthfeel is quite nice. Perfect medium body and a nice amount of carbonation to make it quite drinkable.
Light stone fruits on the initial with some spicy hops to come in after that. Then it gets very grainy with a delicious grainy finish.
Another solid beer from Silver City. I love the grain flavor on the backend, but it does get a little boring otherwise. 85 points.
This Spring Seasonal is one of the newest in New Belgium’s lineup. It’s an American Pale Ale that has a bit of twist, with some interesting hop additions. It’s got Pale and C-80 malt with Target, Cascade, Nugget, Nelson Sauvin, and Soriachi Ace hops.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.6% ABV. 36 IBUs. Colorado. Spring Seasonal.
Orange to light copper in color. It’s got a decent head that fades, but leaves some nice looking lacing on the glass.
The nose isn’t as hoppy as I was expecting with that crazy hop profile. You get a nice biscuit malt profile with a mostly earthy and spicey hop profile.
Mouthfeel is solid, a bit light in body, but it makes for an easy drinking brew.
I get some black pepper and earth on the palate initially, then it transitions to a bit of a tropical fruit profile, but it’s quite light. Medium bitterness on the back with a grainy finish.
It’s a solid beer, but I find it pretty forgettable. 86 points.
This is one of my favorite beers and I’ve never even reviewed it. Not sure how that’s happened, but I had some left over from my last beer club, so I’ll finally review it. This has 2-row Pale and Caramel malts with Magnum, Perle, and Cascade hops.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.6% ABV. 37 IBUs. California.
Burnt orange color with a nice white head. Quite a bit of sediment in here.
Citrusy hops dominate the nose. Orange, lemon, lime, and a hint of grapefruit. The grainy malt shows just a hint of itself.
Mouthfeel is fantastic. Nice medium body with a medium carbonation.
The citrusy hops hit the palate first, which transitions to a honey and grain flavor. The bitterness shows up and it’s on the higher side for a pale. The finish is long with a lime and grain flavor.
After all this time, this is still one of my favorite beers. It’s just a classic and one of the best pale ales out there. 93 points.
This is a limited release in the Bond Street Series of hoppy beers from Deschutes. I was super excited to get this beer, as I’m a big fan of Mirror Pond, and can only assume this will be even better. It’s hopped with Cascade’s.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.0% ABV. 40 IBUs. Oregon. Limited Release.
Coppery golden color. Not that much head, but has some really nice lacing.
Nice nose. You can really smell the Cascades in here. I get a hint of vanilla and tobacco, as well, and a nice orange citrus aroma.
Mouthfeel is perfect. Great medium body with just the right amount of carbonation.
A little bit of fresh pine and citrus hit the palate. It kind of fades after that. The finish is decent and has malty flavor.
Well, it’s not terrible, but probably the most unimpressed I’ve ever been by a Deschutes beer. There’s no reason why I wouldn’t just love this beer, but I find it lacking flavor. I’m not even sure how that happens. This is the second time that I’ve bought it, because I thought maybe my palate was off the first time, but it’s pretty clear that this is a let down. 84 points.
I’ve really enjoyed the Laurelwood beers I’ve had in the past. This pale features organic 2 row, Munich, and Crystal malts with Organic Fuggle, Centennial, and Cascade hops. Let’s check it out.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.1% ABV. 32 IBUs. Oregon.
Coppery color, really no head. Lots of fine sediment.
Smells like a west coast style of beer. I’m getting lots of pine and citrus, hint of malts, but this is all about the hops. If you’ve had a Lagunitas beer, then this will smell familiar.
Mouthfeel is perfect. It’s a nice medium body with a perfect amount of carbonation.
Hops allow the malt to show just a little bit, but it’s still a hoppy mother of a pale. A lot of orange rind, pine, hint of blueberry, hint of vanilla, and a hint of black pepper. Good length, with low bitterness despite the hoppy profile.
Just a tasty beer. Nothing wrong with this, though I must say it’s a proto-typical Lagunitas style beer. But you can’t complain too much about that. 90 points.
This is one of the quintessential American pale ales, and one of Deschutes flagship brews. I believe this is 100% Cascades, or at least mostly Cascades. It doesn’t seem to say on their website.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.0% ABV. 40 IBUs. Oregon.
Nice golden copper color. Head doesn’t last forever, but it does leave some lacing.
Beautiful nose with a ton of malty grain with a hint of hops. It’s definitely got that grape-nuts grainy-ness going on. Just a hint of citrus, just a hint of pine.
Mouthfeel is crisp and medium body. Carbonation is fairly high.
Grainy malts and it has this almost tart like flavor with a lemon-orange component. It never gets hollow or losses flavor. Immense length of grain on the finish.
Just a classic beer. It’s delicious, it’s well-made, it’s well priced. Buy this beer. 90 points.
I havn’t been a big fan of Kona in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever had this one. I love a good pale ale, so I hope this is decent. This beer features Pale, Wheat (interesting), Munich, and Honey malts with Galena, Cascade, and Mt. Hood hops.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.9% ABV. 35 IBUs. Hawaii.
Nice coppery golden color. Actually does have an alright head and leaves a small amount of lacing.
It’s an alright nose, not real big, and fairly typical. You do get some malt and hops in here. Quite a fruity and floral nose. Yeah, pretty straight forward.
Nothing wrong with the mouthfeel. It’s a decent light to medium body, carbonation is perfect.
Lots of fruits here with a nice grainy transition. I get a little bit of honey and it’s actually pretty floral. Some nice hop length, but not bitter.
To me, this is an entry level pale. It’s no Sierra Nevada, but it’s meant to be much easier on the palate. It’s not too bad of a beer, I must say. Give it a go, you won’t hate it. 86 points.
I’ve actually reviewed last years Hop Pursuit, and didn’t turn out to be a big fan. I’m usually hit or miss on these Full Sail beers, but you gotta love the price. This pale features Cascade, Willamette, and Mt. Hood hops and it’s dry-hopped for 2 weeks.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 6.0% ABV. 55 IBUs. Oregon. Available March-June.
Orange color with quite a bit of sediment.
Very citrusy nose. Wow, this smells like a mixture of orange juice and lemonade. But I don’t wanna give the impression that it’s over the top fake or anything. It’s just this lovely citrus hop aroma with a nice malty background.
Mouthfeel is pretty nice actually. Prefect for a pale. Nice medium body and medium carbonation.
Again, you get a heavy citrus hop note. Very little pine, and it transitions to a more grainy flavor near the end of the palate. Nice length, with a little bit of bitterness, but much less than the name would suggest.
I’m loving this beer. It’s a delicious pale with a beautiful hop presence. Kudos to Full Sail on this one. 88 points.
This is Fremont’s flagship pale. It features 2-row, crystal, melanoidin, and aromatic malt with
Columbus, Centennial, and Cascade hops.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.6% ABV. Washington.
Dark orange color. Head doesn’t last all that long. There is a little bit of sediment from the bottom of the bottle.
A lot of hops that bring a ton of citrus and pine on the nose. Just a hair of grain, but it gets muscled out by the hops.
Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied. It’s a bit too light in my opinion, but drinkability is pretty high.
Citrus, pine, and vanilla on the palate. Again a bit of grain that shows up a little bit more here. There is a little bit of bitterness on the finish, but you get that nice grainy, grape nuts taste as well.
This is pretty good. It’s not quite there, but it’s well-made and shows a ton of promise. It just needs a little bit more flavor on the palate, but otherwise I’d assume this was a Lagunitas if I had it blind. 88 points.
I really liked the IPA from these guys, so I hope the pale is just as good. If it is, that could mean some great things for this brewery and the state of Washington. The BA review is at a pretty low C+, but there’s only 10 reviews. Let’s check it out.
Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.0% ABV. 35 IBUs. Washington.
Honey golden in color, doesn’t keep much of a head.
Nice smelling nose. I get some hops and a bit of malt to balance it out. Fantastic apple cider aroma. Like big time. This seriously smells like apple cider. There is also some floral hop notes here.
Good mouthfeel, really drinkable.
Apple cider comes through a bit again with some floral hops and a bit of a cinnamon Fall spice kind of play. The finish is especially lovely with a nice hint of vanilla that almost makes me think this beer has touched oak.
Not a bad beer. I think I liked the IPA better, but this is pretty decent too. Only complaint is that it’s just a hair light in flavor, but I respect the restraint of the hops here. 88 points
