All About Beer Magazine

Beer Talk

American Pale Ale

Published September 2001, Volume 22, Number 4

• Fred Eckhardt

  One of the best pale ales I have ever enjoyed. It has good color, a lovable hop bouquet, and the head even sounds good! The beer itself isn’t quite that awesome but is ever so drinkable and gets better as you imbibe. Moreover, the hop character actually improves in the glass. This is indeed a welcome libation. Quite enjoyable.

• Garrett Oliver

  A voluminous tan head sits atop a slightly hazy, deep orange beer. A big, fruity, American hop aroma leaps from the glass. On the palate, the beer is dry and bracingly hopped, the hops obliterating the malt and flying through to a clean, clipped finish. Unbalanced for sure, but hopheads will pounce. The hop aromas are nice enough to hold your interest and the bitterness has the power to slice through burritos, pizzas, and probably carbon steel.

• Michael Jackson

  You don’t have to be British to associate the initials BBC with television. Wouldn’t the old Bluegrass Brewing Company be both more evocative and more in sympathy with the trapper on the label. Most American pale ales are pale, lean, and hoppy; this one is dark, full-bodied and malty—and then hoppy. It has a fresh, appetizing aroma; a very dense creamy head; a deep amber color; a creamy, nutty, treacle-toffee dryness; and a woody bitterness supporting the claimed generosity with the hops.