Quarter Horse
Verde Brewing Company

Color on the lighter, gilded side of "golden-brown", but I like that out of my APAs (and even my IPAs), as it usually portends dryer malting. Nose is "floral" and "woodsy", as promised in the description—in a very nice, high-alpine fashion—but perhaps a bit too "delicate", considering it took a good bit of huffing to parse out the aromatics. The flavor-profile is more direct, with really nice spice from the (locally grown!) Cascade, which provide elements of wild sage, juniper, and young, green pine, nettles, low on the sugars and high on bite. The rye additions double-down on this, providing a grain background that bites right alongside its hop forefront, thought with a bit more fruity-peppery noise, to complicate the airy, green herbaceous bitters of the Cascade. Clean, smooth mouthfeel, though I wouldn't mind a bit more effervescence. Tasty, candied-grapefruit note clinks out at the finish, to further smooth things. A very solid, variegated-enough APA.