Alpha Prospector
Blue Heron BrewPub

On tap at the brewpub, poured into a pint glass.

The menu suggests a hop assault, as it describes the beer as made for a hophead, and describes its bitterness as high to extreme.

Somewhere between dark golden and light brown in color, with a light tan, rather small head but I suspect that is related to the poor skills of the bartender. Whatever head is there holds reasonably well, although with little lacing.
The aroma already suggests that although the bitterness is there, is not nearly extreme. Citric, piney hoppiness, some earthy and bready notes.
Medium bodied, it is bitter, but moderately so; piney and citric notes again, with some malty backbone mostly in the form of a breadiness.
This is certainly not a great beer, but it is a good one, and hopefully signals improvements ahead for the brewpub that replaced Central Waters, losing some quality in the process, at least initially.

From the brewery in a growler and poured into a pint glass. It pours a golden/orange color. A 1/8 inch off-white head from and reduces to a mild lacing. It is transparent when held to the light and carbonation is not visibly prominent.

The aroma is a bit mild. There are some earthy tones with a slightly stronger pine note over the citrus fruit sweetness.

The taste is quite good. It is a nice balance between the earthy tones from the hops and the citrus/pine tones from hops. There is a good level of bitterness and a mild spiciness that sits on the palate.

The mouthfeel is fairly good as well. It is a medium bodied beer. The carbonation is right for the flavor. It leaves a crisp and clean feeling in your mouth with the lingering bitterness.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this beer. This is a solid IPA with a nice mixture of hops resulting in a very pleasant taste. The aroma could be a bit more potent. It is flavorful and crisp enough that I would enjoy this again and will have it again in the future.