Niagaras Best Portage Premium Pale Ale

Brewed by Niagaras Best Brewery and Pub
Style: English Pale Ale
Niagara Falls, Canada

Aromas all hops. English hops. Herbal, and citrusy. Lemon. Was served with a little head that hung around for a minute. It was quite cloudy which isn’t how a pale ale should be in my opinion. Tasted great. Pine, citrus. There were some lemony notes there. The malt element wasn’t all that interesting, but I think the brewer achieved a good balance between the hops and malt. It’s almost like an American style pale ale, but with English hops. Medium bodied, good carbonation. Overall it’s a good pale ale. I would have liked to give it a higher rating, but I had to doc it some points on the appearance because of the cloudyness.

On tap at Niagara’s Best. Pours an almost murky brown with a thin white head. Big skunky hop notes, somewhat off-putting. Creamy, quite skunky. Finishes up with a long bitterness.

Cask. At Volo Cask Days 2009. Minimal notes. Hazy amber, smallish off-white diminishing head (3+). Pine & citrus aroma, resiny, some fruity sweetness (apple?). Taste follows - simple citrus zest and cedar resin, not as sweet, mild alcohol, ultimately not much bitterness at all. Solid mouthfeel/body, moderately long finish, but no lingering bitterness. More "American" character than I was expecting, pretty solid, in fact - I was pleasantly surprised from these guys - a good step.

[2570-20091031] Cask. Pine needle sap and wax crayons aroma. Murky, medium orange body with a quick foamy white bubbly head. Muted orange peel hops flavour. Medium body. Good, drinkable.
(Cask Days @ Volo; Toronto, ON)

On tap: Taps a hazed pale orange amber, smallish off white cat does not last. Light carbonation. Aroma is standard : citrus tones some light fruity esters, caramel and some earthy yeast notes. Thinnish on the palate, good balance of malts with hop bittering, finishes with fruity notes and hop bittering in control. Has some holes and rough edges to shake out of the process and recipe.

On cask at Volo Cask days. Appearance: murky orange. Zero head. Aroma: Corn, spice, sweat, flavour: bitter, milky, corn, peach. Flavour = same.

Volo Cask Days 2009. Good amount of hops used in this beer. Lots of hops in the aroma with touches of some caramel malts, and some pale malts. The flavor was smooth, but the hops are a little muted in the finish.

2009-10-31. Murky pastel orange with a tiny white head. 3+ Fruit aroma is a bit odd but pleasant, citrus (orange and lemon) and a bit yeasty. 6+ Flavour has a sharp bite of hops and yeast at first, core of fruit hops, mild pale malts, yeast, citrus, orange seeds. 6+ Average plus palate is smooth but lacking carbonation. Enjoyable. Cask at Volo Cask Days 2009