Royal Family
Bearded Iris Brewing

 

 

Reliant partly on a smooth malt under current, but mostly on flavorful and aromatic hops, a taste emerges that brings a semblance of balance to what's a more commonly a landscape for hop dominance nowadays. But make no mistake, an overcast of New England hop attitude surrounds an east coast pale ale beer at heart.

Pale gold and muddy in its haze, that classic murky look of yeast extract plague the beer's appearance. Its creamy ecru froth spills onto the senses with a rich bouquet of citrus, tropical fruit and herb hint toward cannabis and sherbet in its culmination on the nose. A smooth and bready sweetness graces the tongue with elements of shortcake, honey and cream.

While the malts show a modest fade on the middle palate, its creamy sweetness retains a light doughy presence while the hops build into a flavorful lather. Tangerine, pineapple, white grapefruit, lemon, passionfruit and mango bring those citrus and tropical aromas to the tastebuds in a radiant, tangy and tantalizing character of tropical fruit punch, creamsicle and a sherbet medley. Smooth and herbal to finish, the beer's bitterness is moderate and carries the taste of freshly cut grass, hemp and new shaven pine.

Medium bodied and showing a slightly more drying trend than that of sweetness, those varying hop flavors invite a light resin dryness and gives the taste a tightness that evokes great drinkability, refreshment and even with the creamy, persistent balance from malt. A medium length aftertaste is of grassiness, herbal teas and a peppery bite of citrus and tropical fruit peels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a goblet. Moderately hazy and golden-amber with a modest white head. Moderate blueberry, pineapple, and mango in the aroma. Maybe a slight earth note. This one is juicy on the palate: lemony citrus with a slight acidic bite, almost like citric acid. Mango and some resin round out the flavor profile. A bit thin in the feel but in line for a lower ABV pale ale. Another outstanding beer.

 

 

3-week-old can poured into a tulip glass. Gorgeous peach coloring, medium pulp-free haze, and an inch of bright white head that settled quickly and provided minimal lacing.

Smell is a little mellower than most other BI offerings, but quite layered. There's the usual bright citrus, mango, fresh-cut grass, pine resin, and light biscuit, but I'm also getting faint notes of tea, tobacco, berries, and melon, especially as it warms.

Very juicy, and that's the first thing I notice taste-wise, with lots of orange and lemon, a little honeydew, pine, green tea, and a whole lot of grass clippings. Again, fairly subdued (for BI), with lasting pithiness but no sharp bitterness. I get an almost soapy flavor coming through on the back-end of each sip which I don't particularly like, but that eventually rolls over into a long lemony aftertaste.

Feel is extremely silky smooth, medium-bodied (for a pale ale) but in no way heavy or sticky.

BI has had so many rock-solid (and sometimes fantastic) pales and IPAs of the NE variety that they're starting to run together on me unless I'm sipping several side by side. (Not that I'm complaining!) Royal Family is one of the easiest drinkers of the bunch, but the more modest aroma and taste components, combined with a decisive lean towards sharp lemon over sweet orange, puts a number of other BI offerings well ahead of it.