Heartland Indie 500 Pale Ale

Draught at Empire St. Building location. Pours a clear gold with a decent white head and good lacing. Citrus hops in the aroma. Strong citrus hops in the flavour but balanced by a slight maltiness. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. Probably the best beer I tried at Heartland.

Nitro pour at the Empire State location - it was a little strange to have this on nitro, but I suppose the brits put certain pale-ale-ish type beers on nitro, so this isn’t entirely unusual - the creamy palate that the pour produces helps keep the citrusy hops from becoming abrasive - the malt profile wasn’t very strong, but was enough to aid in balancing out the hops - very easy drinking for an assertively hopped ale, which is a-okay with me.

On nitro tap: Golden amber color with dense lasting white head. Light citrus hop aroma and average hop bite for pale. Malt profile there to keep bitterness down but not noticeable. On tap at Empire State location.

The aroma was appealing. Hoppy to be sure, but it had a earthy/grassy quality as well. Maybe from the dry hopping. the appearnance was classic IPA, gold with a tinge of red. Nice persistent white foam. Flavor was very strong citrusy hops. So strong, they affected the beer’s drinkability. I couldn’t knock back more than a few of these. Palate had a nice hop burn, and the mouthfeel was thin/medium. Decent IPA, but I tend to favor the ones with a complex bittersweetness to them.

On tap at the Empire State Building Location. Dark yellow, thick creamy white head (thank you nitro). Good aroma - strong hops, very resiny, even cuts through the nitro. Taste is good as well - lots of hops again, maybe a bit muted. Like a kicked up version of their IPA really with nitro added - it interestingly did not really detract that much - with this amount of hops the taste came through. Good stuff.