Poured into a Sam Adams glass. (Btw, beer drinkers - I bought two of these at my local beer shop and I have to say - there's more gimmick than glass here. I prefer my Piraat tulip for nearly every brew I have regardless of style if I'm judging it harshly. End of rant.) Beautiful golden hue with just a hint of opacity and a thick frothy head. When you pour this beer initially, it looks like it's going to be your typical headless pale, but it frothed right up nicely. The first thing I notice is its bouquet of sweet orange, almost tangerine-like quality, which I'm guessing is the byproduct of the meshing of the juniper berries and hops (according to the bottle, they use Styrian Golding, Amarillo and some proprietary hops). I have to be honest - It's not quite there for me, expecting something a bit more piney in character than what I received. However one needs to remember this is a spiced beer, and not a true pale, in order to really understand what you're taking in. No malts on the nose which isn't surprising since it's a pale.
The head quickly recedes as most pales end up doing, so it's time to dive in and see what this brew tastes like. In the first split second I feel transported to an earthy pine forest, but then I am back again all too quickly and met with what is pretty much a standard-faire pale ale - a very good dry pale ale, but again not exactly imparted with any uniqueness in the flavoring. I would like to know if they put the juniper berries in a little earlier what the flavor difference would be, if any. A little hint of fruity aftertaste at the end.
If you were to ask me in four words what this beer would be, I'd answer, "it's a pale ale?" Just like that, with the questioning intonation. A fine beer, but nothing to really write home about. It might make a good session beer, but if I'm going session pales there are probably a few others I'd go with ahead of this one, either on flavor and price point. Decent overall.
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