Mad River Steelhead Extra Pale Ale

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Blue Lake, California USA

Bottle: Poured a golden yellow with a small amount of head. The aroma was of citrus hops. The flavor was lightly hopped with a sweet finish. Overall, an OK APA.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a medium sized head of foamy finely sized white colored bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind a hazy typically carbonated yellow-orange colored body and a good lacing. The mild aroma was floral and malt hop. The crisp mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt and hops. An OK brew just nothing special. Missing the caramel flavor I enjoy in a Pale Ale.

Bottle from General66. Thanks! Gold pour with a small white head. Aroma is of light citrus-hops, light bready malt, and some cardboard. Light-bodied and sweet, this was not as hopped as I like my APAs to be. Easy to drink and no real flaws though. Very sessionable.

Bottle from Party Town. Poured clear hazy amber with an average frothy white head that mostly lasted and produced good lacing. Moderate to heavy hoppy citrus aroma. Medium body with soft carbonation. Medium hoppy bitter flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of average duration. Good drinkable brew.

12oz bottle: A crisp, bright citrus hoppiness waifs up from the golden body. A bit of airing and the body displays a deeper blend of honey and bready malts. The body is crisp as well, with a more caramel-laden profile. Finishes appropriately bitter, with a nice does of orange rind. A very nicely balanced pale ale from start to finish.

Cloudy straw gold body; thin white head. Aroma is sweet and slightly hoppy. Flavor is moderately hoppy and sweet. There’s nothing wrong with this beer; it just seems too meek and unassertive to stick out as a special APA.

I have to say, this is an odd bird this beer. It is not much of an APA, but it is a lovely beer nonetheless! Pours a yellow clear golden sort of macro color with a rather healthy white head. Dry peppery nose with very little malt. Perhaps a little past prime, but coming on strong with a peppery german or czech style hopping, not the brash aggressive APA. Maybe somewhere between Saison and Pilsner? Bizarre. Light body, perhaps a bit creamy, thin though. Peppery hops with a dry thin malt. A bit of fruit. Bone dry. Leaves the tongue a bit on the raw side. Not tannic though. Maybe a bit acidic? Spice is here, but not quite to the level of being spiced. Some straw. Peppery straw. A dry finish with just a hint of toast. This is wildly underrated, complex for the style, and it doesn’t match the style at all, but I still enjoyed it!

Bottle. Great Cascade nose with bread and pretzel dough, with lesser but fitting floral citrus. Yellow-golden pour is a bit sickly, and a scant white head. Malty floral taste, mixed fruit platter with lemon and orange at the fore and lesser pineapple and mango toward the back. Thinner-than-medium body, and a touch too sweet. For a standard pale ale, there’s a good deal of flavor here. No taste or feel of alcohol, but the 5.7 is probably keeping this from being a good session - could otherwise down it in volume.