American Pale Ale
Copper Creek Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Dispensed a dark amber-hued body featuring good clarity and an off-white head.

Smell: Copper Creek's APA smells of pale malts, toasted barley, floral, citrusy hops, and a flickering of crystal malt.

Taste: Opens with pale malts, lightly toasty accents, and a small hint of sweet caramel. Faint fruitiness. Hops give florals and a taste of white grapefruit. Moderate bitterness. The taste as well as the body thins out on the back half. Drying, bitterish finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-light carbonation.

Drinkability: Simple but solid and ultimately an OK American Pale Ale.

First, the description from the brewpub:

"American Pale Ale: This beer is Pale Copper in color with a medium-light body. Brewed with five different hop varieties, its aroma is very floral and inviting. The mildly malty flavor of this beer is nicely rounded by its complex hoppy finish."

And my review:

Serving: On-Tap at the brewpub.

A: Copper. Darker than I am used to for a Pale Ale. Nearly an Amber. Head fades quickly. Leaves a decent amount of lacing.

S: Nose is very malty. It threw me, as I'm not used to a malty nose in a Pale Ale. *Hopes the taste will be more hoppy.*

T: *Disappointed* Sweet malts up front. Just a touch of hops one the back end, and what is there is very one dimensional. Not a good Pale Ale at all.

M: Quite heavy for the style. I am used to crisp light bodied Pale Ales. This isn't it.

D: Didn't finish my first one. The malts are tiring and the hops are boring.

A: Copper color clear with a white head, good retention and lacing.

S: Strong citrus, pine hops nose. Light malty notes. No diacetyl.

T: Strong bittering hops, with some balancing sweet that comes through later in the beer. A touch of DMS in the afterbirth.

M: Good carbonation, fluffy creaminess, moderately full mouthfeel.

D: Tasty and full; this beer must be savored.

Overall: This beer gets better as it goes on. As the tastebuds become less sensitive to the bitterness of the hops, the malt finds its place. Good offering from a local brewpub.

On-tap at the brewpub.

Pours a light copper color with a half-finger white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells great - floral with tropical and citrus fruits backed by pale malt aromas. As it warms the malt aromas increase in intensity.

Tastes similar to how it smells, however the hops don't have the same punch. Pale malt flavors up front are quickly joined by hop flavors that have more citrus notes than anything but also hints of tropical fruits. The ending is solidly bitter.

Mouthfeel is good. It's a bit on the thin side but with solid carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass quickly and could have another.

Overall I would have to guess the recipe for this has changed or the beer was dry-hopped. Great aromas and very good flavors make this one worth a shot.

This beer arrived a dark reddish-amber with very little head because the glass was filled pretty much to the brim.
Pretty standard APA aromas. A nice grassy/piney hop aroma with some toasted malt/caramel sweetness.
Flavors mirrored the aromas pretty closely with the grassy/piney hops coming first with a nice balance from the malts.
Medium bodied. Flavors did linger for a minute, but not long after that.
Pretty drinkable. Good flavors make this a nice drinker.
A good beer from Athens' only brewpub. This wouldn't make me make a special trip into the bar, but would drink this again if I found myself in there again.

Rerate 11-6-04: I don't know if he altered the recipe or what, but this beer is much better than I remember. More hops and more complexity make this an excellent APA.

5/10/03: Sadly, just another APA. The body is nice and the head was good. The aroma was hoppy, but something was missing. They really needed to bump up the hops or bump up the hops, possibly both. The brewery is capable of brewing something good. The Alt was evidence of that. This just isn't exciting.

This particular Pale Ale was slightly less exciting than the Abbey Ale of the same brewery. Plenty of hops and fruit in its aroma and produced a decent head. This ale also had a strong fruity/spicey flavor to it that just lacked in its ability to please the palate (at least for this reviewer). This is one that I might actually turn down if offered.