Iron Hill Belgian Pale Ale

Brewed by Iron Hill North Wales
Style: Belgian Ale
North Wales, Pennsylvania USA

Draft from Maple Shade. Out of the 7 seasonals on tap I would have thought this would have been one of my least favorites since this isn’t a style that I particularly enjoy, luckily I was wrong. Poured a dirty shade of orange with a smaller white head. Aroma was fruity with citrus and tropical notes, slight yeast, and some malty bread and caramel. The flavor had a slightly less fruitiness about it, although lots of citrus hops remained, and had more of a bolstered up malt prescence with toffee, caramel and toast blending in with the Belgian yeast. Very pleasantly suprised by this one. Well done.

Full pint on draught at the newish Maple Shade location. Smells of hops, very hop-forward, light citrus, minor lychee, light grapefruit, pineapple even. Light toffee and even lighter chocolate. Great sting of resin but within a balanced structure, medium light body, very fruity but drying out. No big alcohol, really no alcohol at all, smooth and prickly. Delicious! And at less than 5%, a great session for this emergent sub-style.

On draft in Maple Shade. Pours a clear orange vistalite with a medium off white head. Aroma of honey lemon tea, hops and citrus. Taste is much the same as the aroma.

On tap at Phoenixville location. Transparent tea color with a foamy white head. Weak nose of cereal, paper, and cleaning products. Not enticing. Grainy flavor of pale malt, slight citrus, some caramel through the finish. Moderate bitterness. Thin palate, short and very fizzy. Very close to macro swill in several ways. I don’t understand how some can give this a 4, so maybe I missed something.

Draught at Phoenixville BrewPub: Aroma of earthy and grassy hops, and pale malts. Poured golden/amber in color with a medium-sized, creamy, dense, off-white head that lasted throughout. Clear. Very sparkling. Excellent lacing. Flavor is slightly sweet and medium bitter. Tastes of lager yeast, slight caramel, grassy hops, yeast, and slight malts. Light to medium body. Thinish, lightly dry texture. Average carbonation. Boring yeast and malt finish is dry. I do not taste any "flavors of raisins, bananas, and chocolate."

Copper color. Clear. No head. Aroma of spice and fruit. Flavor of spice, banana, raisin and a touch of chocolate. Not bad, but a bit thin.

On draft at Iron Hill, West Chester. Served in a pint glass which immediately turned me off. Poured slightly hazy orange. Surprisingly thin and watery. Sweet, fruity, somewhat spicy but overall a very subdued tasting. Disappointing to say the least.

This is an excellent brew, and definitely one of my favorites. There are so many layers of flavor - it is like a party in your mouth. It is slightly bitter at first like a pale ale should be, but then gives you kicks of sweetness, caramel, and other subtle flavors that make it a joy to drink.