Purgatory Pale Ale
Trinidad Brewing Company

Presentation: 22 oz bomber, label has some sort of evil looking psychadelic cow skull. Hand marked with brewed date and batch # (33).

Appearance: Reddish orange with a bit of haze, thin head fades quickly.

Smell: Grainy with a bit of pine hops.

Taste: Hmm .. there is a bit of a strange flavor here. The main thing is a subtle piney hop flavor, with a decent amount of malt in there to back it up .. but there is something else too, maybe towards cooked vegetable, but not that bad.

Overall impression: Fairly solid offering with a slight off flavor. Despite this it is pretty drinkable.

Cracked a bomber with a March 4th birthdate. Smell was strong citrus hop flower sweetness. Great smell. It's an unusual pale ale, unusual meaning original and tasty. Surprisingly great balance with the caramel malts and the odd hop combination (maybe fuggles mixed with a few American varieties). Not too bitter but that works for me on this one. Has a bright aftertaste that comes out of nowhere at first. Talk about a complex pale ale. It hits you from every angle and at different times. That bright aftertaste begins to give it a summer ale kind of feel toward the end of the bomber. I'd highly recommend this one to anybody that can find it. Trinidad Brewing Company is just beginning to market to the Denver Metro area. This is the second flavor I've had from this brewery and I must say I'm really impressed with the original outlook. Trinidad may not just be for sex changes anymore.

Pours amber with a pinky of white head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Citric & pine hops

T: Citric hops (orange & lemon), plus some breadyness up front. Biscuitty malt, a bit of caramel & leafy hops as this warms. Finishes with citric hops, toffee & a touch of dryness

MF: Light/medium bodied with minimal carbonation. Kind of wet & not super malty

Drinks alright, just not very interesting or satisfying. Some of their other offerings are better

A nice looking, orange pale ale with a sudsy head and slightly muted hop aromas. Low carbonation in appearance plays out in the flavor and mouthfeel--as this is watery, too light on bittering and flavor hops, too strong on caramel malts, and fairly flat.

Though the overall balance is nice, and the drinkability is fair, this beer has some significant flaws. The little bitterness and hop flavor that is present seems to come from a fairly earthy hop (the bottle says that the hops are American in variety, but this tastes like Fuggles...) that doesn't mesh well with the rest of the brew.

It's nice to see a new bottled APA from a small Colorado brewery, but this needs some tinkering before it will hold it's own.