Magnum Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Lucent butterscotch near the top of the glass, progressively lightening to bright amber near the bottom. The meringue-like, bone white cap was a fat one finger to start and remained at least half that high throughout the entire pint. I was glad to have a little something to look at since no more than a few splotches of sudsy lace ended up on the glass.

Magnum is a super-high alpha acid hop, but it must not be a very aromatic one. Either that or an insufficient quantity was used. Or maybe I'm just used to dry-hopped pale ales from this establishment. What I could appreciate was simple and clean, as all good pales should be, with no hint of anything darker than pale malt and a lemon and grapefruit citrusiness.

After taking a few swallows, the second possibility listed in the above paragraph seemed the most likely. Magnum Pale Ale was a friendly sort of APA, but it certainly wasn't a hoppy one. Other than a mild nip on the finish, there was little bitterness to be had. Lemon and grapefruit peel were still present, while the spiciness that I would expect from a hop derived from Hallertau wasn't.

The mouthfeel was typical for a cask-conditioned ale. That is, it was incredibly soft; perhaps too soft. With a lack of zestiness in the flavor profile, a more zesty mouth presence would have been nice. For a lighter end of the spectrum APA, though, it was still above average.

Rock Bottom's newest pale ale wasn't hoppy enough for me, but I'm sure it will go fast (the bartender said it was selling like hotcakes last night). That's okay, I'm sure there aren't as many hopheads among the brewpub's clientele as there are people who like well-crafted, easy to drink beer that goes well with food. Magnum Pale hit all three of those targets with ease.