Moon River Moon Dance Pale Ale

Name: Moon Dance Pale Ale
Date: 11/05/2005
Mode: Draft, Nitro
Source: Brewfest, Craft Brew Challenge

hazy dark yellow, thick nitro head, sweet light hop aroma, light malt flavor, touch of hops to balance, low bitterness

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

draught at the brew pub. Copper with moderate head but a lot of nice lace. Faint hops/malt aroma. Flavor of biscuit malt with lovely hops finish. True to style.

2005 GCBC. Nitro. Copper gold pour with creamy dense nitro head. light caramel malty aromas with some earthy woody hops in it. Similar flavors, with some citrusy lemon notes. Decent.

On tap at the brewpub in Savannah, Ga. Pours a pleasant dark orange with a creamy, soft white head and decent lacing. Sweet, clean, floral and fruity aroma. Flavor has a delicate, sublte bitterness that at first blush is peppery - but mellows off to a very soft citrusy sweetness - not grapefruity though. Good example of the English Pale Ale Style. Mouthfeel is thick enough and it finisihes strong. Excellent session material.

2005 GCBC. Nitro pour with a nice cascade effect. Hazy amber color and off-white head. Dirty-earthy hop aroma with caramel underneath. Little hop and little malt leaving little to the flavor.

Sampled at GCBC 2005. Pours dark orangish with a typical nitro foamy off-white head. Aroma is quite good for a nitro pour with flowery, spicy Golding hops. Taste is almost all hops, with a little crystal malt for balance. Mouthfeel thin-bodied with smooth carbonation. Still, tastes a bit raw and grainy. Not a big fan of this.

This was nitro conditioned but dispensed in plain CO2 at the Georgia Craft Brew Challenge. Had the appearance and flavors effects of typical nitro dispensed beers. That being, said, this was quite the impressive pale ale. Slightly hazed copper, perfect creamy, cream-colored head. Really neat cascading from the nitrogen as well. The aroma is nice with a very bright mandarin orange hop aroma. The nitro dulled the flavor and I think I’d prefer the beer on cask or just from a normal tap, but this is a solid beer nonetheless.

Draft, shaker. Clear, medium tan-amber hue with a small, frothy white head. Huge assault of floral (to the point of almost being citric) hops. Lightly caramel and toasted white bread malt. Simple and straight forward but pleasing in its cleanliness. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter flavor. Lighty sweet, moderately bitter finish. Very clean flavor as well. Medium body, water (almost creamy) texture, moderate carbonation.