Upstream Capitol Premium Pale Ale

Brewed by Upstream Brewing Company
Style: English Pale Ale
Omaha, Nebraska USA

A deep copper orange/amber. Light aroma. Tastes of biscuit and malt. Light hops. A pretty non-distinguishing brew. A mellow inoffensive finish. Light body. Latest sample seemed to have more hop bite and a more bitter finish.

Fleeting hops aroma with some soapy and cereal notes. Copper in color with a little bitty head. Very little body. A bit musky on the finish. Not a very distinguishing APA.

From a growler I got a couple weeks ago--hopefully it isn’t all crappy, though I did see them CO2 the empty growler beforehand, which is a first in my book. Pours a clear copper orange with a half finger light beige yellow head. Aroma of some pine and toffee, also some biscuity malts, some very light pennies. Taste is much the same and a little more citrusy, though the flavors don’t meld--seems like an APA’s hops and an English bitter’s malts, which doesn’t work in this case. Medium bodied, light carbonation--which I’m sure was a little better when it was more fresh, so I’m not taking any points off for that. Decent at best.

Ok maybe I made an error in having this one two beers after their IPA. This one was thin and not very close to what I expect in a Pale Ale, tasted more like an Amber to me. Was not a very enjoyable brew.

A good beer, a little light on hops for a pale ale. I was surprised at how dark it was, even though it wasn’t typical of a pale ale.

On tap, Legacy brew pub. Upstream must have improved. I mean, this isn’t anything special, but it didn’t invoke evil gods or the word "horrible" in my mind. The only explanation is that they’ve improved. Orange amber in color, good clarity, dusting of beige head, adequate lacing, barely any racing. Nice citrusy hops aroma is the best thing about this beer; leavened with a bit of grassiness. Hops in the front lack specific flavor, but they are at a nice level for the medium body and carbonation. Acidity is just right, enough to water the mouth but not apparent enough to materialize into flavor; makes it smooth and balanced with the light malt character. The finish begins skunky with definite corn flavor, which tarnishes the beer. As the finish lingers and rounds out (5-10 seconds), it takes on a nice bitter hoppiness that doesn’t quite become dry; At the very end (maybe 30 seconds into the finish), the grapefruity hops character that should have been more present earlier becomes almost noticable. Flawed beer, but better than weak macro swill.

(Draught) Pours an amber color with a small white head. Very mild hops aroma. Sweet with a light hops flavor. Creamy palate.

Amber in color. The hops for a pale ale were a joke. Had a fruit smell. I think upstream makes beers for people that drink the generic macros. Another horrible beer.