St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale

Thanks goes out to Paul for allowing me to have this from the "Research Bin" at the Brewery. Tasted Monday night after coming home from a long relaxing weekend back in the burbs. This review followed the transfer and filtration of my next big composition - an organic pumpkin beer made w/ 10 IBS of pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar, with one half of it with a dash of black cumin!

Appearance: The pour literally looked as yellow as the lupulin resins of a hop. In the glass it takes on a bright glowing yellowed orange hue. Head isn't anything to brag about (ha) only bracing the sides of the glass. Lacing is wet. Carbonation visibly rises from unperceptive notches in the glass. Relatively clear.
Aroma: Very herbal with an under-present layer of pine and earthy notes. Hops take a forefront profile here, leaving little to the malt. The pinnacle of herbaceous hops, yet formulated to have a mild tropical/citrus presence.
Taste: Very different tasting than  most pale ales. Foretaste is of light malt and honey. This only goes deeper into the thicket of the hop world as one may then begin to pull out citrus orange and lemon with even a pine-apple undertone. Following this burst of flavor, the beer then leaves an impressionable herbal hop taste with a bit of a biscuity finish. Aftertaste is clean and dry.
Mouthfeel: Light at the front, but a bit thicker as it goes down. Carbonation is one to account for this as it also hits the tongue in the beginning and soon thereafter fades. Some residual stickiness is left to the lips while the mouth retains a leftover dryness.
Overall Impression: Extremely interesting beer. First of all, the hops are very different. Herbal, in a good way and entirely complex and transformative in another. One taste may leave you thinking a shrubbery, another will leave you tasting pineapple, or even orange. Malt is nicely incorporated to not over shroud, but still maintain a palatable sweetness. Definitely a pale I'd seek out


91/100