Sugar Creek Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

 

(From notes)

A - Orangey copper color with yellow highlights around; poured with a thin off-white head

S - Really fruity nose; lemon drops and fruit loops come to mind

T - Hppiness comes through in a citrus format; lemon and hay

M - Thinner verging on Medium MF overall

D - OK given the lacking overall in S and M; but not too bad or anything.

Overall, they have better offerings and only try if you feel the urge to tick if off your list.

For me, this beer was a hint of what was to come with the hoppy beers from the Rock Bottom Indianapolis.

The beer begins with a bright and glowing amber-golden hue-- takes on a brilliant orange color as others have mentioned. Sparkling carbonation adds to the impressive glow. Good head formation fades a little quicker than I liked but laces well thoughout.

Pungent aromas of American hops set the stage for a grapefruity, orange zest, pine combo that induces mouth-watering responses. Light, caramelly, barley-sweet malts give a welcome base for the hops. Somewhere between malty and grainy, I appreciate the subtle malt sweetness that allows the hops to shine. Though the balance preferences the hops, but malts are not to be out-classed. Not a total hop dominant taste.

The body is where this beer works. The barley grains give a sharpness that shies away from astringency but compliments the hearty barley sweetness. Crisp, cracker-like attenuation gives the beer a Sierra Nevada-like dryness and feel.

A bit sweeter than most Pale Ales, the caramel maltiness and crisp dryness works well for balance and drinkability. Ok, add this to the Brickway-Racoon roation for me.

Poured a decent copper color, with some minor head and a small bit of lacing. Nice hoppy scent, slightly floral with a bit of citrus, although nothing was really out there in its nose. Good taste, a nice smooth pale ale with good hop characteristics, with a clean finish. A good pale ale, very worthy of drinking at the restaurant.

The Pale Ale came in a standard shaker pint. The beer is a cross between copper and gold with a smallish beige head.

The aroma is of faintly washed out citrus and a bit of wheat cracker.

Thankfully the taste is a bit bolder with more pronounced flavors. I get grapefruit, pear and a bit of caramelized malts.

The mouth is slightly brittle but moves above average due to a nice low level of carbonation.

This is a fairly forgettable APA.

Glowing orange with golden highlights at the edges topped with a thick finger of white head. Fruity hop aroma: grapefruit, peach, apricot. Well-balanced taste. Expecting over-whelming hops from the smell, but lots of sweet malt matched well with citrus hops. Slightly syrupy but light with gentle carbonation. Easy and fun to drink. Great APA that is bordering an IPA in some aspects.

Came out a nice copper color but was poured with very little head which left no lacing on the glass. The first smell was very faint but I could detect a light floral, citrus, piney hop scent with a slight malt following. The aroma did get stronger as it warmed. The citrus, piney hoppiness was very present in the taste and had a decent malt backbone to help balance it out. There was a nice medium body on the tongue with low but good carbonation all of which complements the taste nicely. Good citrus, piney hop bite that lingers on the tongue. The low hop bitterness and nice body lends to a very drinkable beer. Could easily have a few over the course of a night. Would have again.

Appearance: orange copper, 2 finger white head

Smell: lots of grapefruity hops, very fruity with a bit of sweet malt backing

Taste: some grapefruit hops, though not as much as in the nose, very bready malt character, fruity

Mouthfeel: medium body, crisp dry finish

A tasty beer with the right amount of hop bitterness to make a nice session.

From a sampler at the Indy location: Pours a clear dark orange/amber color with a thin off-white head. The aroma is mild citrus and hops. Medium-bodied with a mellow hoppy flavor along with some citrus and malt. The finish is decent considering the beer's flavor is not all that bold. Average overall.