Altair
Ecliptic Brewing

Enjoyed on tap during the 2022 season at the source.

Pours with a warm malty tan color. Light aroma, with a subdued hop snap on the sip. Warming and familiar, with that FH taste linger on the finish.

2022-09-29
16oz can served in big snifter. Hard to read the month, but it appears to have been canned 09/08/22.

Pours a clear dark golden with a medium sized head. Medium to light carbonation. Smell is muted.

Taste is overripe tropical, juiciness, strong resin in the finish, slow bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is medium thickness, a little resin texture. Overall, it's pretty good.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a one finger white head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of lightly caramel malt, mixed fruit hops, strawberry, light generic citrus and mild mixed tropical fruit. Flavor is mixed fruit and piney hops, mixed berries, lemon, mixed mystery fruit and pine, especially in the finish. Satisfying moderate bitterness lingers. Medium bodied with light to medium creaminess. I was surprised to find out when I came on to review this one that this is my second fresh hop in a row to use ADHA 218 hops by an odd coincidence (or maybe it's an early harvest variety). This Ecliptic one has much more pine character because it also uses Centennial hops and that is a welcome flavor component. Although the can calls this a fresh hop IPA, I'd have to agree that it tastes more like a well hopped pale ale, which is what previous incarnations were named. It does have healthy bitterness, so it is bordering on IPA territory. I enjoyed the berry like fruit notes in the Flying Lion fresh hop that used this hop variety and it makes an interesting profile for this one too. One of the better fresh hops I've had so far. Ecliptic seems to always give me a better than expected experience and this is one of them. Fine fresh hop that leans to West Coast style.

 

 

12 fl oz can:

B- / WORTHY

L: Pours a slightly hazy gold. Fluffy white head with good retention.
S: Tropical fruits
T: Taste follows the nose. Mild bitterness.
F: Medium/medium-light bodied
O: Good. Nothing to seek out though.

 

A: The beer is a bit hazy yellow in color and has a light to moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that quickly died down, leaving a thin collar around teh edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of passion fruit and melon are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and also has hints of lime citrus. A light amount of bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and a bit crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer seems lighter in body compared to others in the style and is very easy to drink.

Serving type: can

a lot of hop flavor very enjoyable

12oz can into a pint glass. Canned 9/10/21, so 5 weeks old.

Looks decent enough in the glass. Faintly hazy pale golden yellow body. Small white head shrinks to a collar and covering, patchy lacing.

Mixed fruit aroma.

On tasting, quite juicy, restrained, light in body, but very good flavor. Goes down very easy.

Mouth close to medium. Finish clean, slightly fruity, nice hop feel.

Overall, pretty nice fresh hop pale ale. Light and easy drinking but with some real flavor.

Cloudy pale gold color, frothy head, mild lacing. Prevalent scent is dank hops, as it is on the taste. A bit of grape, a bit of malt, a bit of citrus as well. Crisp, slightly mouth watering finish, lighter bodied. Not bad, definitely lives up to the “fresh” part of fresh hops.

2021 version from Tavour.

This is deliciously dry and crisp. I get fruity elements of stone fruit, a little grape, and just a trace of citrus. Some mineral-y biscuits and a trace of honey. Very fresh tasting, well done.

Reviewing the 2021 version, and I think this ought to be retired anually and post each new version since the hops change. This year it's Strata and Cetennial.

Perfectly clear yellow gold color with plenty of foam in the Blanche de Chambly goblet. Aromatic with berries and peach. Very fruity and flavorful but more complex than the citrus bombs. Tastes of nearly ripe apricot, white grapes, and even a hint of coconut. Just the right light acidity.

Overall this is a delicious lighter version of the fresh hop harvest. Aromatic and crisp. Hops are clean and avoid that herbal murk that mars many other wet cone brews. From the 12 oz can purchased at Town & Country (formerly Central Market) in Mill Creek. Can't read the date stamp among the manhy numbers on the botom, but it taste fresh.

Pours into a nonic a hazed lemon yellow color with a pillow-like one finger bone white head that sticks nicely as it settles slowly into a soapy-like mass,alot of chunkies and floaties swirling.Aromas are somewhat disappointing in how muted they are,I get a bit of stone fruit and that's about it.Very fruit forward on the palate,like others have said I get some peach in syrup,underying lightly toasted grains underneath.Light bodied and not overly complex but very drinkable.

Note: 2020 version uses Strata and El Dorado hops

Look: Slightly cloudy light orange and a frothy head quickly settles to a thin film atop, leaving good lacing behind
Aroma: Orange-led citrus fruits, some dank herb, peach, pear, apricot, and some bready and sweet malt notes
Taste: Apricot, peach, pear, and orange erupt on the palate with grapefruit and Cannabis close behind. Bready malt is present as well, but in the depths far below the hop-led onslaught. More fruit salad leads to a nice bite on the finish
Mouthfeel: Full, medium-high carbonation, a good hop bite and some dryness on the finish
Overall: This is awesome stuff. A delicious wet hop pale ale from a brewery I respect and consume frequently and this hop profile brings a lot of fruit and herb to the table. Not surprised that El Dorado is in this too as I always get pear notes from it and after this, I know I still do even when it is used wet/fresh. Delicious

 

Pint at the Westside Taphouse in West Salem OR
$6
Slightly hazed gold coloured beer with a small yet persistent bubbly white head. Great lace
Nice yet subdued fresh leafy hop dust aroma
Taste very delicate fresh hop ..juicy. type. Gets real on the end of the mouthful.
Nice drinkable, lightish mouthfeel..nicely balanced.
Very nice FH pale ale.

This APA pours a hazy light orange-amberwith light head and a whiff of fresh hops. The taste is a bit sharp and a bit harsh for a APA. Lots of hop flavor, a little light on the malt base. We think it's an ok offering, but for a fall fresh hop beer, there are better selections.

Revised - 9/28/21 - this version has taken care of our comments, but still is overshadowed by others. We've upped the grade.

I was excited to try this beer. A fresh hop pale? From Oregon? Looks good in the glass... but the smell instantly told me I this beer was going to taste bad. Didn't smell like any fresh hops I have ever had. Taste like a bottom of the line IPA poured on tap at a bar that doesn't sell much IPA. Tempted to pour this one out. Don't fall for the fresh hop hype!

 

Aside from the insane amount of floaties suspended in the pale orange body, Altair is still a handsome looking beer. Perhaps that's due to my expectation of having those raw delicious ingredients being typically visible for the style. Above rests a comfortable looking pillow of eggshell white foam, that lazily descends leaving frothy lacing everywhere.

Odd as this may be the first fresh hop beer of the year that the aroma didn't explode at the crack of the can. Actually, I have to dig my nose in deep to discover the melon and rubber notes. Overall, it smells a bit dirty and damp. Don't know how else to explain that one.

Again, this doesn't attack the taste buds either. Kind of funky as it continues an earthiness and even vegetal likeness. The closest thing to citrus I can muster up with is dried rind. Yeah… green peppers, even mint. This thing is all "earthy" despite it's homage to Aquila.

Perhaps the best thing about Altair is the feel. It has a nearly perfect Pale Ale feel. Light to medium body, a middle ground carbonation, great balance that leans into a wonderful lingering bitterness.

Altair doesn't quite match up to most of the fresh hop beers I've had this year, but it's still quite a good Pale Ale. I'll gladly enjoy the rest of this sixer, but that will most likely be the end of it.

 

This had an awful burnt rubber and dirt taste. I was shocked how bad it was. Total drainpour, hopefully it was just a bad can but I won't go back for more.

 

 

On tap at the brewery, pours a hazy pale amber with an off white head. The aroma is initially floral and citrus, then a hint of dank sneaks in. The taste is very much like the nose with citrus and floral dominating. Brewed with fresh Centennial hops.