Special Pale Ale (SPA)
Pizza Port Solana Beach

On-tap at Ortino's Northside and served in a pint glass for $5. Whew, if I weren't on a mission to try new beers tonight, I could stick with this for hours. At first I had a little trouble discerning it from Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But as it warm, a deeper character and complexity came forward. Under the bright, piney and citrusy hops is a more earthy and herbal finish that reminds me of rhubarb. There's a light biscuit note from the malts, but the beer is largely hop-focused with the barley occasionally blending in for interesting candied fruit flavors. Find this beer if you like hops and pale ales.

 

this is a solid west coast pale ale. I have to say that the Pizza Port beers that I've tried all seem to have very similar hop/yeast profiles. I would love to see them make some beers that don't taste so similar.

 

 

On tap @ the source. A pale ale dry hopped with 100% Amarillo.

A: Pours a clear tangerine with a half-inch thick white head which leaves spotty lace.

N: Lightly floral, citrus, some catty notes. Fairly low aromatics.

T: Piney and spicy orange citrus, herbal with some dankness, catty, and floral.

M: Moderate body and medium carbonation. Dry and bitter finish.

O: A solid pale with a weak aroma, but flavorful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap 9/2/2012 at Pour Farm Tavern in New Bedford, MA, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a short dense off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains fruity citrus, some hops and light caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts out with a nice burst of hops bitterness. Then some citrus and caramel sweetness comes in. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and provides a good balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and very crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, this is a nice beer to pound down for a long time.

 

 

 

On-tap at Redbones in Someville, MA.

A- Golden body with a sticky, white head.

S- Lots of grapefruit from hops and other fruity aromas mixed in.

T- Really fresh grapefruit taste over the pale malt body; more herbal/pine hops come in towards the finish and leave a lingering bitterness.

M- Medium body with a good carbonation.

D- Highly drinkable pale ale; perfect by itself or with some good bbq.

On cask at the goat.

Pale yellow, with a nice frothy head.

Light fruit and hops in the nose, nothing overpowering but very pleasant.

mild hops and lightly bitter, cask is pouring a touch cold, letting it warm up brings out more bright hops, and bitterness.

Satisfyingly refreshing, somewhere in bewtween a pale ale and an ipa, pretty darn tasty altogether.

On-tap at Blue Palms Brewhouse - June 14th, 2010 - served in a nonic.

Clear golden liquid with a touch of amber, capped by a solid finger of dense foam. Light sandy lacing uniformly rings the glass.

Passion fruit, sugar-cane, grapefruit, and a hint of tropical fruit in the nose. Aromatics are bursting with fruit-forward hops. Lovely.

Fresh citrusy hops on the palate undergirded by pale malt. Mid-palate, the hops turn herbal and earthy - in the finish, they transform into a vaguely peppery minty accent to a lingering malt note. A fantastic session beer - one of the better APAs I've sampled.

Light-bodied but with a good foundation (I almost used the wine-tasting term, "structure" - but that doesn't really apply here).

Lighter than an IPA but stronger than many APAs - this is chock full of flavor and well worth seeking out.

Drank this at the Lost Abbey barrel tasting last night, one of the few beers that I went back for multiple pours of.

Clear orange with a dense white head with great retention and lacing. A pretty beautiful beer, this is. The nose is quite outstanding. Plenty of delicate floral and citrus hops, a very pure orange character. In many ways, it reminds me of Parking Violation, a very pure expression of citrus hops. Pine and grapefruit are reserved, and the malt character is low. The palate opens with a firm hop character with a lot of flavor and low bitterness. Mostly citrus in character, bursting with ripe oranges. The finish is long and dry, with a mild bitterness. Malt character is pretty non-existent, this is all flavor hops. Thoroughly drinkable, I wish I'd gotten a growler of this.