Firecracker Pale Ale
Big Time Brewery & Alehouse

Big Time named this "Northwestern" pale ale for a former employee who, like the beer, is described as "feisty, full-bodied, and not to be messed with." It is poured with a compressed moussey head of ivory and tastes not dissimilar to The Mere Mortal IPA with comparable English styling in its yeast and hops profile. As promised, the body is full.

Firecracker is more of a dark unfiltered amber where Mere Mortal is gold, but the bittering has an English tang to it courtesy of Cascade and Willamette hops, both derivatives of English Fuggles. (Mt. Hood is also used.) The aroma is dank and yeasty, which I accept with little enthusiasm. Rorschach lace adorns the glass as tiny-bubbled carbonation pushes upwards.

A very garden-like green hop taste defines Firecracker. Lots of hop leaf and green tea with a few fruity esters from peachy malts, and a citric finish. Perhaps the best of Big Time's extended roster of pale ales.