Thunderhead Pale
Free State Brewing Co.

 

Poured on tap at the brewery. On special too!

Pours a dark caramel, with amber-yellow fringes. Small head that dissipates almost instantly.

This APA is quite hoppy for an APA, well, in terms of aroma and bitterness. Not much fruitiness coming from the hops. Mostly piney and slightly stringent. Decent malt backbone, but the hops really steal the show here. It's an okay APA, definitely on the hoppy side.

Mouthfeel is pretty decent.

Honestly not sure I'd order this brew again.

 

Draught @ Brewpub: This one pours a hazy coppery color. It had a small off-white head that left some lacing. Slightly lighter aroma. It is mainly citrus hops with some malts in the background. A somewhat bitter taste, mainly from citrus hops with a decent malt body. A fine pale ale.

Appearance: Pours a very clear copper orange color with a huge white head, and lots of yummy little bubbles rising to the surface/ The head is billowy white, and has amazing resiliency and staying power, dwindling only slightly leaving beautiful lacing around the glass.

Smell: Smells quite hoppy which is surprising for a beer listed at 37 IBUs. Hints of pineapple and pine are the most prevalent. Some citrus notes permeate through as well.

Taste: Very well rounded. The nose betrayed way more hops than the taste conveyed. The malts balance the hops out nicely in this beer. Caramel, bready malts highlight here, where the hops are much more muted. Even the end is not bitter. I'm surprised.

Mouthfeel: Crisp at the beginning, but sticky near the end. This one coats the tongue, but not the point where it's overbearing or annoying.

Drinkability: With a growler, there's no home bartender to ask how strong this beauty is, but if I had to guess, I'd peg it somewhere around 5-6% with the malt roundness and hop character. This is definitely a good beer, and is probably one of their stronger pale ales in my eyes.

Pours a clear amber color with a half inch of off-white head. Decent retention and fine bits of lacing.

Nice hop aroma. Some citrus and pine, subtle but delicious.

Taste is good. Nice and hoppy up front with some citrus and pine. As with all beers at Free State, it has plenty of malt profile as well. Well balanced, slightly bitter, and a nice bready/nutty malt finish. A great session for sure and much better than the Copperhead Pale Ale.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with perfect carbonation.

Drinkability is high. Great flavors and low alcohol make this a pleasant session and it's fairly well crafted.

This is a neat beer in that it's darker than most pale ales, yet certainly tastes and smells like a pale ale. It's very crisp and refreshing, with a nice mouthfeel and clean finish. The balance to the hops, and I'm assuming the reason for the darker color, is the sweet maltiness -- a bit like a brown ale, but not overly sweet by any means. It doesn't have the bite like the Copperhead, but it's still a very enjoyable pale ale and one I'll be having each time I find it offered.