San Diego Pale Ale
Bay City Brewing Co.

June 16th, 2016 - This straw colored beer still manages to glow on this cold, overcast day, and it's bright on the aroma too, with a dank and weedy smell that borderlines on body odor. The flavor has the same dank quality, but more reserved, which keeps it away from tasting like licking a dirty gym bag. It's not too sweet, either, letting those stanky hops fulfill their aromatic destiny.

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery.

My wife and I had a large taster flight, and this one was the best beer by far. An above-average west coast pale ale, nice and hoppy with a significant citrus flavor to balance it out. The one problem I had with it was that by the end of my little taster, I wasn't sure I was ready for another beer, simply because of the strong, bitter aftertaste. It was 7.7%, so it's to be expected, but after a can/bottle of this at a BBQ, I'd probably switch to something lighter to balance out the intensity of the bitter hops.

 

 

Pretty thing on tap @ the brewery, nice dry hopped haze over a sunset orange-gold body, and with some nice lacing as you go. Really pleasing nose and palate, citrusy, nice hop bite, but this is absolutely IPA territory, not pale ale stuff. Indeed, very little malt presence, just enough sweetnesss and body to offset the citrusy hop charge. Not that that's a bad thing. Really quite tasty and one I'd definitely revisit.

On tap at the brewery tasting room. Brewer says this is made with Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook hops. Crisp with a light malt flavor and a pleasant sweetness. Citrusy aroma, warm and malty.

Very moderate biter aftertaste, but so much hop flavor. This one is my favorite of the two Pale Ales on tap featuring different hop profiles. This is a very promising start for a new brewery.