Napa Smith Pale Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Malty aroma has a good yeasty overtone and a hint of apple. Pours a lovely clear orange-golden amber with a fairly thick and frothy cream-white head that leaves some good lacing. Malty flavor has subtle fruity and grassy notes, enjoyable if nothing special. Texture has about average body and not much fizz. If not a spectacular ale, worthy of at least a try.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

I expected a lot more from a brewery named Napa, but this beer falls way short IMHO. Smells like sugar and grain. It pours a thick hazy gold. It is an atractive ale, but the compliments stop there. Mouthfeel is way too thick for the style. The taste is pathetic. Grainy with very little hops thrown in. The hop aroma is so muted that I had to double check to make sure that this is a pale ale. Embarrassing. WHERE ARE THE HOPS????? Overall. This is a subpar brew, Not worth the money unless they send me some hops in the mail.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A nice bright pale ale that goes well with meals. Pours slightly hazy with a pretty long lasting head, little lacing but the flavor is good but not over the top in any respect.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 3/23/09. This American Pale Ale pours a medium orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head with nice retention and good lacing. The aroma is floral hops and some caramel sweetness. A medium bodied APA. The malts are semi sweet, slightly caramel and malty. The hops are floral and spicy. Lively carbonation, Nice balance between the malts and the hops. A milder APA, it has a soft floral hop flavor and a decent malt backbone. This would make a decent session Pale Ale. Nice slick packaging, especially for a new brewery. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

after my first try with Napa Smith (wheat) I was expecting the pale to be as good or better, as I usually like pales better than wheat. That was not the case though. While the wheat was well above average for the style, the pale was just the opposite. Nothing about it was unpleasant, but it was more what I'd expect from a macro beer co. dabbling in micros. It poured the expected color, but even though it had good carbonation, the head was miniscule. The aroma was a pleasant mix of caramel malt and light hops, but it was pretty weak, as was the flavor. Well balanced, but on the weak side, and I prefer more hops in my APAs. Nice crisp, slightly dry finish. Medium bodied pale...almost average, but not quite. Now I don't know what to expect from the amber...