Fort Point Pale Ale - Galaxy Double Dry Hopped
Trillium Brewing Company

When is a pale ale a better pale ale? When it's more like and IPA. ...and it's hazy. ...and it uses newer and more exotic hops. This recipe for success has become the blueprint for success of Trillium brewers with the aide of the highly coveted Galaxy hops and their juicy, radiant and highly fruit forward character.

Fort Point, the Galaxy Dry Hopped episode is an opaque, pastel gold, matte finished, extra pulpy goldenrod of goodness with a breadth of hop perfumes that span tangy tropical fruits, citrus, melon, vinous and herbal complexities. That radiant and branch ripe perfume bleeds seamlessly into a creamy and malty-sweet upstart with honeysuckle, light caramel and angel food cake to greet the early palate.

As the sweetness slowly relaxes, the creaminess of malt remains for a soothing vanilla wafer charm to sooth the middle palate. All the while, hoppiness builds from a whimsical floral fragrance into a succulent and tangy array of white grapefruit, lime and lemon; and then into an under-ripened apricot and mango flavor; and then into honeydew and green berry taste before finishing with a smooth and peppery bitterness that's redolent with sassafras, lemongrass, white wine and green tea.

Medium bodied through and through, the beer dries wonderfully into a crisp, clean and highly concise medium length finish without the faintest hint of green grassiness and a curious twinge of hop bite. Though the ale straddles the styles of pale ale and IPA in its flavor profile, it's perhaps the best of both worlds under the careful guidance of those Galaxy hops for a beer that's simply out of this world.

 

 

 

Looks and smells gorgeous. Lots of citrus and tropical flavors on the nose. The mouthfeel is also good though the taste flavors are more on the grapefruit than citrus side. Personally, I liked it because it does make for a more balanced and complex beer.

I was happy to have this over sunset at a brewery. It just lacked something to make it a memorable beer. The dry hopping with Galaxy was pretty good but could be better. You could tell that the base beer (Fort Point) was awesome and saved the day.