Dragoon’s Breath Pale Ale
The Kingston Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review from notes taken on 7/3/10 at the brewpub.

Served in a type of oversized/imperial pint/nonic this brew appears a clear orange color with a white head less than a finger strong. Fairly decent retension and spotty lace clings to the glass. The nose of this brew has some hops that are present but not clearly identifiable because any distinct character they impart are masked by a fruity and very candy-like scent coming off this brew. The taste has very minor herbal hop flavoring and an somewhat chemical (chlorine?) taste in the back. This is a light bodied brew with a faint level of carbonation. Quite bland and not very drinkable. I would not reccomend trying this.

Floral, bitter IPA; no pine in smell or taste. A little subdued, even dull, both on the nose and tongue. Crystal clear filtered golden brown that leans towards green: you know that IPA color? Brown-gold-green? This has it. Inch of foamy head dissipated quickly to leave lacing all the way down the glass. Bitter turned astringent in the finish. English bitter malt: no biscuit sweetness. Ends bitter with a mouth-puckering dryness that makes my saliva glands shoot spit in expectation of the next sip.

It's not a bad IPA; it's just a bit subdued. Kingston claims to be the city's first micro/craft brewer, and so this is certainly a target to beat: attainable, but still a challenging and righteous foe. Like the first three opponents in Nintendo's "Punch-out:" you're supposed to beat them.

Accompanied an excellent ale sausage with fries: the dill-laced slaw and pungent house-made brown sauce, mustard, and ketchup were far more flavorful than the beer. Well worth a trip to the shaded back patio when on the lake in Kingston. Otherwise eminently miss-able.

On tap- Decants deep golden/amber with a frothy white cap. No lace left behind really. Nose is biscuity, doughy, and fruity pale malts with a very fresh, floral and spicy hop component. Almost pine like floral hops with good earthy malts combine and lead into bread and licorice with lots of caramel towards the finish. Slightly bitter in the finish with lingering caramel and dark bread. Pretty good.

This was my first pint of the night, 20 oz serving in a pint glass.

Appearance was coppery brown, a little on the dark side, served with a ivory collar and cloud.

Woody and resinous hop aromas, some banana bread, brown sugar and cereal too.

Medium creamy body, low-medium carbonation. Big malt backbone for an IPA, brown sugar, toffee, banana bread again, vanilla, lots of pungent maltiness noted. Still manages to be crisp, some oranges, citrus rind, acetic character too. A little sugary. Very long finish with doughiness and banana again.

A solid offering from KBC.

Their best brew offering of the night. A hop head delight, very bitter, with malting to keep it under some control. Minimal scent, English hops I presume, like an ESB. A little head.Light body, could use more balance but it's a hop fix. Not liked by the locals as much.

Sampled at the brewery.

A deep copper brew with a nice big white head on top that will stick with you and leave its trail of lace all over the glass. Very hoppy aroma.

Very crisp with not too much carbonation. Hops are at a good level, and grains provide a good mix. It is not very complex, but interesting. Outstanding drinker, it could be a great session brew. Hints of citrus keep you a bit more interested, and then it is gone just like that. Another good one from Kingston.