Big Fish - Strong American Pale Ale
BJ's Restaurants & Brewery

 

Golden color with enough orange to be serviceable. Served completely lacking in head or lace, but who knows how long it had been sitting at the bar waiting for the server. Lacing is present, so I won't knock any points off for that.

Decently malty with pale sweetness of grain and corn, but the hops do pop pretty well in this one. Citrics abound. Overall quite clean. Tastes strongly of grapefruit, with a candi sugar and toasted note to the malt that suggests a firmer presence than is really noted. Slightly watery in fact in the mouthfeel, with a spicy kick to the finish.

I was sort of under the impression that a strong Pale Ale would be known as an India Pale Ale, and the tastes and flavors of Big Fish convinced me that the IPA designation would be perfectly appropriate, so I have ranked my scores based on an IPA rather than a strong ale.

Medium gold appearance with a rather clean, citrusy hoppy nose.

Palate offers a big ruby red grapefruit character with citrus sweetness and the grapefruit bitterness coming through. Malt profile has a nice candied quality, and there's an herbal presence as well. Quite bitter on the finish.

Very drinkable.

Fresh from the tap at Papago, it pours a clear golden amber color with a substantial creamy white head, upon its depletion; the lacing provides a nice curtain to drape the glass. Nose is rich in malt, a delectable hop floral aroma backs it up, citrus like in its crispness, stat is sweet malt at the start with a real hop spiciness at the back, top is light to medium in feel. Finish continues the spicy hop bitterness, the acidity sturdy, with a sweet and dry aftertaste, a real pleasant drinking beer.

A bigger version of their Pale Ale. More hops for sure and more alcohol. Body was somewhat thin for what I was expecting. Beer is definently more balanced towards the hop side but is not overpowering. I am sure the cask I had it from had fresh hops in their so the regular draft version is probably more balanced. A very drinkable and enjoyable beer.

Sampled in a smoky bar atmosphere. The beer has a frothy, one-finger thick, dirty tan colored head. The beer itself is a brilliantly clear, reddish hued, dark copper highlighted color. There is a pine-like, citrusy aroma that cuts through the smoke in the bar; I get notes of grapefruit, tangerine and a certain note that is sharp and a bit spicy.

Somehow this beer is light and quaffable, despite the full flavor and reasonable heft to the body. The ample hops seem to drown out a caramelized alt sweetness that is just hinted at. Grapefruit is definitely the dominant hop derived flavor here. There is also a bit of spiciness here, which seems to be a combination of the carbonation and a biting hop character. There is a solid hop bitterness in this beer that is evident from start to finish. This is not nearly as strong as I was expecting, but the title strong APA definitely fits this beer, as it is definitely not an double IPA. It is still quaffable, but has lots of hop character, in fact there is even a bit of raw hoppiness here, which is evident b/c this beer has a certain lightness to it.