Beer Reviews by HANTRAN

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# Beer Origin Style Score Date
26 Founders Dark Penance United States American Black Ale 3.4

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

Surprisingly mild nose, fig, burnt sugar, touch of malt, and some floral notes .Dark black body with a hint of ruby, 2 finger head that subsides rapidly, good lace. Mouth is medium and clean. Flavor is a bit timid. VEry nice bitter towards the finish which pivots to a bit of sweet at the very end. Aftertaste of cherry pit, almost like faint cough syrup. Some surprising raw grain flavors, alcohol pretty well masked. Its OK but really is making a beer black and an alcohol bomb a decent target to aim for? If so well done, but I think not.

Feb 8, 2015
12:00:00 PM
27 Baxter Brewing Pamola Xtra Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.5

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

Faint floral nose with a hint of citrus. Clear pale gold body is topped with a rocky wite head that is long-lasting and great lace. A light body with good fizz and slightly slick. Solid malt is bread yeast is fruity and hops are minimal and battering. Slightly buttery as it warms. Not a hop heads cup of tea but a true Pale Ale, very sessionable.

Aug 25, 2014
12:00:00 PM
28 Omnipollo Machaper Sweden American Pale Ale 4.2

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

Ok, first of all I put this brewer in as Sweden because its Swedish dudes doing a "gypsy" thing and having beer brewed all over the place, in this case in Denver by Crazy Mountain brewing Company Limited. Very long lasting nose of grassy and lemon and honey with a hint of resin and some deep funk. Appears unflitered, lots of gunk on the bottom of the bomber ...hazy pale yellow body with a decent short lived head that is white white white, and minimal lace. Mouth is medium, slick, and moderately carbonated. Very unusual flavor profile. Classified as a Pale Ale because thats what the label alls it. Its certainly NOT an English style ale. Actually tastes like a slightly sour American IPA.The galaxy shines here, citric and tropical notes abound, lemon and passionfruit, hints of pineapple. Low malt presence for a Pale Ale (and maybe even for an IPA) finishes with sour grassy notes and slight alcohol warming. What comes to mind is a Session IPA IF a Session IPA every tasted good! this thing is could really be slammed. Odd duck but I really love it! (very hard to find out east here.)

Dec 3, 2016
12:00:00 PM
29 Funky Bow G-string United States American Pale Ale 3.5

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Orange, honey, watermelon in the nose. Hazy gold body topped with short lived white head and no real lace. Mouth is a little creamy, carbonation well done. Peach and orange present in the initial taste, malt is minimal and neutral, a high tang at the back of the mouth, bitter fish almost going medicinal. Not bad, not great.

Feb 10, 2017
12:00:00 PM
30 Hanging Hills Brewing YPA United States American Pale Ale 3.6

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

Nice nose, tangerine and pineapple with some sweet bread notes. Slightly odd looking, medium amber but a touch grey somehow, but very clear, moderate white had, little lace. Mouth is a bit oily but not offensive, maybe a hair under-carbonated. Flavor is maybe closer to an IPA, quite neutral overall, with a slightly strident finish, some sour fruit , good balance of malt, quite sessionable.

Feb 11, 2017
12:00:00 PM
31 Victory Headwaters Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.6

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

Some floral notes in the nose,some vanilla,maybe some anise, and some cotton candy. Pours a slightly clouded pale (bit more pale than expected) copper body with a moderate but long lasting head and decent lace. Mouth on the thin side yet somehow a bit creamy. Tasting this after some imply IPA's is a mistake on my part but; flavor profile is mild mild did I say MILD? So maybe it'sOK for an AMERICAN Pale to be lacking in the malt backbone department but frankly, I think not. Finish is neutral, its like drinking one of those relatively new "session" IPA's but more balanced (the sessions tending to taste ore like hop water than beer.) That said its VERY drinkable, just wish it had more body to it.

Jun 21, 2016
12:00:00 PM
32 Long Trail Brewing SMaSH Project Single #2 United States American Pale Ale 3.8

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

Well first off Long Trail does not categorize this brew. I went with APA but it could just as easily be an IPA. Mosaic prominent in the nose tropical fruit and to me, more flower than piney. Also some sweet honey there. Big frothy white head with nice lace and limited retention sits atop a hazy pale apricot body. Mouth is a bit thin, nicely carbonated, slick and tingly. Flavor is peppery, bitter pineapple with some earthy dryness. Finish is very clean, the bitter is pronounced, the alcohol masked with just a hint of warming afterwards. For the single malt/single hop experiment this is nicely balanced. In retrospect I should maybe have called this an IPA, the moderate 52 IBU is really quite bitter in this brew., its like an English Bitter with some fruit.

May 1, 2016
12:00:00 PM
33 Goose Island Green Line Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.9

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

Some malt and floral hops in the nose. Thin head with good lace over a still light copper body. Mouth is medium and perhaps a bit undercarbonated. This is a true pale, a bit on the English side for an American,which I like. Like a Gary's with a bit more flower. A bit buttery a bit funky, spot on.

Apr 12, 2016
12:00:00 PM
34 Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.4

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Floral nose with some dark ripe fruit and a bit of cotton candy. Lovely copper body is clear and topped with a nice white head that lasts and has good lace. Mouth is creamy and rounded but ends a touch watery. Mild flavor, some fruit pits, not complicated, slight medicinal finish, not an East Cost Pale, a tribute I suppose to brewer's west coast roots. Malt backbone a bit weak for my tastes in a Pale, this is more an IPA.

Jul 17, 2018
12:00:00 PM
35 Lagunitas One Hitter Series: Born Yesterday Pale Ale (2015) United States American Pale Ale 4.3

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

If you can find this then by all means drink it! Big hop nose of pine and citrus with a hint of vanilla and bread. Fantastic thick foamy white head that lasts and lasts and great lace. Body is clear light copper. Medium bodied and coats the entire mouth, slightly slick and carbonation spot on. OK flavor....I love it! The fresh hopping is FRESH! I guess it squeaks into "Pale" territory because the hops are in the nose and in the flavor but the bittering level is not high. This beer tastes green in the best of ways. Malt backbone is there but backed off from and English pale making it American and particularly west coast. Alcohol almost entirely masked. Finish is slightly bitter and very dry.The flavoring hops are intense and reminiscent of their daytime IPA but the 6.5 turns it into a great beer. Did I meantion I LOVE THIS BREW? SOME NOTES ON THE 2016 VERSION: abvis up to 7%, the nose is bigtime pineapple, the head is somewhat reduced, the body is hazy, the fresh wet taste is there and the finish is tart.

Dec 3, 2015
12:00:00 PM
36 Alpine Hoppy Birthday United States American Pale Ale 3.8

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Nota lot of nose, nice copper body with good head and lace. Fullsome mouth,low carbonation. Solid malt backbone mildly roasted, close to an english pale but a bit more bitter. Quite a good APA.

Nov 22, 2015
12:00:00 PM
37 Maine MO (Madeline & Oliver) Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.5

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

Freshness date late October ( month ago) I love this nose, citrus hops just come screaming out. Notes of peach as well and a hint of pine. (There is not enough malt in the nose for the style, but I just like the nose too much to downgrade it more than a point.) Very white head, very good retention, nice lace, unusually yellow body for style. Mouth is just a bit thin but has nice carbonation levels. The flavor is lovely, it just not an APA; taste like a session IPA but with greater alcohol presence...thats not a bad taste at all, just off for style, very lacking in malt backbone. Don;t get me wrong, would have this again and is very quaffable. If i was grading this while ignoring style it would be a solid 4, but alas.

Nov 21, 2015
12:00:00 PM
38 Long Ireland Brewing Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.0

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Nose is sour for the style, with cotton candy sweet notes...not lovely. Pretty pour with a very long-lasting head and moderate lace, medium amber clear body. Mouth is a bit creamy and medium bodied with good carbonation level. Flavor is off and a bit off-putting. Its a bit buttery, which I kind of like in an APA (and maybe this should be classified as an EPA or even ESP but i had to make a choice.) But the overwhelming sourness is just wrong for style. So so malt backbone could be stronger, crystal malts too sweet, nasty medicinal finish.

Sep 23, 2015
12:00:00 PM
39 Goose Island Ten Hills Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.7

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

Floral hops in the nose, apple, citrus. Medium copper body with nice rising carbonation, topped by frothy white medium head and moderate lace. Mouth has nice carbonation level but is perhaps a touch thin in the body. OK, I am fighting a cold but a fairly mild flavor profile I think. Nicely bitter at the end with a slightly fizzy finish. Well balanced but could use a bit more malt for the style. Alcohol is well masked. Maybe a touch to fruity, a little buttery which is OK for style.

Feb 27, 2015
12:00:00 PM
40 Cigar City Guayabera Citra Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 4.1

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

Solid citra nose balanced with some bread notes and a hint of pine. Slightly hazed pale gold body topped with minimal head and a bit of lace. Nice mouth, not quite chewy, good tingle. Not complicated but excellent balance; pineapple, orange peel, some drying on the finish which is clean with decent bittering and alcohol slightly warming. Not a classic pale ale (citra) but very drinkable!

Nov 20, 2020
01:32:25 AM
41 Michelob Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 2.2

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

Wow, really not very good! When ice cold first sip seems promising, lots of hops. let it warm for 5 minutes and fogetaboutit. Aroma has a sweetness to it that somehow doesn't seem like it comes from malt and a lot of pine and citrus from hops. Pours a pale copper body with mediocre off white head with poor retention and no lacing. Mouth is shockingly thin considering there is a lot of flavor (will get to that later, its not all good). Decent fiz in the mouth, but perhaps a bit much for the style. Flavor, what to say. Lots of hops, hints at a carmel malted backbone goes really bad midway through. Lots of off flavors, medicine, aluminum, and ends with a detergent taste. Don't think I will finish this crap. There is a nod to the style but I am pretty sure I taste rice , corn, or other adjuncts. All that money and they produce this crap!!!!!!!!!

Nov 16, 2008
12:52:16 PM
42 North Coast Acme California Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 2.6

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

A malty nose with a hint of citrus and clove. A very nice off white head with excellent retention and decent lacing sits atop a clear pale copper colored body. Mouthfeel is medium and watery and perhaps under-carbonated. This beer is a let down, I really like their IPA a lot. There is almost no flavor to speak of, nothing bad but just not much taste at all. Thereis a bit of malt and a bit of hops and a grassy finish, with a slight sour aftertaste. EyeChart nails this one, its wishy-washy, better than macro-swill but just barely.

Aug 19, 2008
12:53:19 PM
43 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.8

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

Well i finally got around to reviewing this standard. Pours the color of honey and actually is a bit pale, quite lovely with a nice two finger tight and dirty white head. Head is short-lived but leaves a moderate amount of good lacing. Nose is pine, vanilla, and perhaps a toasty malts with perhaps just a hint of ginger. Mouthfeel is moderate to light in body with nicely done carbonation. Taste is great and moderately complex. Hits slightly sweet with a hint of carmel follows malty then good pine and pepper in the swallow after-taste is a bit resinous and just on the sweet side of dry but quite clean. A very well done American style of Pale Ale (which is to say quite hoppy for its type.) Very solid session brew.

Feb 7, 2021
07:50:27 PM
44 Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.9

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

The nose is mild but very appealing. Cinamon, pepper, violets and rosemary. A slightly fogged light coppr body is topped with a moderate head that leaves a long-lasting skim coat and laces nicely. Mouth is a touch light with a real nice back of the tongue tickle. I like the flavor a lot! Hopheads are probably going to find it slightly lacking for an American Pale but it is quite hoppy. Starts ever so slightly sweet, goes very nicely bitter and ends exceptionally clean and dry. The malt backbone is really well done with just a hint of a toasted/caramel flavor. I find the balance exceptional. This is a great session beer!

Aug 3, 2007
01:49:03 AM
45 NoDa Jam Session United States American Pale Ale 4.0

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

Floral nose with se pine. Copper body strong lace skim coat. Medium bodied light carbonation not too slippery. On style strong malt body and quite old school bitterness.

Nov 22, 2021
07:31:15 PM
46 Cellar Eyes Riwaka United States American Pale Ale 3.5

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

Okay this is weird but I get a smoky nose almost like a sweet barbecue maybe an Asian barbecue. Also some pepper and some very sweet peach in the nose. Unique. Hazed deep gold slightly amber body whitehead that lingers slightly but doesn't really last too long minimal lace. Mouth has a nice tingle it's medium to light bodied plays really well in the back of the mouth very tangy. Okay weird I also get barbecue in the flavor they're calling this a pale ale it's much more like a sour which happens a lot with Kent falls. There's some apple cider vinegar there's some candy sugar there's a medium length finish that ends up almost clean surprisingly for as sweet and tart and sour and yes it's almost like drinking a sweet tart. Suspect the barbecue is coming from the oak barrel aging. I mean they're calling this a Paleo so I don't know where to downgrade the score because this is not a pale ale. I would wonder if it had gone bad except I bought it at the brewery so it's two and a half years old if doesn't taste like it's gone bad it's just really not a pale ale. I find a drinkable it's tasty it's just not a payal what do I do I guess I'll knock it down two points on flavor for being totally off style.

Nov 12, 2023
12:40:23 AM
47 Tampa Bay Reef Donkey United States American Pale Ale 4.1

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

The nose is hazier than the beer that is to say it's got that tropical fruit thing going on in and a bit of dank bong water in a good way. Hell apricot body fully hazed with a skim coat that leaves beautiful lace. I like the mouth on this it's almost clean like an old fashioned IPA a little slick perfect carbonation. Flavor follows the nose mild tropical fruits make a nice bitter finish long-lasting pretty clean. There's a little bit of barnyard funk going on here again it's that dank bong water.

Feb 14, 2022
10:19:52 PM
48 All Alone With Everywhere To Go United States American Pale Ale 3.5

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

Huge tropical nose, pineapple, green apple, sweetened cookie dough. Totally fogged light yellow body tap to the moderate head leave suds but no lace. 12 things in mouth not quite watery fizzy carbonation. This is an all Galaxy version with Connecticut grains typical for this Brewery. Not a lot of taste at the start but a fairly nasty aspirin taste at the end. Lots of herbaceous bitter greens. Some honey on the front end.

Feb 15, 2021
12:09:07 AM
49 Live Session United States American Pale Ale 3.8

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

Pale nose mostly Citra some sweet malt / biscuit notes. Clear medium gold body with continuing effervescence topped with a frothy white head that is short-lived but leaves great lace. The mouth is light Bodied with a nice carbonation level. Taste a bit more like a mild IPA than a mild Pale Ale but it is extremely sessionable and since that's the name I'm going to give it an eight for flavor even though the flavor is light weight. Nicely balanced decent little hopkick a bitterness in the middle the tropical notes are played down somewhat maybe some lemon peel definitely some pepper Little Biscuit in the end. Very very sessionable.

Jan 21, 2021
06:44:29 PM
50 Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale United States American Pale Ale 3.7

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

Nice nose here, initially all malt but after a moment lots of citrus and pine hops (maybe a bit too much for a Pale Ale. Clear light amber body that is almost pinkish somehow (odd that)! Topped with a frothy white head with OK retention and quite nice lace. OK, its tastes a bit more hoppy and sweet then I like my Pales. A bit thin in the mouth, perhaps a bit under carbonated. First nose after pour spoke of a proper malt backbone but I don't taste it much here. Actually less malt presence than I would expect in a good PA. Slightly off medicinal aftertaste. Maybe tastes like a can (and I have had some great beers in cans!) Canned less than 2 months ago so that should be fairly fresh. I'm giving this beer bad marks for; not really being a Pale Ale, more like a watery PA, odd color, watery mouth, off taste. I wonder if I just got a bad one, can't wait to read other reviewers I respect here. Rerate 6/7/14 as above but I now get a good malt backbone, still a bit too hop-predominant for the style, but damn good drinking. Carbonation level is spot on this time and not medicinal. If htey called this an IPA I would kick the marks up even a bit more.

Feb 6, 2013
12:00:00 PM