Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: English Pale Ale
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Most pale ales seem to come across too sweet for my palate, not this one. Poured a deep amber with a beautiful dirty white head that refused to quit that thickly laced the glass. The aroma was hoppy and the taste was Gr Apple sweet to citrus pine hops quickly transitioning to dry and bitter. The finish was definitely dry with just enough hop bitters. Well done Smuttynose.

(bottle) Pours light golden-brown. Mahagony colored and cloudy in glass with small off-white head. Small is strongly malty, rich, sweet like caramel, and reminiscent of roasted coffee. Flavor is sweet and ends with nice medium bitterness that doesn’t knock your wind out. Body is medium to full, fairly smooth, and just a little watery. Another good one from Smuttynose.

Bottle. Poured a nice clear deep amber color with a small off white head. The aroma was weak with the smell of citrus hops and some sweet malts. The flavor of mild malts balanced fairly well with some citrusy hops. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin to maybe medium bodied..lightly bitter and dry in the end. I liked this better after about 2/3 of the way through. My first Smuttynose ale...I need to try more.

April 26, 2005; 12 oz. bottle. Clear, dark amber -- almost burnt orange pour. Rapidly dissipating head leaves just a bit of lacing. Initially fruity "hit" (as expected from Smuttynose), but I really like the malty undertones balancing this one, as the hops fly over the top into a bitter finish. Re-rate on Feb. 14, 2008: Going to bump up the "flavor" score a point . . . this is a truly-excellent Pale Ale.

[Cask at GBBF 2004] An orange beer with no head. The aroma is sweet and very hoppy, but also with notes of oranges. The flavor is very hoppy and grassy and it has a very bitter end.

Amber beer, very thin....classic pale.....hoppy then bitter.....no head....too boring to write anything more.....

Dark copper, musty aroma, some hops, caramel, woody, earthy notes, pleasant hop finish, some citrus, notes of caramel as well. Pretty good

Poured an amber color, with ligh lacing. Smells of malts and hops. Body is thin like the rest in the smuttynose variety. Sweet yet hoppy on the palate.