American Pale Ale

I haven't had many of Schmatlz's beers. I remember liking the Messiah Bold even if it wasn't spectacular, so I was excited to try this Coney Island Sword Swallower. The name isn't very descriptive so I wasn't real sure what to expect from this beer. In the smaller print it says this is a "Steel Hop Lager" which still isn't a great description. Looking a little harder I notice the line "Dry Hopped IPA" ...great. Maybe it won't taste like a mouthful of hops... the label also plays up the malts used in this beer so it's probably more balanced than you'd thing.

Well... the name pretty much says it all. Boulder Beer Company's Hazed & Infused is an APA that is loaded with hops, hops and more hops. Oh, and it's also dry hopped... So if you like hops, this is the beer beer for you. If you prefer the flavor of malts or yeast, well you might want to pass this one up. Caveats aside, this beer isn't all bad. For a strongly hopped beer there is a fair bit of complexity. Underneath all the hops you can taste toasted malt, a little citrus and just a hint of caramel. Even though the hops are pretty overbearing the beer isn't too bitter. I wouldn't call this beer balanced, but the hidden malt component does take a bit of edge off of the hops. In the end, this beer is really just a one trick pony. If you are easily entertained by beers full of hops, hops and more hops then this beer is for you. I can think of about 100 other beers I'd rather drink.

The label of the Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale has a friendly looking down on it just above a small line of text that reads "Still Doggone Good." Doggone good? I beg to differ. I enjoy beers that are balanced or showcase complimentary flavors, this Pale Ale doesn't do either of these. The New Dogtown is too hoppy which makes it taste dry and bitter. It smells like there is some citrus in this beer but you can barely tell through all of the bitterness. There are plenty of beers with strong flavors that I like but bitter, over hopped Pale Ales just aren't my preference. This beer isn't all bad but it is difficult for me to say much nice about it. The best part of this beer would have to be the few seconds after taking a drink when you are able pick up on the sweet flavors in here just before the bitter hops rush in and make everything taste a bit like dandelion. My advice would be to take a pass on this beer.

My goal this summer was to try and find a Pale Ale that I genuinely liked. So I've been trying more than a few pales to see if I can find one that will change my opinion about pale ales. Tonight I decided to have Schlafly's Dry Hopped American Pale Ale. This has been sitting in my fridge for a little while, it isn't often that I drink a pale ale so when I acquire one it tends to sit around for a while. First impressions were pleasant. This APA is hoppy up front, but that's to be expected with a pale. It wasn't too hoppy... but hoppy enough to overshadow the malt and finish a little bitter. This beer tastes a lot stronger than it actually is. At just under 6% it isn't a terribly light beer but it tastes more like it'd be closer to 8%. This beer is called Dry Hopped because Schlafly adds extra hops to the beer after it's brewed to kick up the flavor... and it works. The beer does taste a little dry, not as much as a Sierra Nevada (which I think is too dry) but when that dryness combines with the bitter hops in your mouth it can be a bit much.