Ma-Pale Pale Ale
Tundra Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the man himself @ Union Sq. Market. Split a mixed six with a random beer nerd. No dating on the bottle.

Sam Adams glass. Quite hazed, amber orange color. Big dollop of off-white head. Bold, erratic lacing.

Smells a little of citrus, a little caramel. A Very minor awareness of zesty hops way in the back behind some cracker.

Slight tang upfront that turns metallic. Solid leafy bittering without going overboard; just prickly. Toasty, dry cracker-like malt all the way through. A touch woody. A bit of a void once you start to head towards the finish.

Almost a gelatinous/soggy grain feel. The carbonation cuts it as best it can.

Worth another shot if it eventually gets cleaned up.

Bottle: Poured a light dirty beige color ale with a small foamy head with OK retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of maple is quite distinctive with some lightly sweet cereal notes also noticeable. Taste is a match between some really nice maple syrup notes with some slightly unrefined grain malt. Body is about average with medium carbonation. Not bad as maple was very well use as an ingredient by malt bill really doesn’t fit my style.

Can definately smell the maple syrup. Pretty nice actually. It's not over the top. Just enough in the nose. More malt in the aroma then your typical American pale ale.

Taste is a OK. Light, clean, fruity notes followed by a sweeter malt backbone. Maple flavor hides behind a mild english-like hop profile. Reminds me of some english pales particularly Duchy Original. Becomes a little astringent as the beer warms up. This beer is best served pretty cold and would work as a lighter summer session ale despite the maple additive (more often used as a winter seasonal ingredient). Thin mouthfeel but refreshing and clean enough to be something that I would offer to my lighter beer drinking friends.

I'm impressed by this beer, not because of it's quality or drinkability, but due to it's history. 25 year old kid starts a one man brewery in upstate NY, using all locally produced ingredients and becomes the first guy to sell his wares at the Union Square Farmer's market. Nice, heart warming, what-we-all-wanna-be story. Anyway, the beer isn't great, but it's not terrible either. Purchased a bottle at a 'wichcraft eatery; which as far as I know is the only distribution mechanism other than the brewer himself. Pours out looking like apple cider with lots of float in the glass. Minimal head, that disappears really quickly. Apples on the nose, but not much else. Taste is a bit thin, with some sweetness from the maple sugar up front followed by dry bitter. Not too much hops here. He should refine this a bit. Malt it up and get the ABV a bit higher, then bring out the hoppiness some more. Wow, I guess I'm suggesting a change to the whole friggin' thing, or maybe just have a different beer. I hope this guy can make a go of it. I'd love to see him succeed.

Thanks to Bobby for sharing this obscure tick.

A: The beer pours a murky, pale gold, orange color with a very small layer of white foam.

S: Not a very good nose. Watery is the best way to describe it. Lots of orange peel, some candy, a bit of honey, and a little bit of bread. Not very hoppy, but not a ton of malt either.

T: Not much better on the flavor. It's quite bitter, far too much bitterness, actually. And there's a little bit of bread, lemon, and orange rind flavor as well. But, overall, the flavor is also pretty watery.

M: Light in body with a low to medium level of carbonation.

O: I wouldn't bother with this one. Nothing too great going on.