Shoals Pale Ale
Smuttynose Brewing Company

 

 

Poured from a bottle into pint glass in Nov 2019. There is a drink before date of 12/2019 on the bottle.

Appearance: Dark amber color with huge tan head. Cloudy IPA, more than others. Head is very thick and there is alot of lacing.

Smell: Strong earthy aroma woth some hops. Some citrus as well. Overall the earthy aroma dominates the other aromas.

Taste: Sweet taste. There is some hops and citrus flavor but with some sweetness like a brown ale as well. This is not as bitter as most other IPAs. Has a nice after taste. Overall a nice balance and very drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied. Medium alcohol which matches the 5.6% listed.

This is a good IPA. It has some hops, and other flavors, which makes it interesting. I prefer their Finest Kind IPA which has more hop bite, but this is very drinkable and I would buy this again.

One of my favorites for decades -- but it's gone.
https://www.facebook.com/smuttynosebeer/photos/a.107294636880524/184475365829117/?type=3&theater

 

From notes 11/10/13: Pours an opaque amber but clears as the brew warms producing 2+ fingers of frothy, off-white, somewhat lasting head that leaves sheets and streaks of lacing. Aroma is caramel malt, honey/graham cracker, hints of citrus, grass, apple and onion. Taste is toast and caramel fronted backed by a hoppy bitterness that provides hints of citrus (particularly lemon), pine, grass and pineapple. It finishes finishes with some pepper, a prominent earthy floral hop note and a mineral hint that become the dominate characters of the lightly bitter aftertaste. Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied with medium-high carbonation, dry and lightly astringent in the aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

 

With all the IPAs on the market now, it's getting very hard to find a good pale ale. Shoal's Pale Ale is one of the few I can regularly go to when I want a medium-heavy brew with a nice body that doesn't taste like a packed a wad of hops between my cheek and gum. Don't get me wrong, I've been an IPA drinker for decades but it's gotten out of hand and much prefer a good Pale Ale now and Shoals Pale Ale is perhaps the best I've found.

 

 

 

 

Look - Pours a hazy light amber, fluffy light beige head, lots of lacing all over the glass.
Aroma - Grass, apple, yeast, brown sugar, earthy
Taste - Light fruitiness to start, sweet red apple, subtle citrus, herbal hops lend bitterness and give it a really nice earthy tea flavor, malts come in with slight toast, very light toffee and fresh biscuit. The finish is long with hints of sweet toasted tobacco and dry nutty yeast.
Feel - Medium bodied, not quite creamy, soft carbonation.

Overall - So balanced and so complex. It's not often that I compare beers to cigars, but like a good cigar this beer has loads of flavor, complexity and transitions but keeps the strength reasonable. World class beer for sure.

 

 

Really great Pale Ale. Malts are prominent here, toasty and very grainy. Love it. Hops give a very fresh and herbaceous aroma to the beer. Bitterness is light and the beer is very smooth and easy drinking. Full body yet easy drinking. Proper pale.