Alaskan Pale

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Juneau, Alaska USA

Pretty much your average, run of the mill golden pale ale. 12oz bottle. Pours a light, pale golden yellow, nose of citrus fruits, spice and hops.

Bottle poured into pint glass. Good not great. I kept thinking, is this a pils? Pours slightly hazy gold colour with a thin white film on top. Very slight hint of hops in the aroma and the flavour was rather light and almost watery, with a little pine and hops. I expected more.

Picked up single 12-oz bottle at John’s Marketplace in Portland, OR. Pours a clear golden pale brew with a slow dissolving white head that has good lacing. Aroma of light bready malt, citrusy hops and a touch of grapefruit. Taste is light to medium bodied, some carbonation with a light bready and grapefruit flavor. Finish is slightly bitter but quickly disappears. One of the lighter pale ales I’ve tried but still a good session beer.

Thanks to Skyview for sharing. Pours a slightly orangish golden color. The nose is kinda faint, but puts off a good dose of the citrus hops, as well as a light dose of cramel sweet malt. Kinda thin on the palate with the same character from the nose coming through. The finish is slightly piney and fairly long lasting.

Pale amber -- pine and grapefruit hopping, with a modest malt backing. Smooth and light on the palate, with a piney, resiny finish. Lots of supporting malt character. Citrus bite. Bittering finish.

Bottle... Poured a pale, golden color with a thin white head. Yeasty, malt aroma. Citrusy sweet flavors with a lot of malt. Too much malt if anything. It was like fermented pine-sol. I at least like my pine-sol with more hops and an edge. I was also upset that I thought I was buying a pale ale, by the name, "Alaskan Pale".

Bottle Code of A082807, Sampled September 2007
Pours with a frothy, initially fat two-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, bright gold color when held up to the light and shows a rich copper hue otherwise. The aroma is fruity with citrusy hop notes of candied lemon zest, grapefruit, something akin to kiwi and a definite candied fruit component that smells quite sweet. A back note of aromatic, pale-toasted grain and crushed soda crackers rounds out the dominant fruit aromatics.

Crisp and fairly dry, yet with a touch of clean malt sweetness. Clean malt notes mix with a light, yet present, hop character that leans towards citrus (orange peel, grapefruit and a touch of lychee) and a lean grassiness. A solid bitterness is found in the beer; it is enough that it is one of the larger components of this brew, but this is such a light brew overall that this is not saying a whole lot. The bitterness definitely lingers on in the mouth long after a sip has been consumed. The malt character seems a bit thin at times, strangely even evoking thoughts of macro-brewed lager.

I am not too sure about this brew, it is certainly not bad and is well made, but it just leaves me feeling unfulfilled and as if something is missing. I wonder if replacing the American two row with a good imported base malt would kick the flavor up to the level that I am hungering for. Not bad, and I do like the hoppiness here.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ

Poured a yellow golden copper body. Cloudy with a medium-sized white dome. Mild hoppy and malty notes of oranges and lemons with bread. Very sessionable and quite nice for the summertime.