Evan!
Well-Known Member
29 - Ordinary Bitter
Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: Nice light hiss and a great head to follow. Good carbo. Nice dark orange-red colors, with some cloudiness.
Aroma: Whew, not what I was expecting. This is why I mixed this one up with the Pale Ale. This is more like a pale ale than the pale ale was. I get copious hops here, just filling the glass with grapefruit. I've used Sorachi Ace before and thought that it was about as grapefruity as it gets, but this beer gives a new meaning to "grapefruity hops". Altogether fresh and floral, though, with a touch of malt trying to shine through.
Palate: Wow, the grapefruit just keeps going. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. This is one of the freshest-tasting beers I've had...it's light, cleansing, not weighty at all. The fruit has tons of floral flavors as well, with nary a flaw to be found. I just keep going back and sniffing it, then taking a small sip and savoring the whole experience. This one holds together quite nicely, and really works as a pale ale. The only beer I've had that holds a candle to the freshness and grapefruitiness of this guy is Yards' pale.
Proximity to the Style: I'm not sure what hops you used here, but if I didn't know better, I'd say that you switched the caps between this and the pale ale. The grapefruity hops push this far away from bitter category and more towards american pale ale.
Overall Impression: You continue to impress! Not the very best you've done, but it's up there. I guess the only thing that I come away wanting more of is maltiness and a bit more complexity. Not that it's a one-trick-pony by any stretch, but the grapefruit does tend to overshadow some of the other elements. If I were you, and were a little less honest, I'd just tell people this was my pale ale, and that my pale ale was the bitter. This is awesome beer, some of the most refreshing I've had, and what I want to know is, what's your hopping sched look like?
SCORE: 39/50