Eagle Pale Ale
Firehouse Brewing Co.

 

 

The appearance was a red to copper color with a slight transparency about it. There’s a small white head that quickly faded. The smell had some sweet malt up front with a light spicy hoppiness about it. The taste followed the nose. On the palate, this one sat about a light on the body. It showed a decent drinkability about it. The carbonation was actually pretty smooth but then again it was on tap. Overall, pretty good beer worthy of having again.

 

 

 

 

 

Had this beer on tap at the Firehouse Brewing Company's brewpub in Rapid City, South Dakota. Also, I was informed that this was an American Pale Ale, not an English one. The taste and the website both confirm that and I reported an update to BA, hopefully it will get changed and un-retired as I had this beer about three weeks ago.

APPEARANCE: Darker than the average APA with a crystal clear, copper color and a quarter-inch thick head. The lacing was very nice all the way down the glass and covered about 80% of the backside of it.

SMELL: Not much aroma, but what is there is typical for an APA - dry, citrus and some mild hop aroma.

TASTE: This is dry and hoppy. Not a terribly complex beer, but a nice, straight forward pale ale with a decent bitter bite and a cleansing finish. It complimented the spicy burrito I had quite nicely.

MOUTHFEEL: Refreshing and crisp, this beer goes down easy and the sparkle quenches your thirst.

OVERALL: Sadly, when I was at the Firehouse Brewing Company they only had four beers on tap, excluding the few that I really did want to taste, but of the four, this was the highlight. It was an easy drinker, refreshing and a good pairing with a lot of the tasty, spicy food on the menu.

Reviewed from notes. On tap in August 2009 after a late-night visit to Mt. Rushmore.

Pours a moderate amber-copper color with an off white head. Nose brings a light amount of citrus and pine hops with a bit of an earthy character in there as well. Light malt behind it, which is more evident in the body against the weak hops. While nothing is strong, this is an EPA and it actually fits the bill quite well. Mild bitterness and a good body; nice and drinkable after a long day.

Sampled from a growler. The pale ale is not so pale. Pours an amber hue with a sharp red color. The beer is very clear as well filtered. The head was basically no existent when poured but some froth remained for some time until finally disappearing altogether. The lace was limited as well.

The smell was sweet with noticeable caramel aroma but overall light as a whole. A good malt fragrance and very limited hop smells.

The taste is light and somewhat watered down. A good caramel malt presence that reminds me of crystal. There was a limited hop flavor that brings an English and earthy hop taste. A good sweet aftertaste but stronger in malt.

There is a crisp and clean taste to it. Very easy to drink. The body is light as is the carbonation. A good beer but could use more body and hops.

Written From Notes Compiled 6/04-8/04:
Copper in color. Small white head. Served too cold. Taste is unbalanced, with hops coming to the forefront. This beer was very dry, and there was a funny flavor that made it taste like cardboard in some parts of the sip. Could've definitely used a malt backbone, a little sweetness would've taken this stuff a long way. Good otherwise.

This beer pours a clear golden-red color. The head is off-white with good residual lace that sticks to the glass. The aroma is a mild and pleasant apricot/citrus scent of hops (Willamette, I believe). Nice and dry initial taste - crisp and clean with the start containing some malt, the finish is also dry, with a delicious aftertaste. The only thing that keeps this ale from being as good as Firehouse's Chukkar Ale is that the middle is the slightest bit thin - it leaves the tongue wishing for more flavor - more malt in the middle. Otherwise an excellent brew!