ShoreBreak Pale Ale
3rd Wave Brewing Company

Hazed amber appearance with a large off white head and very good lacing. Subdued aroma of crackers and soft fruit. Inoffensive taste that did little to distinguish itself other than to maintain a good balance between the crisp malts and understated hops. Hops showed up a bit more assertively in the aftertaste. Medium-to-light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a short lived finish. Easy drinking and sessionable.

Look: It pours golden and clear with a huge white head. Head retention is very good.

Smell: There are some light citrus notes in the aroma with a bit of grass.

Taste: The flavor has some light citrus note with a bit of grass and floral.

Feel: It has a medium light body with high carbonation.

Overall, an easy drinking pale ale.

Another of the odds & sods CANs from The CANQuest (tm) backlog! This one came to me courtesy of my local, in-person trader, @tone77 & I am grateful for the opportunity to finally review it.

From the CAN: "Good Friends[,] Good Waves[,] Great Beer"; "3rd Wave Brewing Co.'s Classic American Pale Ale is one of our signature house brews. Crisp & clean taste with a mild hop flavor. Great for any adventure from the beach to the mountains."

Interestingly, no mention of "Pack it in, pack it out". I proceeded with the Crack!ing of the vent in order to Glug it out & into the awaiting glass. Thankfully, nothing untoward occurred & it quickly formed just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with reasonable retention, given the day's heat & humidity. Color was solid-Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a malty quality, not necessarily sweet, but definitely malty. Hmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach & certainly big for an APA. The taste had a subtle caramel maltiness & as Sam Adams CAN tell you, a little caramel malt goes a loooong way. Here, it was used in a restrained way as were the hops which gave it just a slight edge of bitterness. It was actually quite good, nicely balanced & easily quaffable, which is probably what they were going for down at the shore. Finish was semi-dry, very pleasant & while it did not come up to the level of the style's standard-bearer, SNPA, it passed muster. YMMV.

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours yellow orange with a tiny white head. Smells of citrus hops, very sweet. Tastes of citrus hops with little bits of tropical fruit, which compliments the sweet grain well. Beer is light bodied and very easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, an above average beer.

Clear golden/amber pour with a white head. Aroma of citrus and pine. Taste has a mild piney bitterness backed by a semi-sweet malt flavor that lingers through to a malty finish.

 

Pours a slightly cloudy medium amber with moderate head resolving to thin lacing.
Smell is sweet malt with a hint of pine.
Taste starts off malty then a bit of pine with a bitter finish.

 

 

 

First of a few brews reviewed while down in DE for vacation:

Poured into a plastic pint glass: color is gold, head is brighter white presenting about 1/2 inch thick then dissipating to a top.

Smell is very emphatic pale malt, not over sweet but the way pale malt smells as you mash it in --- very fresh and enticing with the pleasant grain notes; mild piney hop bitterness.

Taste is very similar to the aroma with a pleasant pale malty taste, not overly sweet but just great pronounced malty flavor; hops are bitter and earthy, some pine. The taste reminds of brewing my very first homebrew, nice malty aroma that you get from the mash and boil with the freshness of the earthy bittering hops - great inspiration for a recipe to come!

Mouthfeel is a sharply carbonated and focused on the tongue presence with lingering bitterness.

Overall a very good, simple pale ale that is well executed with base flavors showing through well.

It's hard to believe this beer has been listed for more than 2 1/2 years, but never been reviewed. I'll guess I will be the first. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is is of malts, light pine. Taste is kind of mild, malts, piney hops, light bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.