Wolaver's Pale Ale
Otter Creek Brewing

I don't remember what the deal was, but it seemed like we were getting this stuff distributed a decade ago, and it was always next to the Anderson Valley stuff. Some connection there I think, perhaps merely coincidence.

Poured a copper color. 1/3" white head. Way darker than average, supposed to be "pale" man. The aroma was kind of old school, had more maltiness, zero aroma/dry hopping, just a mild grapefruit rind aspect largely being dominated by the caramel & wood feel of the crystal or similar kind of malt body.

Taste was more of the maltiness over hoppiness. Dare I say this was a "balanced" pale ale, but I don't want balance in a pale ale, if I did, I'll go drink an English one. They went with a higher degree of carbonation in the mouth feel for some reason, maybe to keep that caramel tone from dominating even more. Since I just did a bunch of Pete's Wicked reviews, this was kind of like they were going after the wicked ale (brown ale) market and decided to try and make a pale ale in a similar (smooth/mild) fashion.

Their ipa was definitely better.

Flashback #200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you pour this beer from an inch or so above the glass, you get a big off white to light tan head that takes it time to recede. Very nice honey copper color and quite a clear clean colored beer.

I really don't know what I got more of in the aroma, the slight sour grains, or light bitter hops, or lightly toasted caramel, or the citrus; but all of that was present in the aroma.

The taste was quite similar to the aroma with the exception that it seems that the light bitter hops seems to take over a little, which i really kind of liked. And this light bitter taste transfers well throughout and stays with you with its aftertaste. A pretty good beer, I think I'll have another.

Very nice one finger creamy head. The body is dark dark amber in color. Looks like a pale ale should look. Smells just like a pale ale should smell too, not too hoppy, not too malty, nice balance in between. You definitely pick up more hops, and then a small malt note and sweet smell. I wish the smell were a little more intense, but oh well. Well, the taste is very very good, don't get me wrong, but I would not really classify this as a pale ale. I mean it tastes too light on the hops to be a pale ale. It tastes more like an english ale to me, not american. In the taste you get a hop bitterness for just a second, and then comes an immense sweetness and then in the finish you get malts for just a second as well. The taste is dominated by that sweetness. It's a great mix of all three flavors, but the sweetness is definitely the primary flavor. Good taste, not out of this world though. Drinkability is through the roof on this beer, mouthfeel isn't bad either.

a- light clear amber color, little head and minimal ring of lacing
s- not much smell, maybe a slight malty scent
t- decent taste but not very hoppy,not very malty either, somewhat bland
m- decent mouthfeel for a regular pale ale but nothing great
d- its an average beer , grab a single if you like pale ales, all i can taste when i drink pale ales is a weak ipa

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: A copper color makes up the body, with some tinge of darkness to it. A frothy bright-white head doesn't leave an insane amount of lacing, but it's a sharp contrast from the body of the brew, and it does leave some big dots of lacing and some swervy rings closer to the body's top.

Smell: A good amount of husk, grain, earthiness, mild hop bitterness, and slight caramel. All fairly subdued, but it seems balanced at least.

Taste: I wouldn't call this a Pale Ale on training wheels, but like the aroma, everything seems fairly light, which, I suppose, can be good for a lawnmower-type summer beer. Good husky earthiness and citrus hops, with lingering mild fruit esters and earthiness and nice back-end bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Initially mildly watery with a good burst of sharp carbonation that comes through at the end and makes it a little more toward medium-bodied from the initial semblance of its light-bodied nature.

Drinkability: This gets pushed up a notch because it has enough flavor to be highly drinkable, with a good amount of alcohol to be sessionable, and it's, well, very easy-drinking for a Pale Ale. Wolaver's has never blown me away, but this is another solid brew from them.

I found this single 12oz brown bottle at the Binny's in Plainfield, IL for $1.59. No freshness date but they claim all the ingredients are organic.

The beer poured a hazy gold color but made no head whatsoever - just a thin white rim. Despite the lack of much head, the beer still left some nice lacing on the glass with each sip.

The beer had a mild hop smell along with some fruit juice aroma.

There was a nice malty backbone to this but with plenty of hop bitterness for balance. A subtle apple juice presence completes the flavor. I like the taste of this.

Medium bodied with biting carbonation for crispness. Slight lingering hop aftertaste.

A very drinkable beer. Wish I bought more than one. I'm not a big pale ale fan but this one could bring me on board.