Zest Fest
Mirror Twin Brewing

While other breweries are gearing up for another kind of fall fest, the brewers at Mirror Twin aren't turning their backs on Summer quite yet. Laced with Lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit zest, they might be celebrating something else.

And that something else is the fest that hop-heads call American Pale Ale. Pouring a pale amber color and fit with a fine haze, a frothy headstance builds with the billowing scent of citronella and light graham cracker underneath. As the Zest Fest embarks upon the early palate, its those graham cracker, light caramel, mild honey and granola malt flavors have an initial say in taste

But racing to a fruity middle palate, the quick rise of those peels of citrus allow the focus to become racy with citrus acidity and a sharper pectin bite from tannins in a slight wine-like balance. Hops reinforce the fruit peels with their own green spin on citrus with verbena-like tastes and a tea-like bitterness nearing the finish.

Lightly sprucy, cedar-like and nutty, the bittersweet taste of pale ale comes with a lightness to illuminate a grain character with a spicier, more bitter finish. A medium length aftertaste of citrus peels outweigh the hops for lasting impression of a very mild-mannered Manhattan cocktail.