71 Pale Ale
Ram Restaurant & Brewery

 

a fine pale ale, new school but also bitter, hoppy as they go, potentially polarizing there for someone who likes more of an old school malty pale, the bitterness caught me a little bit, but its also modern in its hop complexion and has some dry grain character from the rye in the mash, which is a nice little twist and point of differentiation here. i wish it were a little more refined. it has some haze to it in the glass, a weird ester from the yeast as it warms up a little, and drinks a little fuller and heavier than maybe it should, but the flavors make it big too. the hops have some greenness and the whole thing seems a little raw to me. the fermentation profile needs to be cleaner, this has an almost phenolic aspect to it, but it also kind of marries with the bright fruitiness of the hops, maybe a happy accident at play here, but things like canned pineapple juice and orange juice from concentrate also come out here. the rye is a nice layer underneath so its not too generic on the malt side, and the oily hop linger on the tongue after each sip keeps it kind of west coasty even though its as hazy as it is. different overall and maybe not as drinkable as i want my pale ale to be, generally speaking, but its nice to have a pale ale stand out, even if its a little weird...

 

 

 

I tried this at the brewery. It poured a clear copper with thin white head that left a spotty lacing. The scent had touch of bitter hop. The taste was nicely balanced and very easy to drink. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it was a decent beer.

From 2014. A very lightweight pale (or not so pale), pours out a murky copper color, with nice creamy head. Most points for appearance, all else is just mediocre. Easy drinker and refreshing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure if this is what was included in the flight. This was certainly the beer that was supposed to be included, but the waitress admitted that several of the beers were different from what was indicated on the flight but she didn't really know all what had been poured, and furthermore continued to mix-up what was physically present throughout her attempted explanation of the flight. Looking at pictures online, however, this looks like what was included. Alas, the flavors were very much of banana and clove, so I'm not really sure. If this indeed the beer I think it was, it was quite good.