Spruce Tip Pale Ale
Matchwood Brewing Company

Taster flight at Matchwood. Golden pour, small bubbly head. Aroma is a nice hit of pine, fresh. Taste is hoppy, piney, with a little bit of an oily feel.

a gabf gold medal winner and a really fantastic beer overall! cool looking cans too, they did a great job with this. the spruce factor is awesome, fresh and distinctive and obvious in both aroma and flavor, but the quality and high refinement of the base pale is what makes this for me, a really dialed in and professional brew. golden honey colored with a lasting thick and creamy white head an inch high, great clarity, and lots of sparkling carbonation. the hops in this match so well the spruce, this is fresh, fragrant, woodsy, and bright. the grain base is simple, pale two row, a little light crystal or honey malt, fermented down to near dry by a neutral yeast, basic, good water chemistry and attention to detail. the hops have subtle gin, grapefruit, and green grape characteristics on top be also being resoundingly fresh to my senses. the spruce comes on in the middle and rides through the finish, oily but never heavy, equal in contribution to the hops, no more or no less. its vibrant and fresh, just a little bitter, sort of christmasy and summery at the same time, and the overall quality in on point. hands down the best beer ive had from these guys, and i can easily see why this won a gold. its clean, tidy, and deliciously drinkable. love it!

Poured from 16oz can into a plastic tumbler.

Appearance: medium golden hue with a fair bit of haze and a finger of frothy ivory foam. Not too shabby.

Smell: earthy, piney, resinous, and a little sweet. Very much a pale ale in the west coast mode. A subtle and successful use of spruce.

Taste: a bit on the sweet side with a fruity, juicy evergreen flavor. Spruce tips are kind of odd, but add a uniquely juicy conifer flavor. A little strange, but I like it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and a good creaminess.

Overall: an unusual beer, but I am into it. A solid, if weird, pale ale.