Fall Haze
Dock Street Brewery - South

You may have guessed by now that my initial salvo of New 4 x 12 Stable Street Dock Hands Beer Sunday (Week 689) CANsists of a Dock Street horizontal. Things are just starting to heat up & cool down here at Chez Woody, so strap in, hold on & let's go for a ride!

From the CAN: "Hoppy Pale Ale"; "30 IBUs."; "One in a series of seasonal, rotating hoppy and hazy pale ales. Brewed with doubel roasted crystal malts and honey malts which allows for solid hop character balanced by autumn like malt sweetness[.]"

I started to get bogged down in transcription until I realized that I had yet to CANduct a Crack! & Glug! No time like the present, so I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle Glug into the awaiting glass. Once aCAN, no swirl was required as it formed just under two fingers of dense, foamy, tawny head with great retention, unbidden. I watched as it slowly retreated, I mean, advanced in the other direction, leaving some nice lacing in its wake. Color was a faintly hazy Amber to Deep Amber/Light Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13). Nose was more malty than hoppy with notes of caramel, marshmallow, graham crackers & light smoke. What?!? Are we making S'mores over the campfire here, or what?!? This was evocative of Boy Scout camp. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, nit quite creamy, but there was so much inherent carbonation that it could not be thought of as simply medium. The taste was semi-sweet with the earthiness of the malts really coming through and keeping the sweetness in check. I stand by the flavors of caramel, marshmallow & graham crackers, but it was less smoky than simply earthy in terms of its taste. Very much malt-driven, which must be taken into CANsideration when rating to style & not to taste. It was certainly enjoyable & quite evocative of Fall, but as an APA, it fell short, especially in CANparison to the style's flag-bearer, SNPA. I would have called it an American Red/Amber Ale & then have given it higher marks. Boom! Problem solved. I CAN be hired as a CANsultant, if need be.

I received this beer from Houser, thank you kindly, sir. Poured into a pint glass at 40 degrees. A creamy, foamy, billowy head surround this beer. The retention of the beer is good, as it slowly dissipates it leaves lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is SRM 6, a deep gold color with orange hues. The clarity of the beer is hazy. Little carbonation bubble is visible.

The beers aroma is grapefruit, orange, floral, tropical fruit, pine, resin, crackers, yeast, lightly toasted malt, and some grassy notes.

A rich grapefruit, pine, crackers, pineapple, floral encompasses the hop profile. Additional flavors are crackers, grassy, yeast, and a lightly toasted malt.

The mouthfeel of the beer is dry, crisp, and fresh. The body of the beer is medium, medium carbonation, and a medium plus finish.

This pale ale is above average, the hops are on point, the malt backbone is sturdy, and the beer has a pleasant crisp dry finish. The hop profile was a touch mute for me.