Pale Ale
Founders Brewing Company

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Nitro version - obviously looks spectacular with a warm caramel body and ultra dense creamy white froth. Nose suffers from the nitro - faint citric perfume sums it up. Evenly balanced between caramel malt and citric/floral hops. Soft and subtle from the nitro with a clean finish. I would like to see this around in the non-nitro version, though this is fun as the occasional change-up.

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4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It pours a copper color and leaves the same color body with a one inch white head that slowly dies to a fairly long lasting film of a head. The smell has the pine and hops combined powerfully up front with a strong sense of malts trying to come through. The taste has a wonderful combination of pine, hops and malts with a bit of a floral/citrus aspect coming out as the beer warms. The palate is light with nothing harsh on the tongue - just an all around good feel, solid. Overall, great beer that I would come back to.

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3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Nice color to this beer. I'm smelling a nice malt base with some citrus notes sitting on top. Smells good. Taste is a bit muted but I would call it the mix from the nose all at once with a nice dry finish. The aftertaste give me some lingering almost metallic bitterness but in a tasty way. Quite carbonated. I could drink a few of these for sure.

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3.84/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Taste somewhat like a session IPA.
I can really taste the dry hopping. Crisp.
I could power these down with no problem.
Plenty good but does not really stand out.

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3.69/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours golden with a half-inch head. A very drinkable pale ale. Light citrus hops and even lighter malt. A nice middle of the road six pack for two guys - one who likes craft and one who likes cheap and normal.

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3.67/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

I'm not the biggest fan of pale ales ever, but this was quite drinkable. Balanced, the hops aren't as overpowering as they are on some similar beers. I'll be looking for this again in the future.

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3.66/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Gives those yellow pale ale appearance feels, 1/2" white head, 'bout average retention. Aroma hit those grapefruit and something less bitter kind of citrus vibe, its a good dry hop feel.

Light pale honey toasted malts, 50 ibu territory, plenty of c hops without crystal malt weighing it down. Not gonna blow me away or make me forget about SNPA, but its decent stuff. No its good stuff.

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4.38/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottled on 03/01/16

Pours a slightly hazy amber orange with a creamy off-white foam head. Smells like grapefruit, mild orange citrus, some sweet malt, and woody earthy floral grass. Tastes like fresh grapefruit, sweet malt, some spice, mild orange citrus, with floral pine and woody earthy grass. Feels medium bodied, creamy with low carbonation. Overall a nice and refreshing pale ale.

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3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Solid pale ale. This was good on tap; refreshing without an overpowering taste. Amount of hops and flavor was good for those who are not all in on the IPAs that are prevalent today, but like a little flavor in their beer. Would buy again.

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3.18/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

**
02/23/2014
Aroma is light fruit and spice. Light yellow pour. Medium white head. Spice, slight soapy. OK. On tap at Blend.
**
09/24/15....with NITRO. (note: nitro version not included in ratings, looks like there is a separate BA entry.)
On tap at blend again, but with nitro added on cask. A nice difference. Really smooth and creamy with the nitro.
**

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4.11/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Citrus hops with a fruit floral finish. Moderate to excellent lacing. Good to excellent taste and I have yet to have a Founders beer I didn't like as of yet.

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4.04/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

I like the citrus fruit forward aroma. I get some pineapple and mango. I get some fruit cup, with a small trace of cherries in there. Solid beer and easy to drink,

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3.43/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This was a fairly enjoyable pale ale, but not up to Founders (very high) standards. Probably won't get this again. It seemed too artificial for my taste.

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3.96/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on tap 10 oz. poured orange after the vortex cleared.
good hop balance with citrus notes of grapefruit.
slight bitterness on the tongue in the finish
great on tap.

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2.89/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a slightly hazy, dark orange with a thin, white head. Quite a bit of carbonation. Slight citrus smell with the bitter pine hops smell. Bitter pine hop is most of taste in which the bitter lingers. Slight malt taste. Balance isn't the greatest, and the bitter does not have much pine or citrus. The plain bitter does not make a good mouthfeel. The least favorite product of the wonderful Founder's brewery.

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3.52/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a half finger of head on a hazy darker straw body.
The aroma is ripe orange and mandarin, and grapefruit.
The taste has a honey sweet followed by a grapefruit bitter-sweet flavor.
The texture is crisp and fizzy.
It's enjoyable.

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3.72/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Founders is in Orange County for good!! So naturally, a tasting of what I could find was in order. To start off, a single 12 ounce bottle of the dry-hopped pale ale. On to the beer:

This pale ale has a bright orange color and light whipped lacing. It's a clean and crisp pale ale, with soft floral, honey, and lemon aromas teasing your nose. A simple taste, refreshing to say the least. Clean with honey, biscuit, and floral hops from start to finish. For Founders, it's a safe starting point.

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4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

350 cl bottle, best by a month from now. Pours a clear amber with a short-lived white head. Smells of honey, toast and a bit of resinous and citrus hops. Very well balanced taste, sweet and a bit bitter, with notes of honey, citrus and pine. Smooth and oily mouthfeel with medium carbonation.

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3.81/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12 ounce bottle poured into a pint glass

A: Pours dark honey orange with a off white head, a good amount of carbonation streaming up the glass, some lacing, a little head retention, it's a little cloudy.

A: Subtle aromas of grapefruit, pine, malt, hint of oranges, biscuits, bread.

T: Grapefruit, some pine, moderate amount of bitterness in the middle, finish is piney, hint of honey, slight pepper, citrus zest, solid.

M: Medium light with a good amount of carbonation, semi-dry finish.

O: Pretty solid, I would improve with some more hop aroma and flavors, overall a good APA, nice balance of hops and malt, good amount of carbonation.

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3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours almost identical to SNPA and Liberty Ale, light amber tinge to a mostly gold body, a white fluffy head with good retention. Aroma is similar to those previously listed beers as well (no surprise)...light mixture of grapefruit, mild earthy pepper, some pine. Taste has a bit of a twang up front, but is smooth bodied and finishes with light bitterness. Not a typical hop bomb from Founders per say...but tasty none the less!

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3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 10/7/15.

Pours a murky dark honey orange with a foamy tan head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of biscuit, citrus fruit, and floral aromas. Taste is much the same with biscuit, floral, citrus zest, and pine needle flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a nice mix of different hop qualities all around.

Serving type: bottle.

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3.32/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Opaque golden/slightly orange.
Frothy white head, a bit of creaminess to it.

Smells of sweet maltiness, with definite hops in the back. Cant smell much else.

A very easy to drink APA, but not much to it. I do enjoy it, but dont expect this to blow your mind.

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2.91/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Very dry finish
Not much character coming from the hops other than a strong bitterness. Not very balanced. I wasn't thrilled by this one. Heavy carbonation.

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3.65/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle into a small pint glass (multiple pours)

A - Head pours frothy and slightly off white (slight orange tint to it) and is 2 fingers with a normal pour. Head dissipates somewhat quickly but levels off at 1 finger in height. Beer itself has some serious carbonation going on that rises very quickly. Beer is clear and golden orange in color. Some visible yeast to this beer that forms a convection current due to the way the carbonation rises. 3.5/5

S - Citrus rind and a bit of grass hit my nose straight away. Slight pine undertone to the citrus. There is a slight sweetness reminiscent of honey and bread dough. Pear is the final aroma that I am getting. Very fruit centric but with a bit of light malt as well makes for a light, but slightly muted, aroma. 3.5/5

T - Doughy and buttered white bread are the first notes to hit my tongue. The middle is formed by a malty graininess with a touch of pear. The beer finishes with a combination of citrus rind and pine which play off of each other, with each attempting to cancel the other out. Light lingering bitterness but nothing overwhelming or off-putting. Not much sweetness is put out to balance the hops. Rather, the balance comes from an earthiness (grains) vs. hops dichotomy. 3.75/5

M - Light bodied in nature with a bit of carbonation burn but not as much carb burn as anticipated based on the appearance. Ever so slight drying on the back end that lingers somewhat. This beer stays nice and light throughout the entire profile. 4/5

O - This beer is much more of a session beer than most that I have had from Founders. Compared to many of Founders other offerings this beer is entirely simplistic and easy drinking with a complicated profile to dive into. Simple and straightforward. 3.5/5

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4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My first foray into the nitro beer spectrum. First on the beer, this was a really nice pale ale. It was fruity, slightly malty, but not overpoweringly so. It really let the fruity hop profile shine through. Minimal, but still there hop bite at the end to give it a little bit of a crisp finish.

Now, the nitro portion of this made the beer extremely smooth and almost creamy. Obviously the carbonated mouth feel of a normal beer was gone. While it was a nice experience, I am not sure I prefer this way over the standard carbonation. While it made it a smooth and super easy drinking beer (almost scary with how easy it was to toss this one back), it also made it seem like drinking a flat beer, since the carbonation was missing.

This was good, but I think the standard Founders Pale Ale would be even better. While I liked the nitro experience and it was a nice change of pace, I can't say that I would choose this version over the normal carbonated version.

Would Drink Again: Yes
Would Purchase Again: Yes (probably the regular version though)

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