Poised for Flight
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

 

clever and tasty beer brewed with kernza, an up and coming brewing grain id like to know more about, a wheatgrass apparently, and i believe its malted and being lauded for its personality in beer as well as for being more sustainable to produce. this is a hazy pale ale as a base, apparently also made with oat and honey granola, which we have seen before from these guys, the grateful dead beer had granola in it all those years ago, a neat hop mix too, fruit forward and not very bitter at all. straw colored, frosted looking hazy, lively and heady and not crazy dense, some brightness to it still, some body though too, and an aroma of starchy earthy grain that is not crowded out by the big tangerine, melon, and papaya tropical notes the hops bring, its slightly nutty, distinctive, a hint of that almost rye spiciness perhaps from the kernza too, and i find myself almost wishing this was less hoppy, like i want to understand the kernza better, but the hops fight for my attention rather effectively. the flavor is a lot like the nose, somewhat juicy and also grassy at the same time, i do get some pale rye type character, some minerality, and some wheaty properties too, kernza seems full flavored here and rather promising, would be neat in saison or grisette or something rustic too. the hops are compatible, summery, and not overdone, right on for a modern pale like this, orange is neat with the floral honey note hanging in the center, ripe cantaloupe, mandarins from the can, and a bit of lemongrass to me too. fluffy feeling from the oats in it, although thats subtle, this is long too without being sweet or heavy or overly hopped, never quite finishes but everything here is pleasant. i like the beer, i think i expected a little more, but its cool, the granola aspect could be more prominent, but im excited about kernza and will seek out other beers with it. cool that dogfish head is still at the forefront of these developments after all these years...

Pours a vibrant hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has mango, grapefruit and pineapple hints
Taste has a mango, grapefruit and pineapple flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good Pale Ale