Pale Ale

Thanks again to Joe Wietlispach for bringing this beer back from Arkansas. I got around to tasting it Wednesday evening after the first run of the summer. Tasted prior to a dinner of Organic Curried Carrot Soup!

Appearance: Poured a stream of brilliant gold. However, a deep coppered color with a redish hue presented itself in the glass. The head is substantial at first but dissipates into a foam coating of beige/white color. Carbonation is present
Aroma: A subtle caramel and toasted barley malt presence is noted right from the start. Similarly a mellow fruit character develops as the hops make their way into the scent
Taste: Sweet and carameled. Some brown sugar is apparent in the foretaste as well. I find this pale is one few and far between to boast more of a malt bill than others who tend towards more of the hops. Nevertheless there is a hopped aspect of fruitiness. There is also a big nutty flavor permeated between that is quite delectable. A little bit of orange and raisin is maintained in the end. Some honey aspect develops as the beer warms, as well as the fruitiness becomes more apparent but finishes with a skin tannin bittered dryness.
Mouthfeel: The body is medium invitingly smooth and soft with the carbonation biting on the tip of the tongue and no where else, leaving the beer to wash down fluidly and dry.
Overall Impression: Honestly, I didn't suspect this was a pale ale off the flavor. The nuttiness and fruit made me think more in terms of an amber. Fruitiness and grape skin tannins are highly prominent factors. Not your normal pale ale


83/100

Presidential IPA

Tasted Monday evening with FauxJoshSchipp and Jen. Enjoyed along side a fresh omelet made from ingredients from our back year. Thanks to Joe Wietlispach for donating this to the blog!

Appearance: A viscous rustic copper with a fine, densely foamed head. The beer has a reddish hue that reflects an opaque texture. Transparency is inhibited, but micro carbonation can be seen up close.
Aroma: Robust fruitiness from the interaction of hops and malt. The General caramel/biscuit malt backbone collides with a fruitiness of dark raisins and plums. Some pine and grapefruit, but predominantly very aromatic in terms of mellow caramelized fruit.
Taste: Very sweet initially. Sweetness resides in terms of caramel and fruit. Very well balanced. There is a mellow toasted grain aspect under the fruity interacted sweetness. Once the palate has been acquainted, the malt is much more apparent. The second half maintains a woody fruit sweetness, leaving a lot to the base malt and less to the hops. Similarly I can pick up some candied beet sugar/cane sugar. Dark caramelized fruit still is a very prominent flavor. Raisin, dates and plums..
Mouthfeel: Medium to heavier body with a thicker fore-texture but the fine carbonation makes for a soft and smooth feel. The beer is less drying, but in fact more tacky, leaving a stickiness to the lips, but also a cloying factor on the roof of the mouth
Overall Impression: This is an IPA (maybe) more focused on a bigger body and a malt base than playing with hops. It's an exact opposite of Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA (first to come to mind). However the toasted malt makes for a fantastic introductory IPA to those looking to expand their bitter palates up from the pale ales.


90/100