Half Nelson
Bentley Brewing Company / Dark Horse Tavern

Look is a hazy dark gold with a thick, foamy white head. Leaves heavy lacing on the glass.

Smell is where this one really impresses. Massive citrus, stone fruit, and honeydew upfront with a ton of pineapple working underneath. Very subtle hop aroma as well.

Taste was surprisingly muted, considering how fruit-forward this smelled. All the fruit suggested was there and well-balanced, but tended to be weaker, and pineapple came to the front more. Bitterness was pretty minimal, but helped to cut the sweetness on the back end.

Feel was extremely light, with moderate carbonation. Crisp, but again came off as slightly diluted. Feels more like a white wine than a beer.

Overall, this beer comes out strong but is unable to quite back up what the smell and look of it suggest. I was constantly just wanting more from it; clearer tastes and a fuller body would have put this one where it wants to be. At times it suggests a white wine in taste and feel, which is definitely interesting, but this too needs to be developed more. The boldness of the aroma here really is what makes it deserving of a second look.

1 pt. .9 fl. Oz. Bottle. Brewed with American 2-row malt. Huell melon, simcoe and nelson sauvin hops.

A copper tinted amber color with plenty of carbonation and a short, white foam cap.

Big time melon and fruity aroma, honeydew melon, starfruit and blood oranges pop out most with some very mild herbal whiffs but Sour and sweet melon aroma pops out most.

The Huell melon dominates with it's sour/wild fruity flavor's and the nelson sauvin hop brings in a white-sparkling wine thing. The malt has a very cleanbut hearty aftertaste. The hop profile with it's pretty wild strains comes across slightly herbal and medicinal. A long, sour and tangy finish.

The feel is very light, juicy, mildly dry in the middle and in the finish.

A very light, sour and juicy hop thing, the hops are not very bold and the tangy-sour, white wine effects come across most. Unique for sure, strange....no doubt.

Poured a cloudy amber color in a Stone IPA glass with a 3 F head. Good head retention.

Very strong melon aroma, earthy, malty, creamy. Quite pleasant and different than most pale ales which have lackluster aromas.

Excellent MF. Just the right carbonation and not overdone- usually the case in most beers in the style. Light body. I like this in a Pale ale

Very melon forward taste from the Huell hops and semi winey from the Nelson Sauvine..

Piquant finish. Quite satisfying.

I usually don't like the style. Indistinct, overcarbonated compensating for a lack of taste.

This is quite different. Very easy drinking beer, excellent taste. I am looking forward to tasting more beers from this brewery.

Heavy funk.

Half liter bottle. Pours a hazy honey orange with a good white head and lacing, very pretty. Smells and tastes very nice of melon hops. Mouthfeel is very refreshing with the cool melon and other hop flavoring along with the modest ABV. Really a great beer if you want the clean taste and smell of melon hops in a moderate ABV brew. Label says "45 IBU. Hoppy pale ale brewed with American 2 row malt, Huell Melon, Simcoe, and Nelson Sauvin hops." I'll guess my bottle is pretty fresh since it is a new offering in my Massachusetts store.

Note on drinking this fresh : 4 months later the store that had this batch of bottles put them on sale, and now a not so fresh bottle no longer has that melon hops flavor. Not awful now, but not so great.