Fifth Anniversary Ale
Pisgah Brewing Co.

Appearance: Pours a faintly hazed, light golden body with a wispy, white head.

Smell: Sweetish, faintly honeyish whiff of lightly malted barley. A pinch of hopspice, some leafy tones, but, mainly, it's a range of various citrus oils from lemon to orange to white grapefruit.

Taste: Light pale maltiness, a flash of superficial sweetness, then it's off to the citrus-tasting, resinous hops with plenty of bitterness. Maybe a hint of Georgia peaches. A little spiciness lurking within the riding bitterness. Bitter, citrus-infused finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Overall: It's fine, just another hop-centric, bitterness-forward ale.

Served from tap into a sampler tumbler. Poured yellow-orange with a one finger pure white head that subsided to a minimal amount very slowly. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, earthy notes, and very very slight bitter hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, earthy notes, slight bitter hops, earthy hops, and an earthy note that intensifies upon swallowing. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this brew wasn't that bad, but wasn't that great either. It definitely had the earthy characteristic you come to expect from Pisgah going on here in a big way. There was nothing too standout in this one though. Glad I got a chance to try this one and look forward to their future Anniversary releases.

a: amber in color with a thick off-white head, lots of retention and lace

s: great play between the citrusy Amarillo and slightly sweet, grainy pale malts, good orange and some grapefruit, a bit earthy, nice

m: medium bodied with a carbonation moderate, quite smooth

t: grainy pale malt structure, moderately sweet but balanced well with a load of earthy citrus hops - somewhere between orange and grapefruit, a mid-range bitterness levels things out, lots of hop and malt flavor, good stuff

d: tasty and balanced, an easy drinking ipa that could just as well pass for a hoppy pale

congrats to Pisgah on their 5th, pretty solidly my favorite NC brewery - served in a plastic cup on the streets of downtown Asheville

very nice to be able to try the anniversary ale this year. cannot believe the boys have been around for five years now! no coincedence that i have lived here the same five years.

pours a very light amber with a huge foamy head. took a few pours to really get a good sense of the beer. lots of carbonation kept it looking very lively.

aroma is lots of light citrus and light grains, hints of orange peel, lemon, and touches of grapefruit and a nice and well balanced light malt mid palate. very light body and flavor, clean with a nice light dry after taste that begs you to drink more from the first sip you take.

overall a really solid beer. nice and balanced, light an great for a hot day. happy birthday guys!