Triumph Chico Ale

Brewed by Triumph Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Princeton, New Jersey USA

With a name like Chico Ale, you know this one is paying tribute to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and its a nice one at that. I sampled this one at the New Hope, PA location, and was very pleased. Pours to a deep golden, to light amber color, with a thick and creamy white head, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose is very inviting on this beer, with good citrus and lemon hop aroma. The palate is firm with good pale and sweet malt flavor, along with a nice touch of estery fruit. This beer finishes with more good pale malt up front, then ends with a mild but pleasing citrus/lemon hop bitterness. Very well done example of American Pale Ale, and a nice tribute to the bench mark example, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A good pint after pinter at the bar, and a very food friendly beer as well.

Draft at Philly. Clear orange with a large head. Aroma of pine and floral hops and a fair amount of caramel malt. Well balanced and drinkable!

Great APA, light amber color, silky off-white head, great lacing down the glass, very floral nose with hints of citrus & orange, full-bodied, very drinkable, hoppy & fairly bitter flavor with a nice malt profile for balance, dry finish

New Hope. Pours a nice medium amber, moslty clear and a lasting off white head. Aroma is citrusy, with light pine and orange notes and a crisp sweet malt backbone. Flavor is smooth and lightly sweet upfront but then the citrus hops finish off with a nice clean crisp bitterness. A bit more malt than expected, which held up nice against the fruity and citrus hops. Nice APA.

Tap @ Triumph Philly. Poured a clear copper color with a white head. Earthy and sweaty hops made up the aroma. The flavor had a caramel malt start then a fairly large amount of hops in the middle. The caramel came back at the finish along with a mild bitterness.

Growler from New Hope. Warm orange-amber body with a fading, buffy head. Vibrant hop aroma with notes of pine, cinnamon, and resin plus some sweet toasty backing. Flavor is well-balanced with a woody, toasted edge and some crystal malt sweetness. Fresh, quaffable pale ale.

Excellent. Hit both Triumph Brewpubs today. Crazy trip. I was a little wary of the Chico at first but it didn’t disappoint.

With a name like "Chico Ale" I knew it was a West Coast style APA. Strong cascade aroma, dark golden brown appearance. Triumph isn’t re-inventing the APA here, but serving up a tasty version of it.