Hillcrest Brewing Company - Perle Necklace

What's up everybody? Hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend and their Mondays. Just got done watching the last hockey game of the season and since the season is now over, I'm going to do some drinking. What am I drinking you ask? Well, something new and something from down in San Diego.

Tonight I'm drinking Perle Necklace from Hillcrest Brewing Company. This is a 6% abv Pale Ale that features both a dirty name and a dirty description. I've never had a beer from Hillcrest Brewing so let's see how the Perle Necklace holds up to some of the other Pales we've had this month.

The Perle Necklace pours out a pretty hazy golden orange color. Maybe even some slight ruby like hue to the beer. There was about a finger of a very aggressive foamy white head. The head was very active and really reminded me a lot of a wave in the ocean. Lots of foam. A massive amount of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. The head on this dissipated very quickly and left behind absolutely no lacing. Sort of disappointing in that regard. Let's get the nose.

Interestingly enough, first thing I pick up is almost a caramel character. Very sweet smelling. There's also a slight hint of Vanilla. I'm not picking up any kind of citrus on this one. Not a lot of hop bitterness. There's some candy sugar sweetness as well. Almost like a maple sweetness. There's a woody character as well. Very strange smelling Pale Ale. Not a lot else going on in this one. Let's see if the Perle Necklace tastes like it smells.

The first thing I get is... well, not much of anything. There's almost no hint of anything on the first part of the palate. Middle of the mouth there's a subtle bitterness and maybe a slight honey sweetness. That caramel is slight present but no vanilla, no citrus, no woody character. Back of the palate there's not much else going on. There really isn't a whole lot to describe in the taste of this beer. It's just very bland and not flavorful. 

So overall, this is a very big let down. This is brewed with Perle hops which apparently is supposed to be slightly minty and give off a nice aroma. I'll say that the aroma was decent but there's very little going on in the taste. I can't recommend this to anyone. It's just a bummer. Avoid this beer.

Rating: D-

Manzanita Brewing Co. - Pale Ale

How's it going everybody? I'm back drinking another new beer and after this incredibly shitty week of work, it's much needed and frankly, much deserved. So tonight I'm drinking a beer from a fairly local brewery (Santee, CA). I'm drinking Pale Ale from Manzanita Brewing Co.

This Pale Ale is 6.3% Abv. A little bit higher than your typical Pale Ale and not really something that screams session beer. Don't get me wrong, not all Pale Ales have to be session beers, but let's be honest, they tend to be fairly sessionable.

So enough bullshit. Let's get this poured and see how Manzanita's Pale Ale stands up to some of the other Pales we've had.

First thing I notice is this isn't entirely filtered. There's a little bit of sediment floating around but it more or less just causes a slight haze to the beer. There's a finger and a half of a fairly standard foamy white head with a lot of tight white bubbles. The beer itself pours out golden yellow with a slight hue of copper around the bottom and sides of the glass when held up to a light source. The carbonation is fairly decent, nothing too crazy, but there's some carbonation coming up to the sides of the glass. Looks like a pretty typical Pale Ale. Let's see how it smells. 

Immediately get some citrus sweetness. Tangerine, Orange, slight bit of grapefruit. Smells like a weaker IPA. There's some sugary sweetness. Maybe even a slight hint of peach nectar. That's followed by a nice subtle hop bitterness. There's some nice grassy character coming through, maybe a fresh cut grass. Sort of wet grass. This is a really clean smelling beer. Crisp, fresh, with a nice citrus and hop bite. It honestly smells a lot like an IPA. Finally, let's get some drinking done. 

There's a nice hop bitterness right away. It really hits the front of the palate and proceeds to lead the way through the back of the palate. Middle of the mouth there's some sweetness, a little bit of grapefruit, grapefruit zest. There's quite a bit of bitterness after this sweet grapefruit. Almost like a grapefruit pith. Sides of the mouth there's some of the tangerine I picked up on the nose along with some of that peach and maybe even some of that grassy character. The Pale Ale finishes pretty dry. The one thing I notice more than anything is how much earthy bitterness there is. Definitely reminds me more of a single IPA more so than a pale ale.

So overall, this is actually pretty decent. I wasn't expecting a lot but this is a pleasant surprise. Very affordable at about $5.00 for a bomber. Really drinks more like an IPA than a Pale Ale like I figured it would. If you can get it I'd say check it out. Decent enough to pick up on a whim. 

Rating: B

Alesmith - X Extra Pale Ale

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Hope your day was filled with drinking good beers and lots of BBQ. Good or bad, BBQ is always at least pretty decent.

Tonight I'm drinking another relatively local beer. From down in San Diego, this is Alesmith X Extra Pale Ale. This is a 5.25% abv American Pale ale that according to the bottle, is brewed with American hops and features notes of citrus and pine with a delicate malt sweetness. I'm a fan of hoppy pale ales so let's see if the X from Alesmith lives up to the hype... assuming there is hype on this beer. This was bottled back in April of this year so it's somewhat fresh. Let's get it poured.

X pours out a golden straw in color with a nice two fingers, to three fingers, of a fluffy, rocky white head. The head sticks around for a bit and once dissipates back into itself leaves behind a really nice foamy lacing. There's a little bit of carbonation coming up from the bottom but not a lot. This looks like a pretty nice pale ale. Nothing too crazy going on here. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is a nice hop bitterness. Quite a bit of pine here. There's a big burst of citrus. Grapefruit, orange, maybe even some peaches coming through. There's a little bit of a breadiness. There's a lot of sweet malt here as well. Definitely reminds me a bit more of an IPA than it does a Pale Ale. There's maybe even a little bit of an apple juice character coming through perhaps even an apple skin. Sorta adds to the sweetness but gives it a little bit of a bite in the nose. Smells really nice and refreshing. Let's see how X tastes.

Immediately I get that hop bitterness which is immediately followed up by some peach sweetness. Middle of the mouth I'm getting almost a caramel sweetness. It sort of acts as a vehicle for the bitterness to makes it's way to the back of the palate. Sides I'm getting some orange juice, fresh, with maybe a bit of that orange pith. Back end there's more malty sweetness and a lingering hop bitterness. X finishes pretty dry with more bitterness than anything else. Medium to slightly medium-light body on the mouth feel.

So overall, X Extra Pale Ale from Alesmith is pretty decent. I'm glad to have found a San Diego Pale Ale that isn't bordering on a Pilsner. This drinks like a perfect blend of IPA and Pale Ale which is very nice. The tastes followed the nose pretty well. The apple like character I was picking up didn't show itself in the taste but the citrus and bitterness were nicely balanced. Check this one out if you can.

Rating: B

Saint Archer Brewing Company - Pale Ale

I'm baaaaack!!

What's up everyone?! It's Thursday. The week is FINALLY almost over and I'm ready to drink a new beer. Tonight, I'm drinking a beer from a very new brewery from San Diego, California (I know, another new brewery?!). This is from Saint Archer and it's their Pale Ale which is an american style Pale Ale brewed with Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops. In other words? Another hoppy Pale Ale!

So let's get this poured cause I'm ready to drink something new!

Pale Ale pours out a very clear yellow maybe with some slight golden hues on the side of the glass and near the bottom. There was about a 2 finger rocky white head that didn't stick around for very long and really didn't leave behind any lacing. There's a bit of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. It's a fairly typical looking Pale, almost reminds me more of a pilsner just by looking at it. Let's get the nose.

First thing I'm getting is some fresh orange juice, maybe some grapefruit citrus. It's not as strong as an IPA of course, but with this hop variety it's not a surprise. This is brewed with some Crystal and Munich malts which I'm definitely picking up behind that initial blast of fresh citrus. There's a bit of a bready character here, maybe even crackerish. There's a slight bit of bitterness here as well. It smells like a slightly hoppy pilsner. Nothing crazy going on with the nose. Let's see how the Pale Ale tastes.

I'm initially hit with a hop bitterness. It's very crisp. There's a bit of a honey character in the middle of the mouth. It's more sweet like honey as opposed to sticky like the actual feel of honey. It's not overpowering. Sides of the palate there is a bit of that citrus coming through. Again though, it's not very strong. The finish is pretty dry with some of that cracker character. There's also a bit more of that honey and citrus to round everything out.

So overall, this is OK at best. It's nothing mind blowing. It's not a bad beer. On a hot day this would be pretty refreshing. At 5.2% abv this is pretty sessionable. I don't see why someone couldn't have a couple of these and be more than alright. I'd have to say this is just an average beer at best. Nothing in this beer shines over anything else. It's fairly balanced but maybe to a fault. I'd have liked a little more of that sweetness or even a little more of that citrus to shine. I was left wanting more.

Rating: C

Cucapa Brewing Co. - Chupacabras Pale Ale

Hey guys! It's Monday night and even though it's June 3rd, tonight is starting Tastes Like Beer's venture into the world of Pale Ales. My plan is to review a "new" pale ale for each entry into the blog this month. My goal is to sort of find the best Pale Ale I can find in the area (northern san diego). This isn't necessarily going to be the best pale ale on the planet because there's not enough days in the month... or year for that matter.

So without any further distractions, let's get into tonight's beer. Tonight I'm drinking a beer from Mexico! That's right, and it's not a Corona! Tonight we've got a beer from Cerveza Cucapa, this is their Chupacabras Pale Ale.

Now I'll admit right now, I bought this beer because the label has what resembles a Murloc from World of Warcraft. Being a former WoW dork, this instantly stood out to me. This is a 5.8% abv Pale Ale. Looking at their website this is an American Pale ale with dark caramel, dark chocolate and roasted nut aromas. Wait. In a pale ale? OK. Let's get this poured and see if that is actually the case.

The Chupacabra pours out a really nice golden orange/copper color with a massive 3 fingers of a very fluffy, billowy white head. The head on this sticks around for sometime and leaves behind a somewhat disappointing lacing. There's quite a bit of carbonation streaming up the sides of the glass. The ale is pretty clear as well. It's a pretty standard looking Pale ale to be honest. Let's get the aroma... maybe we'll get some of that dark chocolate? We'll see.

First thing I'm picking up on the Chupacabras Pale Ale is a nice citrus aroma. A bit of orange, grapefruit, maybe some tangerine as well. I'm getting a subtle banana character as well. Definitely not bordering on belgian like, but definitely a hint of it. I am picking up some of that nutty character the website describe. Maybe a roasted almond character? It's not overly present but it's lingering in the background. Not really getting any of the dark chocolate they mention but I am getting a little bit of caramel sweetness. I'd say it's a pretty decent smelling pale ale. Let's see how the Goat Sucker drinks!

Right away there's a nice hop bitterness. Definitely not on the level of an IPA but sort of like a Sierra Nevada hop bitterness. After that I get some caramel sweetness to sort of cleanse the pallet from the bitterness. It's creamy and rich. After the fades I get a touch of citrus bitterness. Like a grapefruit peel, maybe a slight orange pith character. This finishes pretty dry. There's a lot of bitterness here more so than the sweetness I got early on.

So overall, this is a pretty decent Pale Ale. A nice start to Pale Ale month. If you see this around it's worth a try. It was very reasonable in price ($5 I think) and isn't awful. For a country that's known more for Corona and Dos Equis this is definitely a refreshing change of pace.

Rating: B

Knee Deep Brewing Co - Citra Extra Pale Ale

I know, I know, it's been a long time. I'm sorry.

I got a really nasty cold that's had me out of commission for a few weeks. I hadn't really been drinking beer in that time because for one, I couldn't taste much. Two, I've been busy with other things. I hope you'll understand.

But honestly, I don't care. I'm back with a beer I've never actually had tonight. Some of these reviews are beers I've had previously, but in this case, never had it. So needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.

Tonight I'm drinking Citra Extra Pale Ale by Knee Deep Brewing Co. Citra XPA is a 6% abv single hop ale. If the name of the beer didn't give it away, they used Citra hops! Lots of them. This is 45 ibu which isn't much but for a Pale it's probably higher than a lot. So enough of a pseudo introduction, let's get this beer poured and get into it!

Citra XPA pours out a very hazy golden yellow bordering on a copper color. The haze pretty much makes it so you can't see through the beer. Looks a lot like an IPA honestly. There wasn't much of a head on the pour. It was maybe a finger (being generous) of a foamy white head. It doesn't stick around very long and leaves behind a fairly weak lacing. Overall, it looks pretty standard. Nothing special here. Let's get the nose and hope it delivers.

The nose on the Citra XPA is really nice. Big, bright oranges and other citrus right away. Not a surprise there since they did use Citra hops. The oranges smell real fresh. Almost like a freshly peeled orange. There's a bit of a sugary note I'm getting. I'm smelling a little bit of an earthy, sort of fresh hop dankness. It's a bit subtle but it's there. Honestly, this is just citrus on top of citrus. Not a lot else going on here. Not a bad thing by any means.

Right away on the taste I get a hop bitterness. It's very much reminding me of an IPA. For 45 ibu it tastes a bit more bitter than that. That's followed up by a subtle bit of citrus. It's more of a bitter grapefruit, maybe some orange zest. I'm not getting a lot of that orange I picked up on the nose unfortunately. This beer finishes really dry. Very much more like a lighter IPA than a pale ale. As the taste lingers I'm picking up almost a bitter orange character, perhaps like the pith of an orange. But again, the taste doesn't fully follow the nose like I'd hoped.

So overall, this isn't bad. It's not as good as I'd hoped and I think part of that is how bitter this beer is. I was hoping for more citrus in the mouth but was left a bit disappointed. I'm not sure how old this bottle is and that could very well have a bit to do with it. I'd imagine fresh and from the source this beer is really good. The bottle I got, just ok.

Rating: C