Pig Launcher Pale Ale
4th Meridian Brewing Co.

A- This pours a nice coppery bronze rust color and is semi hazed, with comes with an off white colored head that starts out around a half finger in thickness and settles quickly into a star shaped thin layer over the brew. The carbonation appears to be lumbering upwards in a few formed columns and the lacing is very modest with only a speckling of foamy patches that slowly slide back into the beer.

S- Scottish toffee, caramel malt with some cooked brown sugar for sweetness up front. Notes of herbal/floral, wheat, and honeyed tones throughout make this delectable on the nostrils. Subdued citrus flesh is present, and in particular I am getting fresh picked Arizona oranges, and of course with this is some citrus zest too. Sun-kissed BC apricot grown in the middle of summer and various orchard fruits finish things off.....very nice and with a clean finish utilizing some mild hop bitterness.

T- There is a varying balance of different flavors happening here....caramel/blackstrap molasses sweetness in terms of the malt is countered by a sweet citrus zest primarily, some floral character, yeasty biscuit, wildflower honey (its not real sweet but has an Earthy quality about it), and the finish is clean hopped but it isn't super bitter either...almost a bit peppery if that makes any sense? Overall it is very nice tasting!

M/O- Smooth medium bodied brew with some zesty carbonation and the alcohol is well hidden on this one! I quite like it and thank the owners for the freebie and it does not disappoint! I will definitely hit up the brewery again when in Lloyd and look forward to the day I see this on the shelves here in the Hat!

16oz glass at Beer Revolution Oliver Square in Edmonton - nice to see this LLoyd brewery's wares available around here!

This beer appears a slightly hazy, medium golden apricot colour, with one skinny finger of mildly foamy and bubbly beige head, which leaves a bit of remote islet lace around the glass as things quickly subside.

It smells of semi-sweet grainy and doughy caramel malt, muddled domestic citrus rind, a bit of earthy yeastiness, and some further leafy, weedy, and rather floral green hoppiness. The taste is sugary caramel malt, a touch of biscuity toffee, mixed citrus and pome fruit esters, and more herbal, weedy, and floral verdant hop bitters.

The carbonation is quite low-key in its innocuous frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, no problem with these hops, move along now, y'hear? It finishes well off-dry, the caramel and blended fruity essences running away with this thing.

Overall, I suppose that I can't fault the quality of this pale ale - it just isn't as hoppy (in the bitter sense) as this lupulin addict would prefer. Or maybe the focus on the floral side of the spectrum doesn't blow up my skirt, I dunno. Still, worth checking out as the first brew from the latest (I think) Alberta craft brewery.