Pale Ale

From Abington-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England Old Speckled Hen is a 4.8% ABV English Pale Ale. This ale was first brewed in 1979 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG factory. King Green now owns this brand. This beer pours deeper copper color with a two-finger pillowy beige head that sticks to the glass. The aroma is malty with a touch of sweetness. The flavor is malty, creamy, and smooth with a bitter end. This beer has a slightly off-putting bitter finish. The aftertaste is malty and bitter. But it is not there for long. This beer has a light body feel to the mouth. I would say that Old Speckled Hen is a C-. I’ve had this before and this is not as good as the first time. It’s not something I would suggest having. This isn’t a terrible drinking beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

Overachiever is a Pale Ale from Wooden Robot Brewery in Charlotte, North Carolina. This 5.3% ABV beer is only sold in twelve-ounce six-packs at their Brewery. Overachiever has local Epiphany craft malts, Simcoe, Centennial, and Strata hops. Wooden Robot Brewery doesn’t really distribute their beer into the Charlotte area, so finding this or any of their beer is a bit difficult unless you go to the source, which Wooden Robot Brewery is a cool place to go. This Pale Ale pours light orange with barely a one finger head of fizzy clear bubbles. The aroma is bitter and fruity with sweetness. The flavor of Overachiever is tropical fruits, citrus, bitterness, sweetness, light pine notes, and it is smooth with a light body. Overachiever is light to almost a medium feel in the mouth. This has a smooth bitter fruit finish and a fruity and bitter aftertaste. Wooden Robot Brewery Overachiever Pale was good, and a B. It was more like a mild fruity IPA than a traditional Pale Ale. But that was good in my opinion, and I found this beer not to be overly hoppy and bitter. I’d recommend Overachiever Pale Ale. It has good fruit and bitter flavors. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

The Royal Bliss Brewing Co. in Denver, North Carolina is growing on me. I have had a few from them so far. This one is a Pale Ale called Carolina Girl. This beer is 5.5% ABV. This Pale Ale pours light orange with a one-finger white head. The head does stick around. The aroma is pineapple, citrus, and bitter notes. This beer smells like a tropical west-coast IPA. The flavor is orange, pineapple, bitterness, crip with a hoppy taste. This has a lighter mouthfeel as well as a dry finish. The aftertaste is crisp tropical bitter fruit. This Carolina Girl Pale Ale is good, B grade good. I like the crispness and the bitter tropical fruits that work well together. But this leans a bit towards IPA territory. That’s why is not an A-grade beer. But I still recommend Carolina Girl and any of the Royal Bliss Brewing Co. beer Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

I’m taking a break from reviewing Belgian beer for a while. So now I have The Penske File West Coast Pale Ale from Faction Brewing. This brewery is out in Alameda, California and this pale is 5.8%ABV. I’ve never had any Faction beer(s), so this is a first. This beer is dry-hopped Mosaic and Ekuanot. The make of the beer is a Seinfeld reference. This pale ale pours a yellow color with a two-finger billowing white head. The head slowly dissipates into decent lacing around the glass. The aroma is piney, bitter, dry, and hoppy. The flavor is piney, bitter, dry, hoppy, and light-bodied. The mouthfeel of this beer is light. This beer has a dry finish with some bitter pine notes. The aftertaste is dry bitter pine. The aftertaste does linger until the next sip. This beer is good, but the dry pine flavor doesn’t go together. I give The Penske File a C+. It’s almost a B- but not. I would have this again, I mean I don’t find this beer terrible. I kind of recommend this. But if you pass on it, you’re not missing out. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

This pale ale from Chicago, Illinois, is Lizard King Mosaic Pale Ale. This beer is 6% ABV from Pipeworks Brewing Co. This beer has Mosaic hops as it is part of the beer’s name. This pale ale pours a bright yellow. It has a one-finger quick white head. The aroma is tropical fruit and bitterness. The flavor is lemon at first, then light pineapple, then orange. It is bitter but smooth. This beer has a medium feeling in the mouth. Lizard King finishes with a pineapple orange fruit flavor that is a little bitter/hoppy. The aftertaste is bitter, with a tropical fruity flavor. This beer is tasty. I had another it was that good. This Pipeworks Brewing Co. Lizard King Mosaic Pale Ale is an A+. I highly recommend you drink this. This beer has delicious tropical notes with a nice balance of bitterness and hoppy flavors. It’s well brewed. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

This is Radical Son an American Pale Ale from New Anthem Beer Project in Wilmington, North Carolina. This beer is 5.5% and brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, and Simcoe hops. This pale ale pours yellow with a two-finger white head. That head is slow to dissipate. The aroma has a rye-like spice to it. I don’t think they are using rye here. There is a bitter aroma that is slightly grassy. The flavor is rye, bitter (grass/piney, and hoppy towards the back of the mouth. This pale ale has a medium feel to the mouth. Then this beer has a light rye bitter finish. Then you get an aftertaste of light grassy bitter notes, that do not stick around long. This beer is a little below average, getting a C-. I didn’t like the rye and grassy flavors together. I like them each on their own. I wouldn’t go for Racial Son, it was not great. But was it the worst? No, but it’s just not good. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Any beer from Maine Maine Beer Company is not easy to find. But if you keep your eyes peeled and you might see one somewhere. I saw this at my local fresh pasta shop, Pasta and Provisions. This beer is Mo Pale Ale, which comes in at 6%. ABV. This beer is made in Freeport, Maine. This pale ale uses Falconer’s Flight and Simcoe hops. This beer also uses American 2-Row, Carapils, Caramel 40L, and Red Wheat. This ale is brewed occasionally, according to The Maine Beer Company. This beer pours a deeper golden color with a two-finger white head. The beer’s aroma is oranges, orange peel, tangerines, and bitter. The flavor is hoppy, fruity with tangerine, oranges, orange peel, apricots, bitte notes, and dry. The mouthfeel is light/medium. Then this pale ale finishes with a dry bitter/hop note that is slightly fruity. Then you get an aftertaste that is fruity, dry, and bitter. This beer was good, just as the lady at the register said it was. I give Mo Pale Ale a B+. It was delicious. It was not too IPA like some craft pale ales sometimes can be. It has just enough fruity notes, with the right amount of bitt/hop notes. I highly recommend this Mo Pale Ale. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!