Monterey Street
Central Coast Brewing

 

Appearance - Pours with a slight haze and is golden orange in color. Off-white, near finger width head that dissipates in fair time, revealing a thin, lightly broken layer of surface suds. A few flares and spotting make up the lacing.

Smell - Fruity aroma, orange and tropical juiciness, with underlying floral notes. Maybe some bready or crackery malts?

Taste - Follows the nose. Tropical and citrusy juiciness upfront, then gives a bit of leeway way to a lighter floral sweetness. Clean, slightly bready malt bill that keeps its distance.. Juiciness continues through to the finish, but doesn't become so dominant that it becomes tiresome.

Mouthfeel - Light-to-medium in body with fair, tingly carbonation. Slick on the tongue and it goes down smoothly.

Overall - Solid Dry-hopped pale. Really brings the juiciness without being too aggressive with it, allowing some more subtle hop notes to peak through by mid-taste.

 

Picked this up at the BevMo! store in Paso Robles not too long along as I was on the left coast for a bit. This looked like a winner and certainly was as this was a great example of what an American Pale Ale should be. Lots to enjoy here as this was pure California with a hidden alcoholic presence and wonderful balance from start to finish.

This had a nice, brassy hue to it as it was subtly radiant and topped off with lots of thick foam that evenly settled down. Soapy splotches of lacing remained although there weren't any rings discernible among the suds. A few fine bubbles float to the surface after each sip although the carbonation was spot-on. Lots of pine, earthy hops, dankness, and citrus pith in the nose as the taste was just as balanced, hoppy, and slightly exotic with a nice caramel undertone to this. Subtle resin and wax lingered on my palate after each sip as the hop burn and bitterness were light, but just present enough to leave me wanting more.

Subtle biscuit and hints of feet stuck around after I finished this off as there was just enough funk and funkiness that I wanted another can of this. Only an apparent product code was stamped on the bottom but no matter - this deserved the accolades on the label as this did not last in my pint glass for very long after I took the first sip. Lots to enjoy here with the end result being quite the first impression of Central Coast, as this was the best Golden State American Pale Ale short of Sierra Nevada's flagship beer.

Lightly cloudy bronze pour with a cream colored head, thick lacing abounds. Big piney hop nose, getting orange, mango, melon rind, and dank grapefruit pith. Taste is much the same, only less balanced with the piney hops dominating. Feels like a mouthful of hops too, light dankness and wetness emerge slowly. Nice hoppy pale for any time

Big offwhite head from an aggressive pour with a see through golden brew here. I’m gonna say decent look. The nose is off the hook for an APA, big sweet melon, citrus and peachy mango is coming outta this can. Head still there. Dank flavor with a bitter leaning end. Hmm… I was thinking this would be sweeter but bitterness ebbs as you drink it, kinda resinous grapefruit and pine here. Higher carbonation and a thinner feel. It’s decent I guess.

 

 

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that left a patch of bubbles on the surface, a narrow collar around the edge, and lots of lacing down the sides.
S: Light to moderate aromas of mango are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and also has some notes of orange citrus. There is a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and slightly crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The use of Mosaic hops in this APA contributed nice aromas and flavors of tropical fruits in the form of mango.

Serving type: can

nice hoppy ipa good hop taste all through the drink

Good looking beer with decent head and a bit of an unfiltered look. Smell is very dry, presaging the back of the taste. Front of the mouth does very little for me (a bit too watery at the beginning of the sip), but the dryness, lemon-taste, and maltiness comes through in teh back. However, it feels a bit watery overall. Generally a good beer but not great.

One of my all-time go to beers. This is a medal winning pale ale and for good reason. I always make sure to go grab a pack of this when I'm passing through SLO.

Clear medium amber brew with abundant foam in the Saxo tall tulip. Plenty of carbonation on the tongue and a medium body. Nose of cedar and mango. Flavors of citrus and lime with caramel. A bit of wood and minerals in the finish. Fair amount of acidity along with the malty sweet note.

A little gummy and resiny in the aftertaste but not very bitter. Overall this is quite adequate and pleasant to sip. From the 16 oz can shipped from City Beer. Dated 05/12/20 on the bottom so not exactly fresh, but it doesn't taste overhopped to me.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American Pale Ale
Glass: Polygamy Porter shaker pint glass
Price: $3.99
From: Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara (Milpas), Calif.
Purchased: June 12, 2020
Consumed: June 14, 2020
Misc.: No canned on date

Picked this up at a Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara. Knew ahead of time that this beer had won some medals and there they were on the back of the can - GABF gold medals in 2015 & 2017, and silver medal in 2016. Their website called it, “Named after the Historic street in Downtown San Luis Obispo where our brewery calls home, this new-school American Pale Ale is a must-try for hop lovers. Featuring the dynamic new hop Mosaic, this beer is bursting with layers of tropical fruits and bright citrus. To balance out the flavor profile, we chose a blend of malts that lend a subtle toasty foundation that complements the hops beautifully.” Looked around and the hops seemed to be Mosaic, Centennial and Galaxy.

Poured a gold-to-light amber clear color with 4-to-5 fingers of rocky white heady. Lots of fast moving bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass, looking like a snow globe. Almost perfect foamy lacing. Perfect retention. (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled pine, lime zest, caramel malt, floral, soft Mosaic, Centennial, passion fruit, mango and citrus rind. More earthy malt from the can. (Smell - 3.75)

Just like when I had Lucky Day yesterday, the first thought was how smooth this was. In order got pine, caramel malt, soft Mosaic, floral, lime, Centennial, mango, tangerine peel and citrus rind. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter finish. (Feel - 4.25)

This one grew on me as it went down. An outstanding pale ale. (Overall - 4.00)

4.01 | 90 | A-

 

 

Clear orange gold ale with a puffy white head.

Smells hoppy. Definite willow tree scent with a touch of aspirin. Pineapple and passion fruit. Smells like an IPA.

Starts out savory. Mild taste and it tastes like it smells. Pineapple and passion fruit. Overly Hopped functionally this is an IPA.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Overall another overly hopped beer. Lager is hard so you can just cover up flaws with hops, THAT is easy.