Provocative Whisper
Moonlight Brewing Company

this is very unique pale ale, sort of underselling it to just call it that, another lovely beer from these guys, who i wish i had better access to, its always understated and impressive, and this really stands out from the crowd, hoppy and bitter both, but interesting on the grain side too, very fresh, unique proportions, strong christmas tree character to the hops, not what i always think of with chinook and strata as the hops, but thats how they manifest in this, piney all the way, more chinook than strata for sure, some alpha acid in this, delicious and even memorable pale ale, which feels odd to even type. the pour is very pale, just yellow colored beer, bright and close to perfectly clear with racing carbonation and an inch plus of lasting airy white head, almost more pils than traditional pale in terms of appearance, super lively which i love in this style. enticing aroma of cut spruce good gin, light lemony astringency, and interesting pale barley malt that hits somewhat european to me, like it could just as well be in a low alcohol czech pale lager, which is a neat foundation for this, especially after how light it pours, an unexpected element. hop bitterness is apparent, freshness too, just a little something from the ferment here. flavor is uniquely balanced, the grain is a cool feature, dry cereal character, light body, but maybe floor malted or something, i like what it brings, again almost lager-like. the hops have a tea-like herbal bite before the evergreen comes on, even kind of sappy and candied its so fresh, bitter earlier than many, and some light tang right on the swallow that i actually dont mind. pleasantly light bodied and jovial feeling to drink, a good year round pint type pale ale that feels somewhat special, very original and intentional anyway, not the usual fruity strata profile to me really at all, which is a nice change of pace for a hop thats showing up in everything all of a sudden, a little green jelly bean citrus at the very end, real brisk and dry. unlike others, this is way cool!

 

 

On cask at brewery. Golden color, cask style may contributed to a muted aroma. Nice hops very soft finish.

 

 

On cask at the source. sticky and resin but the cask is incredibly smooth.

This one isn’t exactly a Mark Sanchez ‘butt fumble.’ And yeah… not even Ernest Byner messing up either. But it’s just not speaking to me. It has to be the Strata. Its got to be the Strata. This beer is “Meh” all over the place like a kiss on the cheek after a 3rd date. I’ll take it because she’s a hottie, but I’m a bit displeased, ya feel me?