SLO Brewing Extra Pale Ale

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

Not much really to say about this beer except...well....average. Aroma was a bit metallic, dusty and the smell of dirty coins. I really struggled to find any hop aroma and I could pick up a slight grassyness but overall it really was a quiet aroma. Appearance is light copper in color, suspended floaties hanging around with a huge white head which melted rather quickly with no lacing to speak of. Mouthfeel was a definite sign of better things to come, as it was solidly built with a clean taste and finish. Flavors were really clean, with an overall malt/hop ratio really low but it's still well made with hardly any defects. A clean, easy drinking APA which if you are lucky, can sometimes find a 6 pack for under $5.00 at a Grocery Outlet.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Another case to be made for the idea of revisiting "old stand-by beers". During the early 90's, I used to drink a lot of Sierra Nevada, St Stan's, and SLO beers, and very little else. Evventually, I started raiding the more exotic beers in the liquor stores, and haven't looked back since. But with various beer-related sites, it sometimes pays to revist old friends. So, when I saw that this was available at Trader Joes (a place that doesn't care if you bust up a six-pack to buy singles), I knew that I should try this one out again.

Wow, what a surprise! While I expected this be a rather dull and antiquated American Pale Ale, this is really nice and tasty. A little dull in appearence, and little-to-no aroma, but otherwise the flavor profile of this beer was a very plesant surprise. Not too bitter, not too heavy, but not some frilly light-weight, either. While I'm sure this is rather old-school with the hops (Cascade? Mt Hood? Willamette?), and I know that SLO has had some finacial difficulities the past few years, it's beers like this that still have a place in the modern-day world of craft brewing. For the price, it's hard to beat.
//TB

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

Golden color, large head. Medium hopped, light malts. Nice balance of hops and malts. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

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

Poured into my pint mug, its a rather average ,lackluster looking beer, like it says pale amber colour..the only good thing is the thick creamy head. again the smell is not unpleasant, but very boring..some malts thats about it. Tase..just some rather wishy washy malts and a hint of bitterness at the end Pretty thin and unexciting on the palate. Not impressed by this its just boring..