Black Sheep Ale

Why I tried this: I'm going to be honest with you here. I was pretty damn drunk. I don't even remember ordering this beer, so honestly couldn't tell you why I tried it. Maybe it was the sheep on the bottle that allured me. Your guess is as good as mine.

Smell: A bit of wheat maltiness, but overall very light on the smell. Doesn't really give away too much.

Taste: It's like half malty, half hoppy. The hops are fairly bitter, as a pale ale should be. But, the malt kind of cancels some of the bitterness out, and provides a mild sweetness. I detected a faint citrus in there, but then again I was drunk, so I'm not entirely sure...

Despite not remembering much from that point on in the night, I do remember that Black Sheep Ale was a decent English pale ale that was fairly drinkable and not overly hoppy. It had a bit of sweet flavors mixed in to keep things balanced, which is what I liked the most. If you're a pale ale fan, I'd recommend checking this one out once. It gets a quarter full glass award from me.

--Jeff

Anchor Liberty Pale Ale

Why I tried this: I was in the mood for something light, but most importantly I was really just going down my list and trying to knock beers out of the way. I found the Anchor Liberty Pale Ale, and it sounded good, so I gave it a shot.

Smell: Had a floral hop scent that was combined with an unidentified spice. Not bad.

Taste: I got a citrus taste as well as some spice notes that were buried under moderately bitter hops. You could also taste the pale malts a bit. The hops and the bitterness were well balanced, and the beer itself was very crisp, which I enjoyed.

Overall, I'd probably award the Anchor Liberty Pale Ale a quarter full glass. It was a fairly good beer, with its strong points being its balance of flavors and hops, while still providing a crisp drinking experience. It wasn't a great beer that I'd get most of the time I go out, but I'd likely get it every once in a while.

--Jeff

Boulder Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped

Why I tried this: I'm going to be completely honest here. I was really drunk, and don't know how I got this beer. Damn you World of Beer, damn you.

Smell: Had a light floral hop scent with a strong sense of citrus. Pretty pleasing.

Taste: It starts off with a bitter hop that is balanced out by a sweet lemon flavor. The hoppiness is medium bodied, and quite tolerable. The ale was smooth, drinkable, and highly refreshing.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 7.5. I have to admit, this is probably one of my more favorite pale ales. It was an easy to drink beer with great flavor. It smelled wonderful, and poured a nice looking white head. As the name suggests, this is a craft pale ale from Boulder, Colorado. Not bad. I'd recommend giving it a try.

--Jeff

Bell's Two Hearted IPA

Why I tried this: I was on an IPA binge this certain day, after coming off a Magic Hat #9. I'm generally not a huge IPA guy, as they always seem one dimensional and overly hoppy, but Magic Hat showed me otherwise. This baby was on draft and generally Bells makes a fairly quality product, so with one IPA down the gullet I braved this little number.

Smell: It has a nice herbal hop smell to it, balanced with a fruity scent that had some citrus notes to it akin to grapefruit. Definitely a strong nose on this one, and actually a huge head sitting at about 1.5 inches.

Taste: It's got a nice bitter hop taste to it up front, giving that nice herbal taste that you come to expect from an IPA. The citrus notes are nice and mild, nothing like a Belgian Wheat might have, so definitely a good addition there. The end is sealed off by a slight malt taste, not to strong, but present. A nice bitter American IPA to be sure.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this beer a 7.5: It's a very drinkable beer for sure, would go great on a nice spring or summer day, but not anything out of this world in my opinion. It's definitely worth a try though, especially if you can get it on tap. A bit of a side note however, make sure you let it warm up a few degrees first. If it comes out too cold it will mute all the flavor this beer has to offer.

--Scott

Dale's Pale Ale

Why I tried this: One of the bartenders let me try it one day but I didn't really remember what it tasted like.  I thought it was interesting it came in a can and I was in a pale ale mood so I decided to give it another go.

Smell: Aside from the scent of can I also picked up a hoppy citrusy scent pouring out of the opening of the can.

Taste: It was interesting drinking something that wasn't Coors Light or Bud Light out of a can.  The first sip kind of blew me away because of what you expect beer in a can like this to taste like.  There was a hoppy flavor with a little citrus and I couldn't really detect a good standout malt flavor.  The hop flavor wasn't really overpowering at all this beer had a good taste but was relatively mellow.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 6.5.  It was pretty good and amusing that it comes in a can and while it is refreshing thats about where the wow factor ends.  I might drink this beer again but none of the flavors really stuck out in this beer as much as I would want.  I'm all for a well rounded refreshing beer but I like something with a bit more flavor than this.

--Jon

Magic Hat #9

Why I tried this: I've had various Magic Hat beers before, mostly bottles that I've found at Publix. A buddy of mine, Scott, recommended the brand to me about a year ago. I've taken a liking to their beers since then. I had noticed that #9 was freshly rotated on tap during my last World of Beer visit, so I couldn't deny myself my first Magic Hat beer on draft.

Smell: Has a light citrus tone with a bit of hops following. Very well mixed, and pleasant. Could actually do with being a bit stronger, it would be quite nice. A bit of carbonation tickles the nose.

Taste: It starts out as a mild citrus flavor, which then fades into wheat. Then, the aftertaste of bitter hops fills out for the finish. The transition from a light and sweet flavor, to a robust wheat, to a bitter hop is very interesting, but the transition was very well done and nothing seemed out place or forced. I really enjoyed this on draft, much more than in a bottle.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give this a 8. I'm not usually a big fan of pale ales, but this beer really hit the spot. With a medium light body, and crisp, generally moderate taste, it was very drinkable. However, it doesn't sacrifice the flavor to do so, which is why I would definitely recommend this beer. Pale ale fans might find this not quite bitter enough, but I definitely enjoyed it.

--Jeff

I really liked the up front flavor of this beer but did not like the lingering after flavor very much.  7/10

--Jon

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