Amarillo Pale Ale
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

 

Poured from a can (2/24) in a Teku

L: light yellow/gold, small white head. Some lacing but not significant

S: citrus forward (orange, lemon) with some piney/floral notes in the back. Get some hay/grass as well

T: nose following through, orange to start with that hay note really coming through on the finish. Balanced bite, medium finish

F: well carbonated, very easy to drink

O: delicious pale ale that really highlights Amarillo's orange characteristics

 

750ml bottle, freshly filled, poured into a 12oz Hill Farmstead black and red willibecher glass.

The beer pours a cloudy and foggy pale golden color, lemon hues with a soapy white head, about a finger and half high that has good retention and excellent lacing. The aroma is pleasant, grassy, dank, floral, earthy pine with a bit of lemon peel and soft pale dough. The flavors are right in line with the nose. Dank and earthy bitterness leaps out, lots of lemon citrus, a bit of berry fruit, bright and crisp floral and grassy green raw hop leaf with a soft bed of pale cereal grains and mineral water. The mouthfeel is good, coating and crisp with a medium body that is light and delicate and finishes with a soft creaminess and a lingering dry bite.

Verdict: A nice pale ale from Hill Farmstead. The amarillo hop is excellently expressed, I'm just not sure it's my favorite candidate for a single hop beer. A good experiment and a worthy brew, but perhaps amarillo needs a friendly hop to act as a compliment.

 

 

Tried this at the brewery just before it kicked and couldn’t get a growler fill. A bit subdued, as most HF drafts seem to be compared to their canned versions. Base beer is obviously top notch, so the hop truly stands out. And Amarillo has a unique flavor with tasty citrus qualities, but seems to be underutilized these days in the industry, at least as the sole hop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumed in the can- nice bitterness that lingers on the tip of the tongue. Highlights Amarillo nicely with that being the only hop that is in there :) Enjoyable.

On tap at the Reservoir, Waterbury, VT. This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a hazy semi-burnt orange color with a bar pour’s kind of slim white head that dissipated evenly and at a nice pace. Light semi-foamy lacing ran around the sides of the glass nicely. The smell took on some sweet onion and then rolled into the dank sweet to juicy danky grassiness. Slight floral qualities slide in underneath. The taste was pretty much the same as the smell with a nice danky sweet onion aftertaste running into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light on the body with a fairly nice sessionable quality about it. Carbonation runs fairly light. Danky juiciness smooths out over my tongue. Overall, I’d say this was a pretty nice APA that I would have again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

honeyed grains and bready malt throughout, orange candies, grapefruit, peach, earthy, floral, slight spice, piney bitterness on the finish.

Poured from a growler filled on 2/13/16 into a Hill Farmstead stem glass.

A: Orange hue that is just slightly translucent. White foamy head that dissipates. Nice lace left on the glass.
S: Slight hints of citrus. Not overpowering.
T: Some citrus and grassiness initially that leads to a bitterness that sits on the tongue.
F: Carbonated and somewhat bubbly. Leaves a bit to be desired.
O: Pretty standard pale ale. Very well made, but not one of Hill Farmstead's best.