Ratskeller Reserve XPA One
Summit Brewing Company

 

Pours a very clear golden color. The head is 2 finger, and white. It is quite frothy, with good retention. Some lacing on the glass.
The nose has just a hint of hops. Not much else there.
Taste - is fairly mellow, but does have a hint of hops. Just a hint of sweetness.
Light bodied. Slightly watery.
Ok, and easy drinking beer.

Not sure what's going on with this one. Pours golden, minimal lacing and not much head. Smell is rather bland but some light fruit notes. Taste is more of the same. Finishes dry and has a good mouth feel but this is nothing to write home about.

 

Pours a clear light gold. Aggressive pour yields a large white head that gradually falls away leaving nice lacing. Aroma is fresh berries and citrus fruits. Flavor follows the nose nicely, a touch sweet up front with just enough hop bite in the finish to round things out. Feel is crisp and well carbonated. Overall a fine beer with more flavor than most sub 5 ABV beers.

 

Very complex aroma: berry-like with some citrus as well, and more, difficult to describe, but very nice. Clear light gold / straw color, rising bubbles, and a 1/2 inch white head that drops relatively quickly with scattered strings of lacing, settling to a thin cape and bubbly ring. Taste is thoroughly unique, to my experience. I do get the coconut, but not to the extent I expected. A sophisticated mix of berries, melon, coconut, and bittering. Like the aroma, the taste is complex. Moderate to thin body. Dry and mildly bitter finish and aftertaste.

Appearance: Clear gold, some particles, good head.

Smell: Vaguely sweet and fruity, maybe a little hawaiian punch in the background?

Taste: Bready, biscuity, tea-like bitterness, really seems to be like an English pale ale to me. Light feel.

Overall: Beer #1 from the rathskeller pack. This beer is listed as an APA, but tastes more like the English style to me. Old-time tea bitterness instead of fruity or citrusy. A pretty decent bitter, but not really what I'm looking for in a American pale.

Poured from 12oz bottle into glass. Etched code on bottle is '81109W2121517'.
Clear, deep gold colored body. Difficult to conjure up much of a head, but what is there stays around as a thin cap. Leaves behind some strings of lacing.
Aroma of dry coconut, berry (in the realm of a strawberry), lime, and bready malt.
Taste is melon, mango, pineapple, coconut, and berry, with a dark bread malt.
Medium mouth feel, texture is clean. Very good carbonation.
For Summit this tastes like an experimental pale ale, one that does not fit well into established categories, but still expresses strong hop character which is rather distinctive and unique.

L-Oak colored...frothy white head and nice lacing on the glass

S-Unique aroma....Herbal, a bit of citrus...red berries...very interesting and inviting..maybe a touch of cantaline?....hard to describe really. I guess berries smell is most evident...strawberries and cream....a light freshly baked biscuit malt aroma.

T-Up front on the taste is coconut...not like added coconut but entirely from the hops. Light strawberries and cream but the coconut notes are pretty evident and delicious. Definitely some melon on the flavor as well. Perhaps more of a honeydew melon. Unique flavor. Very enjoyable.

F-A little thin for my tastes body wise. Almost goes down like a session IPA. Would prefer a bit more body. Not a lot but it needs some added weight. Clean.

O-This is my kind of beer. New hop, new malt, new aroma and flavor impressions. Unique. This new hop seems destined for good things. Great use of it by Summit in this beer to pull out a lot of subtle, yet interesting characteristics.

 

Clear golden in color, topped with an off white head. Excellent clarity.

“Clean”, neutral malt profile on the nose, with slightly minty, earthy, herbaceous hop notes. Different in a good way. Slightly “catty”.

Sweet/tangy on the first sip, with a note of ripe melon and a lighter note of cherry. Lighter scrubbing carbonation, and coats the palate rather well. Biscuit notes as it warms. Very low in bitterness, at least from what I’d expected.

Very easy drinking, and lower in alcohol. Seems to be patterned after a British “session” style ale? Meh, maybe I’m fooling myself thinking that, but it has a session-able character in my opinion.

A very subtle pale ale with unique tasting notes, and very drinkable.

 

 

The hops really do taste like coconut, pineapple and lime as advertisedby Summit, making this a very unique pale ale. Nice biscuit and sourdough malt balance. Refreshing and dry finish.

Pale, clear amber color with a finger of head. The experimental hop reminds me a bit of Simcoe but with a touch of melon and strawberry. Interesting hop flavor as well. I get more berry and then get herbal with a bit of catty character. Malt is not really a character. Light body but properly carbonated.