Poured from a bomber into a pint glass. Starting at around 40 degrees, the entire bomber lasted around 30 minutes.
A clear, copper colored beer with only a trace of a head. Some thin pacing settles on the top of the beer, but not too much remains in the glass. The second and third pours (after the beer set out to a bit) did result in a fuller, more bubbly (but short lived) head.
Although the exact beer market is becoming saturated with stronger, hoppier, and more extremely hopped beers, the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale does a nice job of balancing the brighter, fragrant Cascade hop aromas with a bready and caramel malt that both balances and compliments.
This pale ale is one of the prime examples of the Cascade hop, an incredibly popular Noble hop that is used for both aroma, flavor and bittering. The notes of pine, grapefruit, and floral note come through in both the aroma and flavor. The malts are bready and give a slight sweetness to help balance the moderate bitterness. After warming up, some more of the caramel malt sweetness and more of the floral notes from the hops began to come out. Cold, this is a pretty nice and easy drinking pale ale - warm, it actually shows off some of the depth of flavor and subtlety that you can't find in your equally available Bud or Coors. The finish is medium long, with a lot of the pine and floral notes coming out.
A nice medium full body with enough carbonation to keep the beer easily drinkable and refreshing, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is both readily available across the country and a pretty decent beer in and of itself. Nothing shocking, but a great Pale Ale in a pinch
