Growers Pale
Alvarado Street Brewery

The old fruit box style label is beautifully evocative of the Salinas produce industry, especially in its earlier days, and goes into my best label can and bottle library.
The pour is sublime. A murky white-yellow gold with a thick layer of light, fluffy foam that lingers.
Nose and palate: Primarily stone fruit and citrus,in keeping with the theme.
Delightfully smooth and refreshing going down.
Leans NEPA. One of the best pale ales I've enjoyed.

 

Pours a hazy light yellow with a thick, dense cap of foam. Looks like a cloud, and has real weight and mouthfeel.

Smell is crisp and citrusy with earthy hints and notes of nectarine, peach and a hint of soap.

Taste is citrusy and earthy with notes of soft malt, peach, yeast and a soft bitterness. Balanced, but a little bit bland.

Mouthfeel is medium, but a bit overcarbonated.

Overall, a good pale ale, easy to drink but a little dull.

Can poured into a Russian River Brewing Co pub glass

A: Pours hazy golden yellow with a frothy off white head that settles to a firm layer that hangs around and leaves some lovely thick lacing.

S: Tropical and orchard fruit, melon, bright citrus, a bit grassy, crackery biscuity malt, and a touch of caramel sweetness.

T: Bright citrus mandarin orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon, tropical and orchard fruit, nectarine, pineapple, apricot, pear, melon, papaya, passion fruit, and a hint of plum, a touch of resinous pine, grassy faintly herbal notes, floral hints, biscuity malt, and a touch of caramel sweetness.

M: Just a bit on the lighter side of medium body, moderate carbonation, somewhat soft on the palate.

O: I'd describe this as a NE Pale Ale, big on hops, less so on malt, but quite nice.

Revisit 08/20: This batch seems to be a little different. More floral, pear and melon come through a bit more in place of some of the tropical fruit. Still really solid.

Revisit 02/25: This is my 3rd time trying this one over the years (probably my last revisit). The hops used are no longer listed in the description, and while they might have changed a bit over the years, it feels like they have kept the end results fairly consistent, especially over the last 2 batches I've tried. Lively citrus leads the way, backed with tropical and orchard fruit + some melon, (El Dorado hop flavors emerge more as it warms), with some grassy slightly resinous notes, built on biscuity malt and just a touch of caramel sweetness. Really solid pale ale that hits the spot after a warm day in the dirt.

 

Fresh batch of Growers. Not sure how they've tweaked the recipe this time, but it's a first for me. All I can say is that I'm hyped. Let's see how she fares.
Canning date of 1/3/19.
L: Pours a hazy vibrant yellow in color. Not much of a head formed from the pour, but a nice ring resides around the perimeter. Moderate amounts of lacing lingers behind on the glass, which I am rather fond of. Looks great.
S: Mellow but pleasant. Notes of citrus and earthy grassy hops.
T: Incredible given the abv. Full of fruit flavors: orange, grapefruit, papaya, pineapple, lemon, tangerine, melon, and passion fruit. The after taste is grassy with a lingering flavor that reminds me of peach, apricot, pineapple and papaya.
F: Light in weight but seemingly thicker in body. Carbonation is moderate to high, falling somewhere smack-dab in the middle. Great feel for a 5.5 abv brew.
O: Gotta say, beers in this style are my jam. Low abv, packed with flavor and just super enjoyable. I wasn't sure what to expect with this beer, but I definitely would have swooped on a 4 pack given the chance. Well done ASB! As always, I am glad to have tried! Cheers!

Look: Bright yellow murky body; 3/4 fingers of head on medium pour down the middle of a standard tulip; the cap stays there for a while, and leaves ample lacing on the glass.
Smell: Very aromatic, bright and citrusy. This beer just has that fresh tropical aroma that usually corresponds to a juice-bomb taste.
Taste: Yep, for a sub-6% "pale ale," this beer is juicy as s**t. Flavor notes reminiscent of oranges, tangerines, pineapple, and papaya. Very pleasant. No yeast in the taste, as happens often with Alvarado's hazy beers.
Feel: Creamy texture, relatively light body, medium carbonation.
Overall: I'm still not a fan of changing recipes so severely. But, this Growers is fantastic. One of my favorite new-age over-hopped APA's. I would confidently put this up against any sub-6% hazy hoppy beer out there. Alvarado had a new goal for the taste and smell of this beer, and they have unquestionably reached it.

 

 

16oz can dated 2/26/18 poured into a pint glass
A: Light orange, hazy, a 1/2 finger head that quickly settles
S: Very aromatic, a bit earthy/dank, tons of grapefruit rind/pith, some pine/malts underneath
T: The flavors match the nose, adding tangerine to the grapefruit
M: Light to medium-bodied but plenty bitter
O: I love the amount of flavors that can be packed into a beer with a modest abv. This drinks more like an IPA with its earthyness/bitterness