Coast Range Pale Ale

Formerly brewed at Coast Range Brewing Co.
Style: American Pale Ale
Gilroy, California USA

This is pretty good. It leaves you refreshed, it lingers on your palate like a fond memory.

Bottle... Hazy, orange ale with a large, frothy, off-white head. Decent retention. The nose is all about caramel and black tea. Well-balanced with equal parts malt and hops. Notes of toffee and pink grapefruit. A pinch of salt. Medium-bodied and dry with lively carbonation. Thanks to DarkElf for the bottle.

I was very impressed with this brew, after the disappointment of their Blonde Ale. Poured amber from the bottle. Little head, but nice lacing. Aroma was of malt and a little hops. Flavor similar to aroma. I liked the mouthfeel of this one vs. the blonde ale - there’s a lot more here. I got this through a beer-of-the-month club and I would like to have it available locally! Not too hoppy. On the malt-side the way I like ales. Well done!

Amber color, light fizzy head with sticky lacing. The nose is toasty sweet malts with light doughiness and a pleasant hop note that balances with the malt level. The flavor is creamy and also balanced with a nice malt body, moderate hop bitterness and a sweet hoppy resin and caramel sweetness combo. A nice finish ; moderate bitterness for a pale ale with some dry notes in the tail. Decent pale ale. I don’t know what’s up with the low scores here.

(12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) I guess I should issue the disclaimer that I’ve had a partial sixer of this beer sitting on a bottom shelf in my beer cellar (aka, my cave of a bedroom) for about 8 months now, and each time I drink a bottle, I like it more and more. It’s an odd American Pale Ale to say the least, and while not what I’d consider a quality beer, there’s something about it that I find intriguing. Kind of like slowing down for to gawk at a car crash (okay, I steadfastly refuse to do this, but most people can’t help it). It demonstrates what seems to be a clear "house" flavor to the Coast Range beers. The flavor is very caramely, bready and sweet, somewhat fruity, and a bit floral. There is some mildly bitter hops coming out in the finish, but the caramely, floral flavor is definitely dominant throughout. Late in the finish, several seconds after swallowing, I swear it tastes like Cracker Jack (not Jacks!!!). Medium bodied, well carbonated mouthfeel, a bit on the dense, coating side for the style. The nose is decent, with a misleading maltiness coming to the forefront, caramel being less of a factor here than in the flavor. Dark amber in color and fairly hazy. The off-white head dissipates at a normal rate, settling to a broken film, but leaving a fairly dense blanket of lace on the glass. No question, this beer is not to style. It’s way too sweet and caramely for a pale ale, and seems closer to typical American Oktoberfests (despite being an ale), but in the end, if you overlook the style errors, this is oddly enjoyable.

Bottled at The Rover, Gothenburg. Clear, golden ale with a nice off-white head. The aroma is malty with caramel notes, with very fruity hops and pine. The flavor starts bitter, then malt and caramel appears. Sweet, full body and a long bitter finish. (060824)

[At Stockholm Beer Festival 2005] A hazy orange beer with a thin orange head. The aroma contains lots of caramel as well as light notes of hops and brewmash. The flavor is sweet with notes of straw and caramel, leading to a dry bitter end.

Mean-looking clipart hombre on the twistoff label. Hazy, dark-honey amber beer with a lagerish head. Nicely bittered, sweetish with some caramel or toffee, tart fruit (peach, apricot). This was an easy-drinking beer, but the Cascades nuts won't like it. On the border between a PA and a brown.