Ankle-Buster Ale
Pelican Brewing Company

 

 

 

Pours two fingers of foamy head on a clear medium straw colored body.
The aroma is floral with some lemon grove.
The taste is well balanced, lemon zest, honey and grapefruit.
The texture is crisp with moderate carbonation.
It's drinkable and delicious.

 

 

 

Poured from 22oz bomber into a tulip.

Appearance: rich golden hue with a tiny, tiny touch of haze to the body. There's a nice effervescence and a thick finger of creamy ivory foam. Attractive.

Smell: sweet, malty aroma with a little bit of pear character and a tiny whiff of farmhouse funk. Perhaps not the most complex thing out there, but a light, fruity aroma is something I like in the style.

Taste: light, sweet malt flavor just as in the aroma, although here there is also a little bit of a toasty, bready contribution. I think it is a very good example of the style, especially for an American-made beer.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a good level of carbonation and an appropriate level of creaminess. I like it.

Overall: this beer definitely impresses me. I like the fruity aroma combined with a little bit more malty, toasty flavor. It's also mild enough to be quite drinkable. I'd definitely have this again.

A - pale coppery yellow, very clear with a good 1 inch of bright white head

S - Lemon, papaya, banana with a slight spiciness

T - light with bright lemon and slight floral taste. Slightly sweet with a hoppy aftertaste, also found there to be a bit of Brett on the finish

M - light crisp and bubbly would like to see it a bit dryer

O - a great light, refreshing beer with a nice fruity and floral Belgian characteristics

 

Hated 22oz bottle poured into 10oz goblet. Poured a clean, clear copper color, a bit on the dark side for a "Pale" ale, with a half-inch of light khaki colored head that quickly dissipated down to a cap, then a ring. There was no lacing.

The aroma was good, some nice yeasty spice over a solid bed of malt. The scent was a bit on the sweet side and rather Tripelish. The taste was a nice step up from the scent, while fuller and better defined, the beer wasn't as sweet and had a better balance of the Tripel-like aspects.

The body was nice and smooth, although a bit thinner than I would have liked. Drinkability was good, my bottle was gone too quickly. Overall, a nice brew that's certainly worth trying if you see it, but probably not worth any effort to find.

 

 

 

Courtesy of Gkunkle.

Appearance: Slight chill haze on a bright orange color. Head is white, bubbly, and retains at a decent size for the duration. Wisps of lacing.

Smell: Clove and banana with a big emphasis on banana. A touch of peppery spiciness. Lightly floral. Malts are pale. A touch of roasted character in the back. The yeast strain really kicks. Bubblegum and rose petals. Some sweetness, almost like candy.

Taste: A dialed back version of the nose. Belgian yeast is up front and hits harder to clove, but leaves plenty of ripe banana. Malts are mildly sweet and add a nice compliment to the powdery yeast. Bubblegum sweetness and touches of granny smith apple. A touch of English malt? Pale malts.

Mouthfeel: Bubbly and almost light. Body manages to pull in to medium, but barely. Drinks crisp and has a lingering dryness.

Overall: A solid take on the style. Deftly balances the huge flavors of the yeast strain and manages to make it work as a pale ale. Not groundbreaking, but not bad by any means.

Reviewing from notes taken a few months ago. Pouts a mostly transparent light orange color. Head is composed of large rocky bubbles. Retention is average, the head slowly recedes to a ring in my glass. Smell is generally floral, I also get a touch of peppe and clove. The taste inured these notes, but I get a bit of citrus added against the background of pale malts. Mouthfeel is average, with ticklish carbonation. Overall I was not terribly impressed with this beer, not a favorite of mine in Pelican's lineup.

 

Pours a bright and clear orange color with a very nice white head.

Aromas are nice, very yeasty. Bubblegum, oranges, lemon, cloves, and light pepper.

Tastes is more mellow than the big nose suggests. Still nice though, spicy yeast, some bubblegum, lemons, and light cream. Finish is dry, with faint citrus bitterness.

Mouthfeel is good, full smooth, and nicely carbonated.

Overall, a nice take on the Belgian Pale Style. Worth trying.

Poured from the 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Body is a pretty copper color topped by a finger of creamy white head that gradually recedes to a thin ring. Aroma of bubble gum and candy sugar from the yeast, a light fruity character, and a somewhat unpleasant undertone of phenols that remind me an awful lot of cider vinegar.
Palate is a nice mix of mildly sweet pale malt balanced by a good bit of tang from the Belgian yeast. Lightly fruity notes from the hops come through mid-palate, followed by a bit of a phenolic character on the finish.
Body is full and a bit creamy, which carries the flavor nicely. I think the base beer is good, but perhaps the yeast got a little carried away and contributed some not-so-clean notes.

Amber-gold with a slight haze, thin ring of retention, hints of lace.

The phenolic spicing is upfront in the aroma, a bit of papaya and hints of earth & herbs.

There's some depth the flavour, but while it's interesting, it just doesn't really work for me. The earth & phenols take away from the fruity esters and biscuity malt.

The mouth feel abides by the Belgian tradition of being crisp and digestible.

It's a lighter brew with some decent amount of flavour... I'm just not overly fond of the flavour myself.