Trail Beer
10 Barrel Brewing Co.

12oz can

Pours a nice, dense white head into my Boston Lager glass. A little over a finger in height. Head retention is very nice, and stays strong with a finger of head for a long time. Initial lacing looks great as well. Body is a goldish orange, with hints of brown. Huge amount of bubbles coming up, this is a nucleative glass, but still, this is nuts. Looks pretty nice so far.

Nose has light citrus notes, a little earthy, a touch of pine as well. Malts don’t really play a role here, and it doesn’t smell sweet either. This is a perfectly fine nose. It’s not too complex, though I suppose that is acceptable for the style. The power of the nose is the one thing that could be heavily improved upon, the aroma is not very big, and doesn’t carry much weight. For a lawnmower this is great, but personally I want a little more kick out of a pale ale.

Flavor is much the same as the nose, but even “smaller” in stature. Borderline watered down, which wouldn’t surprise me considering it’s Budweiser. There is bitterness, and it is the correct amount for the malt profile, and style. There are no off flavors, it’s also clean, and not sweet. Unfortunately that’s all that’s going right here, the remainder of the beer is a somewhat watery, flavorless dud. The hops bring some bitterness, but almost no flavor contribution. The taste is passable because it’s not bad, but there is almost nothing here that makes it good.

Mouthfeel is ok. Carbonation is medium, maybe a touch below, good thing because I was concerned the carbonation was being sent to the top with all the bubbles. Bitterness is medium, and while it is not balanced by the help of literally any other flavors, it’s not too offensive. The body is on the lighter side, not quite as watery as the actual flavor, but certainly light. Mouthfeel overall works pretty well.

Drinkability is, eh not bad I guess. It’s light and unoffensive for the most part, but I am not in a hurry to finish it.

Appearance turned out very nice. Lacing was extremely thick from top to bottom. Head retention stayed true for a good while.

Overall this has some potential, but the beer is simply flavorless.

 

Hmmmm...the cans all say it's a Pale Ale - a Northwest Pale Ale to boot - the BA style says IPA. I guess there's some way to adjust things around here. Will look. Meanwhile, back to the beer! Look is subdued, light and quickly fading head leaving behind a slightly cloudy ale. Notes of pine for the nose. An astringent taste, not too much for body. Maybe this would be better icy cold when sitting on the trail in a hot afternoon. Low ABV, so have a couple and not feel the need for an afternoon nap. For a NWPA, there are better.