Ale Spruced Up
Grain Bin Brewing Company

650 ml bottle - split 2 ways - pours slightly hazy dark golden colour with 1 finger white head. Aroma initially seemed muted but then an unusual smell of ? spruce and some sweet floral/tropical fruit - taste begins clean malty but then struck by the above strange sweet fruity spruce tree flavour - tried my best but most of mine went to the drain without need of hepatic or renal filtration. Just a taste I clearly did not like (as the other half was finished with comment of it being ok). Honestly I enjoy a good pale ale, but I found this one to have something unpalatable.

650ml bottle, the second go-round for this spruce tip flavoured strong pale ale. Nice to see a broader distribution of it this time.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, yet bright medium copper amber colour, with one zaftig finger of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly ecru head, which leaves some random snow rime pattern lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of bready and doughy caramel malt, subtle exotic fruity notes, a bit of earthy yeastiness, a hint of green and oily spruciness (sp?), and some plain leafy, weedy, and gently perfumed floral verdant hoppiness. The taste is wet spruce tips, semi-sweet grainy and bready caramel malt, muddled pome and citrus fruity esters, and more understated leafy, herbal, and musky floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is quite underwhelming in its barely-there frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, with a wee airy creaminess sneaking in as things warm up a tad out of the ol' basement frigo. It finishes off-dry - nice and malty with a lingering soused-up green spruce kick.

Overall, this is a rather enjoyable 'extra' pale ale, on both its vectors: the spruce is a bit coy, sure, but is noticeable enough, and the elevated alcohol measure lies equally under the radar. Very tasty and engaging, even if they could amp up the fizz just a smidge - a minor quibble, I know.