Hi again,
A stated in the title, this brew will be the 11th tasted for this blog o'mine.
The specimen this week is going to be a:
PALE ALE
by Okanagan Spring Brewery
Alright so this week the vessel my beer will be flowing from is once again a bottle. I don't know if this has been mentioned by me before but the OK Spring labels are very informative. They let you know what colour the beer is, where the beer lies on a numbered light to dark scale, and at what temperature it is intended to be consumed; along with all the stuff they have to put on there due to legal reasons such as: the volume of alcohol and...the amount in the bottle yadda yadda.
shall we?
Look: Somewhat flat... now the glass I used may have contributed slightly to the lack of head on this guy. It's an open taper at the top, plus it had been sitting in my cupboard for a while and not washed immediately before use. Lesson learned.
regardless, I don't think this is a very lively (fizz wise) brew. Nice colour though, very clear classic amber colour. On the paler side of a red ale, but darker for sure than a white. I find this to be appealing because it's easily defined. Other brewers who do a "pale ale" perhaps let the colour go either way; dark and light.
Aromatics: Quite "bready" and "toasty". Actually not like a typical toasted malt scent, what you get out of this is actually smells similar to a toasted slice of bread (of the exact same golden brown colour). It also has a mild hop aroma, just enough to come through on it's own.
Mouthfeel: full bodied, along with a surprising carbonated feel as well. It's by no means a bottle conditioned sparkling ale, but it does have more punch than you'd think just by eyeing it up.
Taste: up front on the tongue i'm getting a little acidity mixed with a very lightly toasted malt.
a leafy bitterness on the tail end
Final thoughts: It won't blow you off your feet with flavour, but it isn't going to curl your toes either. I like this brew very much. Pale Ales are one of the more common ales to be brewed, and I feel that because of this they are a very good indicator of how well the brewery is in general. It is also a favoured style of mine and I admit that this is one of the better PA's I've tasted. It's really not bitter, actually this one is characterized more by the acidity with happy malt flavours and a very light hop aroma than others which are more loaded with more complex malt flavouring. This is my idea of a very consistent "go-to" brew. Session all the way
speaking of which... i've got a few more bottles of this to get through.
until next time!
- Parched Paige
