Free Solo Strata Pale Ale
Sawtooth Brewery

12 oz can from Boise Co-op. Pale, clear golden, small white head. Aroma is hoppy, piney, malty. Taste is more old school hoppiness, pineapple, mild sweetness.

i have been really into strata hops lately, so ordering this one was a no brainer. its a light and clean, basic pale ale as a base, which i think is a nice vehicle to showcase a single hop, its not without malt character, but this really is just a platform for the hops. the strata smells like lemons and kiwi fruits and green papaya, a little vegetal thing going on, super juicy and fruity in the nose, complex to me even in a simple base beer. the flavor has some guava tropical character to it and a little dank oily thing as well, very little citrus here which is kind of neat in a fruity hop, and the whole thing is very bright and fresh. there is a fullness to this i didnt expect, not heavy or anything, but with a little more body from the grain and the hop oils than we usually see in this sort of thing, and the strata hops here seem just bursting with oily richness. the fermentation profile is clean, the beer is relatively dry, and the flavor is maxed out. really cool way to feature this hop, which seems destined for great things. these guys are way underrated in my opinion...

12oz can into snifter. clear light amber with nice head. smells herbal, resiny, piney. taste is similar. slight fruitiness. feel is decent. it’s certainly not thin. little harsh aftertaste but other than that a solid pale.