The Duke English Pale Ale
Medicine Hat Brewing Company

Quite nice amber colour, more amber than what I would call pale, but looks at least somewhat promising. A bit of honey malt sweetness on the nose, not a whole lot else. Quite malty flavour, with lightly toasted biscuit and sweetness, but balanced by a good bittering hops note. Pretty on point for the style. The hops are not obtrusive, actually they do a really good job. Goes down quickly and easily on a cool autumn evening.

 

 

 

355ml can, part of a cavalcade of new packaged offerings from this Medicine Hat (duh) brewery!

This beer pours a clear, medium orange-brick amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy beige head, which leaves some hanging coral atoll lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of gritty and grainy pale malt, a bit of biscuity toffee, muddled dark orchard fruity notes, a hint of earthy yeastiness, ethereal ground pepper spice, and some plain leafy, weedy, and floral noble hop bitters. The taste is bready and crackery caramel malt, a lesser pale graininess, some ephemeral wispy smoke, still hard to parse bruised stone fruit notes, and more tame leafy, herbal, and musty floral verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly laid-back in its basically supportive frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and mostly smooth, nothing really having the stiff upper lip (I don't know if that actually applies) to mess about here. It finishes off-dry, the mixed malt and fruitiness winning the day.

Overall, this is a pretty well-made brew, paying ode to the pale ales of the old country, so the malt takes precedence over the hops. Once I got my pedantic mind past this 'pale' ale's appearance (it's at the extreme end of the spectrum), I could sit back, and just enjoy its rustic pub worthy character.