Sonoran Burning Bird Pale Ale

Brewed by Sonoran Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Phoenix, Arizona USA

Bottle courtesy of rustychiles. Pours copper with a nice white sustained head. Smells of perfume, citrus, dough, pine resin, caramel. Tastes of pepper, resin, mildly bitter.

Spankin Fresh 22oz bottle. Glad t o see the boys at Sonoran bottling again. Pours a golden caramel color with a nice white soapy head. Aroma of citrus, pine, malts, hops. Flavor is piney hops, a decent malt backbone, a touch of citrus with a nice bittering finish. Oily slick mouthfeel with decent mid-palate on this one.

22oz bottle: A golden amber color with a blossoming head to an initial 3 fingers, settles with lacing that covers the glass all the way down... aromas are subtle but there are some citrus, pine and sweetened malts present... the flavor is like a premium British bitter, and it could easily go that way IMO... with the stronger sweetened malty fruity body and the asparin like bittering from the hops - if I closed my eyes, I’d swear it was an ESB... anyways, this is a nice quaffer with low alchohol and it is easy to session a couple of 22oz’ers in an evening... I’m glad to see these beers in bottles... since I’ve sat at the brewery a couple of times and enjoyed the food and beer... go for it!!

So this is a different beer than I remember...and I don’t think it is just because it was on cask @ Papago. Missing the underlying sweetness that gave this one tremendous balance. Aroma displays hop bitterness. Color was light 10k gold with small flashes of amber. Flavor is much more sour. Where are the malts...toffee, caramel, brown sugar, and molasses to balance this beer out???

from the cask @ papago... mmm, warm beer. right from the start it earns extra points... pours a brownish golden color with a fluffy white head that sticks to the stache and lingers around until last call. aroma is light wood, citrus fruit tartness and light roasted grains. the flavor starts flowery but soon leads into orange, caramel and grassy hop bitterness. those hops stick around in the aftertaste. super creamy cask texture. this would be a very mediocre brew if it weren’t for the cask...

From a 1L Bottle. Obtained in a trade from footy 4/24/2007. Thanks, Rudy! A 1L bottle? Who puts an APA in 1L bottles? Pours a moderately transparent, golden nectarine color with a tall layer of soapy white head. Big, citrusy cascade nose, full of lemon and light spice. Has a bit of a soapy character to it. Gentle honey malts back. Light bodied, crisply carbonated mouthfeel. Lots of carbonation, which gives it a sizzling refreshing quality. Starts out with a bit of graham cracker maltiness and light honey sweetness. The flavor develops some richer chewy caramels mid-palate before finishing with a clean, grapefruity cascade final smack. The flavors are much more impressive than the nose. Very nice example of an APA; it’s like a newer, improved SNPA.

1 Litre. Resin heavy nose of in the west coast range, diminished and indiscriminate. Pours a clear amber peach, with bright wheat slick soap. Flavor is a nice refreshing hop balance. Some of those artificial tasting styro hops peak in amongst the citrus, pine and grass, but then this tangles with a subtle honey malt background. Gentle and warming. Body is full, yet nicely dry. Yeast plays clean. Smacks not bitter, but with good hop residues, warmed in a high floral manner. Good job executing hop flavor. Rich, flavorful and rounded. Delightful. Thanks Rudy!

1 litre flip top via bonus in a trade with footy! Thanks! Rudy! Pours amber with a large offwhite head and a beautiful aroma of mostly grapefruit, orange, and some caramel. Flavor is orange, caramel, and a little pine. Pretty well balanced or at least as much as it could be... Lots of carbonation in this one but it was pretty tasty overall.