Three Skulls Pillagers Pale
Baron Brewing

Okay, I'm fine with admitting my personal bias on this. The label on this beer is poorly developed, that I can't actually tell if this is the right beer. As a result, I'm gonna be a real stickler, the beer better be fucking phenomenal.

On the label: three skulls, one facing forward, two facing outward at 45 degree angles. Crossbones behind the forerunner, who also has the distinguished eyepatch over it's left eye. Background is black. On the left hand of the label "Brewed and bottled by NWBC, Pacific, Washington"

That last quote is what confuses me. Is this a beer from a brewery in Pacific? Or a contract brew from Baron brewing? This was the closest I could figure on.

On to the review: Pours golden with a three finger loose, soapy foam with a quickly fleeting character leaving a broken surface sheet of the same. Smells of grain, some anise, some herbal and floral hops, fairly simple nose. Flavor is grain, touch of bitter, some honey a little tea - nothing special, and for an APA a real let down. Medium bodied with tight low carb and a wet finish. Really a moderate quality beer. Although I'm not put off by the general nature of the flavor of the beer, it certainly seems cheap, one dimensional and forgettable.

 

Poured into my Samuel Adams pint glass at 43 degrees.

Appearance: A monster two finger head that has really good retention. The head is frothy and bubbly with a nice off white head. The color of the beer is a medium amber color with a nice orange highlight. The clarity of the beer is hazy, with carbonation bubbles. The haziness is from the yeast.

Nose: A very strong fruity esters, lemon, grapefruit, and a hint of pine. The malt is toasty, biscuit, and caramel. The other aromas in the beer is a hint of butterscotch, yeast, and apples.

Taste: A very firm grapefruit, fruity esters and pine. The malt flavors are toasty, biscuit, caramel, and bready. Other flavors in the beer is butterscotch, apples, oranges, and yeast.

The mouth feel of the beer is carbonated, crisp, and astringent,

Overall: The body of the beer is medium and the finish is medium as well. The nose threw me off, I was thinking what kind of APA smells like this; however, the taste is more like an APA. The beer is a bit to fruity for me and the balance is a bit off. I feel that malt is more prominent in the beer rather than the hops. The Appearance was awesome on this beer and I had some hopes that this was going to be better than average. Descent beer to drink, it is not bad but not great.

Appearance: clear orange in color with a 1" had that fell slowly. Some spotty lace develops.

Smell: orange and floral hops were light but pleasant.

Taste: caramel, orange, ripe fruits, and floral bitterness creates a basic pale ale. Bitterness is mild.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Crisp from start to finish. Aftertaste is short.

Drinkability: this beer was decent but not overly exciting. One bottle was enough in a session.

Wish they'd spent more time on designing the beer and less on designing the elaborate label.

Pours a pale amber with a minimal head. The aroma is sweet and slightly toffeish, with some floral is citrus hops. The flavor is honey-ish and decent, but nothing outstanding. There is some piny hops and a bitter finish. Mouthfeel is thick.

A: Poured a lemon peel color with soft orange hues and a brilliant clarity that was almost read-able through. A 2 finger off white head, foamy in nature, leaves a fairly lasting retention but a poor representation for a lacing hardly worth mentioning. Light sporadic carbonation is detected with an overall impression that comes off as not bad, but certainly not tempting as well.

S: A soft, almost washy mixture of pine and citrus appears on the nose. Whole oranges of light intentions were picked up as well. The hopping is soft to the point of you had to stick you whole nose deep into the glass to get any appreciation, and still left unsatisfied.

T: Again, a washy, mesh-mash of hops and grains that came off rather sloppy in delivery. Washy citrus tones with a bit of wet pine. There is a bit of dry hopping going on but seems to clash with the wet hops from the beginning showing no transition and becomes washed out. The finish tries to flex some hop muscles which was better then it started but still is not enough to save this drink from unimpressive results.

M: Not to sound like a broken record, but the washy feel shows up yet again in the mouthful. Lacked crispness like a good pale should project and comes off flat and lazy.

D: If I didn't know any better and this was my first venture into the world of craft beer or style (pale ale), I think I would still be only moderately amused. A classic underachiever and only a place-card holder per style. A big pass .

My wife picked up a 22 ounce bottle of this brew for me to try. It's a rich copper color with an unremarkable white head. Not much lace. The aroma is mostly hops...lots of pine and citrus scents. It's a fresh smell, but there is also a touch of vegetable aromas. Rushed? The taste is well balanced. A bit more malt comes out in the flavor. Nice bitter backbone. The beer's heft is substantial and satisfying. Good, moderately bitter finish. All in all, this is a reasonably drinkable ale.

A traditional Northwest Pale Ale dry-hopped with Cascade hops to give it an incredible citrus aroma. This exceptionally full-bodied pale ale balances the citrus and earthy northwest hops for a refreshing flavor. Alcohol: 4.75% abv.
Description from Web Page.

Three Skulls Ales--Pillager's Pale Ale--2010--22 oz. Bottle--4.75% ABV--30 IBU's? (3.0 / 5.0) Pale Ale--No sediment. No lace very thin white head. Clear rich bright amber color. Flat mild floral hop malt fruit front. Mild creamy delicate sweet doughy caramel mild fruit hint light bisquit Pale Ale body. Clean mild hop spice smooth citrus hint end. Bland Pale Ale. Sampled 2/5/2010. $4.49 Each.

pours a semi-cloudy orange-yellow with a very small white head, and very good lacing.

smell is of malt, a few hops, earth, some perfume, a little orange, and some citrus.

taste is crisp, hops, grain, a little caramel, and a touch of sour malt, ends dry and a little bitter.

Poured into bubble pint glass. Poured a clear light amber color with a thin, tan head that left a slightly more than average amount of lacing. Aroma is fairly well balanced between malt and hops. The hops are the dominant flavor over the malts. Decent body and drinkability. This Pale Ale is in the style of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which I consider to be IPA-lite. This is a decent, if not special, beer which I would have again. Try it if you see it, probably not worth seeking out.

As with their Cutthroat Red, Three Skulls' Pillager's Pale suffers from some rancid butter off flavors that are too vivid to ignore. It is clear copper with refined clarity, modest carbonation, medium body and a head that evacuates early. Hops make little attempt at escaping the bittering range.

Overall, a timid but amiable ale with the demeanor of your neighbor's homebrew. Routine.