Pale Ale
Manchester, CT location, brewed by Chris Jacques. The beer is a medium golden amber, fairly unassuming, topped with a thin white mist. Decent head retention, diminishing into a thin collar that stays through the pint. Some blobby lace clings to the glass. The aroma is very pleasant. A familiar cascade hopping rides atop a cleanish, solid pale malt, giving off very little in the way of esters. Just a suggestion of pear. A bit of toasty malt with some minerally notes. The flavor starts with a rock solid toasty maltiness. Very clean, with almost no esters or anything to suggest an ale. Chico yeast? Just a vague floral hint in the middle, with possibly some pear flavor. Extremely faint. The hops creep in early, settling atop the malt with a clean floral and citric taste. A hint of biscuity malt just before you swallow. Moderate bitterness finishes the brew with a pleasant tang of cascade hops, fading out into a clean, mostly hoppy aftertaste. Medium bodied, with moderate, effervescent carbonation. Clean, with smoothly blended flavors. An honest pale ale. Pretty much a dead ringer for Sierra Nevada's pale ale. Not a bad pale ale by any standards. I certainly enjoyed my pint, and would get it again.