Zea Category 5 American Pale Ale
Zea Rotisserie & Bar

On tap at Zea's. Pours light amber color with a tinge of orange. Very thin head, no lace. Aroma is mostly sweet bready malt, toast. Taste is similar, toasted bread, just a touch of odd floral bitterness at the end, yeasty finish. Mouthfeel is medium, finish not too dry. Overall a very average brew with little hop presence. Tastes more like a toasted lager than an American pale ale.

Zea Category 5 American Pale Ale has a thin, quickly-dying, egg shell head, no lacing, and a clear, amber appearance, with some bubbles and noticeable tiny sediment, throughout. Aroma is of sweet bread, caramel candy, funky yeast, and cream cheese cake icing. Flavor is the same, with low-to-moderate hop bitterness at the end. Mouthfeel is medium, and Zea Category 5 finishes semi-wet and easy drinking. More of a cream ale than a pale ale, for sure.

RJT

 

 

Zea's Category 5 Pale Ale

Appearance: orange amber, very small head, and some good lacing.

Smell: aromatic apples, grain, and light hops.

Taste: light grain, nice red apple, and a floralness.

Mouthfeel: light and rich.

Overall:
This is a mighty nice pale ale. It tastes very similar to the Heiner Brau kolsch.

A: Pours a medium orange amber with a finger of whitish head that fades to a nice splotchy lacing.

S: Strong lemon and citrus, some grass and earth, a bit of pine.

T: Better than expected with mild bitter hops, some pine and resin. Citrus fruits from the aroma with some orange and grapefruit.

M: Medium bodied with mild carbonation and a nice drinkability. Not great, but definitely easy to drink and somewhat refreshing

O: I didn't expect much, so maybe that's why I thought this was as good as I did. Definitely worth a try for all those in the Louisiana area.

 

 

Looks line an average pale ale to me, a deep gold with a pencil thin white head.

The aroma is strong with caramel malts but not too hoppy. Could use a little hops.

The flavor has a better hop profile and much more balance. The caramel malt is still strong but there's enough hop flavor to call this a solid pale ale.

My favorite Zea's beer yet.

12oz bottle courtesy of injured reserve into a Duvel tulip.

A: Clear pale orange body with two fingers of fine white foam; solid retention and beautiful lacing. Perfectly gorgeous APA.

S: Citrus (lime and orange) hops and grainy, thin maltiness. Not really bad, but not even up to average.

T: Thin and sharp, with weirdly fruity sweetness leading to some biscuity malt and a sticky, almost sour finish. Not much real hops bitterness, and nothing really goes together well. Plenty of flavor, but nothing all that enjoyable.

M: Light bodied with sharp, slow-developing carbonation. Ok.

O: I can't really figure this one out. It almost tastes like it has added fruit juice or something, but I can't be sure. Whatever it is, I neither like nor dislike this beer; it's ok.

Cheers!

Muddy orange in color, with a finger of puffy light tan head. Laces slightly.

Slight malts, with a hint of lemon zest and yeast, and a bit more citrus.

Any malts or bitterness get lost in the muddled mash-up of citrus and yeastiness.

Crisp. Nicely carbonated. Light in body. Not bad, but nothing fantastic about it.

Not real hard to drink, but it just doesn't do the style much justice.

It's possible I could have an old bottle...I guess I may have to go to Zea's and try it and hope it's always fresh there.

Pours a very clear light golden color with a fizzy white head that dissipates fairly quickly to a sheen and a smattering of lacing. This is the clearest Heiner Brau beer I have seen.

Smell is quite malty for a pale ale. Blonde might be a better category for it. Leans heavily on sweet light base malts and a bit of unmalted wheat graininess. I dont get any hops on the nose.

Taste has a bit of hoppy bitterness, but it is still well below APA standards. Malts taste clean and light, with a touch of toastiness and corn syrupy sweetness. This is not a bad beer, and I surely wont have any trouble finishing a bottle, but it fits better as a blonde ale than a pale.

Pours a light amber color with about a half finger of white head and moderate lacing.

Aroma of light hops and some citrus notes.

Taste again reveals very faint hops and some orange along with notes of caramel and roasted malt. Pretty refreshing with only a slight bitterness.

Medium body and medium carbonation. As others have mentioned, this feels like a light SNPA. Of course its not like SNPA is so overbearing that you would need a light version of it, but if the wife or whoever ever makes you eat at Zea, this is a pretty solid offering they have and I wouldn't mind drinking this again.

Served in a pint tumbler, this ale had a thin head and thin color - light straw amber. But it did have nice lacing. Unfortunately it was almost odorless, except for smelling something like creek water.

The taste was just as disappointing for a hop lover, hop flavor was faint at best. They claim to make it with Cascade hops. If so they mostly waved them over the brew pot. That leaves the brew too sweet. The malt profile is not toasted, faintly biscuity, which exposes a brew full of off flavors. The creek water reappears, the bittering hops kick in (faintly), and the finish, rather than being clean is vaguely metalic and skunky, finally fading to just metalically bitter.

The carbonation is enjoyable, the body is small and weak. Drinkability? NO! I left 1/3 of the pint unable to finish it. Not recommended!

Thanks to jcwattsrugger for this!

Pours amber gold witn a thin head that soon disappears, leaving a thin ring.

The smell is of strong caramel - faint hops if any.

The taste is of caramel with a slight floral/earthy (citric?) hop presence in the back. Caramelly, nutty and grainy, the malt dominates the hops. But, even as a malty pale ale, the caramel dominates too much. It's a bit musty as it progresses. Imbalanced.

It is light-to-medium bodied with mild to medium carbonation. Pretty smooth.

Not a good example of an APA, but not a bad beer. Reminds me more of a decent faux O-fest (an autumn ale labelled as an O-fest). (But, even then - just middle-of-the road-ish).

Poured from a bottle into a glass

A - a light amber color with a white head that dissappear quickly

S - a hops and citrus medley

T - the citrus and hoppy flavors bend almost perfectly

M - medium bodied brew that sits on the tongue nicely

D - very good drinkability, only wished this was sold in a six pack at local beer store

This is a very good beer brewed by the Heiner Brau Brewery for Zea's restaurants since Zea's ceased its microbrew operations after Hurricane Katrina.

I poured a bottle of this into a pint glass. The appearance was typical of APAs--copper colored; orangish. The head was very thin & beige. It smelled of hops, but there was also a pronounced malt and flowery smell to it. It tasted great, citrusy and moderately bitter. Mouthfeel was bitter but smooth and not very acidic. This has a bit of an aftertaste that's typical of APAs, and is overall a very drinkable APA. It compares favorably to Sierra Nevada, but it's not quite as flavorful.

A: Light amber with a tiny offwhite head

S: Western style hops, probably cascade with some orange and citrus scents

T: The floral/citrus hops come right at you but are mellowed out by the roasted malts and finishes hoppy

M: Good weight with a healthy amount of carbonation infusing some liveliness... refreshing indeed

This poured with a decent medium-tan head with good retention. The color was a medium-amber with NE-quality clarity. The nose had a mild hop presence. The mouthfeel was medium with a lightly hoppy flavor on the tongue. The finish had a grainy texture with a lingering bitterness. A decent enough beer at a hotel lounge.

My server, Renee, gave me the low-down: Zea is a chain that has its own house-brand line of beers. Good to know.

From a Zea sampler pack.
Clear golden orange color.
Good hoppy cascade taste. I'm also maybe getting a german hop taste. Anyway, it is very well balanced, with a crisp bitterness finishing it off. Medium carbonation and great drinkability make this a solid pale ale. It is very similar to
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but it's great to have a local pale ale that I am glad to enjoy.