Badlands Extra Pale Ale
Meadowlark Brewing

Badlands Extra Pale AleBadlands Extra Pale Ale
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From:
Meadowlark Brewing
 
Montana, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
Ranked #620
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
87
Ranked #17,464
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 6.77%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
17
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 26, 2022
Added:
Oct 17, 2014
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
A tangerine-gold ale, crisp with moderate bitterness and floral notes reminiscent of tropical fruit, lemons, and grapefruit. It’s not typically a pale ale, and not quite an IPA, but will surely leave your hop-bone happy.

Sidney, Montana…where the badlands meet the plains. It’s the perfect dichotomy of Mother Nature’s picturesque beauty. It’s also a subtle reminder of the duality of the human spirit. Like the land itself, any one of us can be kind and gentle or rough, tough and unforgiving. Regardless, there’s beauty present in all things. We’ve incorporated the best of both worlds in this beer: the malt profile of an easy-drinking pale ale and the aroma and flavors of an IPA, without its bitterness. It’s kind of like the badlands themselves: rugged terrain that’s still easy on the eyes. We encourage you to embrace both sides…of this region, this beer, and of yourself.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by drinkin-beeers:
Photo of drinkin-beeers
Rated by drinkin-beeers from Montana

4.04/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Nov 23, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by cbcrunch from Wyoming

Aug 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.31 by evergreen_machine from Washington

Oct 03, 2019
 
Rated: 4.19 by IDABEERGUY from Idaho

Aug 03, 2019
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

4.06/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from can into a pint glass
Appearance –The beer pours a light orange amber color with a one finger head of pure white foam. The thicker looking head has a good level of retention, slowly fading over time to leave a good sum of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is strongest of a some citrus smells of grapefruit and orange as well as some other more dank hop smells of an herbal and grassy nature. Along with these is some bready and light sweetness of a tropical nature, producing a rather nice inviting smell overall.
Taste – The taste begins with a somewhat more bready and crackery taste that has some flavors of caramel and a bit of citrus orange upfront. As the taste advances the sweeter flavors seem to dwindle a bit, all while the malty get quite a bit more intense. Some other hop tastes of pine, herb, and a light floral join the tongue, and with some dank earth and a little bit of yeast, one is left with a rather malty but dank taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel –The body of the brew is somewhat thick and chewy with a carbonation that is on the average to lower side. For the mix of malt and dank, the feel is actually very well done and makes this one a flavorful and slower sipper although it is only at 6.5 % abv.
Overall – At first sip I did not like this brew, but given a bit of time, and a little bit of warming up, I sorta came around to seeing its well balanced and robust more dank hop and flavorful body. I actually rather like it I must say!! Try it if you get a chance and be sure to give it some time to mellow before drinking…
Jun 12, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Kolb from Montana

Apr 30, 2019
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

3.69/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from 12oz can into glass. No dating information found.
Slightly cloudy, pale gold colored body. 1-1/2 finger white head settles to thick cap. Sheets and walls of lacing left behind.
Tropical hops in the aroma, with some light malts.
Taste is more expressive, with some bitter citrus pith hops combining with the slightly sweet malts.
Medium mouth feel, with good carbonation.
Quite strong flavors for an EPA. Decent balance between the sweet and the bitter. Easy to drink and refreshing overall.
Sep 05, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by elglueckert from Montana

May 19, 2017
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
on tap at montana ale works in bozeman, surprised folks havent liked this dry hopped pale ale a little more than the reviews show here. i thought it was tidy beer, clean and bright and easy drinking, low bitterness, even for a pale ale, but plenty of hop character and flavor, the sturdy dry hop is apparent, and the beer was quite good through a clean line and obviously very fresh there at the ale works. maybe a touch of haze to it, and a little bit of color, but this is a light and bright beer, easy drinking as can be, with a somewhat piney and a little lemony hop flavor, zesty and sturdy, more hearty than the beer itself ever gets, fresh and nicely planned out. this is my first beer from these guys, and its really nice on its own, but an expert companion to the fantastic chicken wings here, both hot and buffalo, it seems built for food like this, even casting an autumnal culinary vibe. i have not heard much about these guys so far, are they all this good? i found it distinct and delicious, much better than its ratings, and with a little more carbonation would really be great.

edit: i liked this even better from the can, seems super well refined to me now and the carbonation is certainly there. refreshing after a big meal, clean and satisfying. increasing a few scores to reflect, this might be one of the better pales in the state right now!

edit: the can art has changed, and with it the designation of this, not an extra pale ale anymore, not called just an ipa, not sure if this is for sales reasons or actual recipe changes, its been long enough that i dont recall the flavor nuances of the first few times i had it, but it seems slightly juicier now, maybe a little more unfiltered looking too, perhaps some modernization of the recipe out of their impressive new billings location. still unique in this style space and less bitter than many, especially compared to the ipa field. nice beer, fresh and flavorful and with a neat hearty and dry grain core, memorable under any name...
Oct 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.57 by SamuelMiller from Montana

Sep 09, 2016
Photo of Impetuous
Reviewed by Impetuous from Montana

4.41/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Art should be judged not on how perfectly it falls into a particular genre but what the artist's goals were and how closely his art came to realizing those goals.

Brewing is art and I am sick of puerile reviewers reductive and formulaic b.s.

This brew tastes pert near how the description puts it. Respect.
Aug 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Jul 08, 2016
Photo of Todd
Reviewed by Todd from Finland

3.57/5  rDev -7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Zesty, Fruity, Bready, Bitter

Pours cloudy with a thin foamy white lace. Floral nose. Smooth and medium bodied. A healthy dose of lemon zest, grapefruit pith and a mild stone and tropical fruitiness melds with the slightly sweet and bready malt base. Raw, bitter, leafy hop finish. Bone-dry and chalky, with an aspirin edge. Badlands is good, but not an Extra Pale Ale, which despite its name should be lighter in color and often lighter in flavor, too.

As reviewed in BeerAdvocate magazine #113 (June 2016).
Jul 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by jera1350 from Minnesota

Jul 01, 2016
Photo of Emilyloewen
Rated by Emilyloewen from Montana

4.13/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pungent and aromatic, this xpa packs a lof of punch. The bitterness is nicely balanced with malt.
Jun 08, 2016
Photo of Libeertarian
Reviewed by Libeertarian from Montana

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Semi-hazy honey shade of amber, with medium-retaining off-white head. Looks nearly identical to the last beer I had, which was Terminal Gravity's Extra Special Golden. A little more clear and maybe a shade darker is the only difference this one has in appearance. Aromas of grapefruit, black pepper (amazing...I can usually only detect this on the palate!) and crackers at first, moving on to caramel, dried fruit, raisins, and mango as I get used to it. Taste threw me for a loop, was expecting it to be similar to smell, that is, more fruity. But it is very rindy and vegetal throughout, with a strong black pepper note. Very little malt or ester or hop fruitiness to speak of. If anything, mango. In other words, not enough balance. Light in body and in carbonation, though prickling. Surprisingly wet finish.
Jul 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Dec 20, 2014
Badlands Extra Pale Ale from Meadowlark Brewing
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 17 ratings