Humpback Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

This is a solid American Pale Ale from this Bellevue, WA chain brewpub. It has a dark golden color and I swear, amongst the hops, there is an artificial smell that reminds me very specifically of fruit loops. Fortunately that smell does not translate into taste, but was a bit of a hump, no pun intended, for me to get over on my way to enjoying this beer. There are more hops than malt, making this a nice pacific northwest feeling APA. The hops are very piney and in general there is something in the hop profile that seems to persist across all the Rock Bottom brews I’ve had here. There is a sharp, medium bodied mouthfeel and a moderately long finish. There was gothic, loop lacing down the side of the glass. This is a better than average pale ale; desirable and drinkable.

Appearance – This one was a light yellowish-orange in color with a great, retentive head even in my cheap plastic “Monopoly marker” tasting mug.

Smell – Finally some hops at the hop fest! There’s a terrific blend of various Yakima hops that form a complex bouquet of citrus and light pine. The malts are big enough to form a nice backbone to this APA as well.

Taste – Yes, this one is well-balanced and tasty. The mix slightly favors the hops, maybe 60/40, but all the key components of a good APA are here. The Maris Otter Barley is well presented, and the complex hop profile from the nose finds its way nicely to the tongue.

Mouthfeel – This is a solid medium in the body. It is wonderfully balanced with some fairly aggressive bitterness at the finish.

Drinkability – This one went down with ease.

Comments – This commercially successful beer pub chain continues to impress me with their inventive offerings. They nailed the Fruit Lambic style at the 2004 Belgian Beer Fest and now a killer APA. IMO this was the best “session-style” ale at Seattle’s third annual “Drunks on Equinox” fest.

Amber colored with a decent head. Good body. While the brewery claims this to be a hoppy beer, the batch I had was not very bitter at all. Nice maltiness with a only a hint of hops in the finish.