Beer # 179 - Hop Pursuit, Full Sail Brewing, Hood River, Oregon

Hop pursuit - what a good idea! I spend most of my beer drinking in the pursuit of hops, so this is a natural one to try! It is Full Sail's Extra Pale Ale offering -
Let's pour!
It pours a golden hazy hue with a tight head.

The aroma is crisp hop, earthy with honey notes - slight coriander and orange peel are evident, as well.

The full body is crisp with hop arriving early and developing fast to dominate the palate. Aggressive bitterness jumps all over the tongue. It is refreshing and lively, finishing with citrus and spice.

The aftertaste let's the bitter citrus linger on the tongue with mild spiciness on the palate. Like spicy food, you want to take a moment between enjoying - but you also can't help continuing to enjoy! Not for the fein of heart or for those afraid of bitter beer face! An excellent beer! Not a session beer by any means, but it sure tastes good while listening to the baseball game on the radio - I won't lie!
Cheers!

Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood New York

This will be my last post for a bit - I am going out in the field once again....Heading north to brew! This will be my second time - last year I made a porter. The jury's out as of yet as to which style will be this years adventure, but I'm thinking something hopped up. We'll see....

Southern Tier has continued to impress me with their line of beers. Unfortunately, they are few and far between on the West Coast here. I did find a few at Bottleworks in Seattle though, so that encourages me that we are not cut-off from their brews. Todays sample is a minimalistic beer, let's try it out....

It pours a golden amber with a big head.

The aroma is big hop and yeast. It is very fresh and retains a super light white pepper fragrance.

It has a medium body - the bitterness builds in the body then finishes very bitter. Yeast and slight white pepper are noticeable in the finish as well. It is a flavorful fresh brew that is quite drinkable - especially if you are into the hoppy ones!

The aftertaste is mostly bitterness that lingers with a nice earthy tone.

At 10% this is a big beer. I definitely recommend it - it has regular availability in 22 oz bottles.

Cheers!