American Pale Ale

“Nothing Bad about it.”

I really enjoyed this APA and I reckon I could knock back a few equally as comfortably at an afternoon barbeque as on a night out. There was a decent balance of malt and fruity hops and a pronounced, lingering bitterness that I’m always keen on. I love a good ale and this offering from Bad Shepherd is no exception.

Would I buy it again?
Definitely, I’ll keep my eye out for this one and look forward to drinking it again.

‘Bittersweet.’

First sip thoughts; ‘Wow, that’s nice and fruity’.

Second sip; ‘A bit fruity but quite bitter’.

Third sip; ‘Super bitter’.

Because ManSpace is known for its ground breaking hard hitting journalism I decided to do an experiment where I varied the amount of time between sips.

I came to the conclusion that it tasted fruitier if I allowed the lingering bitterness to leave my mouth.

Now that’s investigative journalism.

Would I buy it again?
I probably wouldn’t buy a six pack but I would be more than happy to have a bottle while I am tucking into burger and fries.

“Almost a knockout.”

This is right up my alley in terms of style and tasting notes so I was pretty keen to wrap my lips around it. The dark hue was fairly surprising for a pale ale and was more reminiscent of the ambers I’d tried in the past; however the hoppy scent was a gentle reminder that it was in fact my style of brew.

The initial hit of flavour was bold and in your face, which I love, although there was a little to be desired in terms of an aftertaste. That there is my only criticism of this deliciously easy to drink American pale ale though.

Would I buy it again?
Yep, no doubt about it. It’s a sessionable brew perfect for any occasion.

“Yeah... ok... I see what you’ve done there.”

I was actually quite anxious heading into this review. The reason? I hate pale ale. So when I found out the first beer I’d be reviewing was an American pale ale, well, you can understand my hesitation (and I dislike some Americans even more than pale ales, so that did not bode well for me).

Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it. Don’t get me wrong: I didn’t love it, but I’ve had a lot worse.

The beer was not at all overpowering and there really was no lingering aftertaste. The flavour of passionfruit was quite strong, and over time that became quite bitter. Add to that a thicker-than-many viscosity and it may be difficult to drink quickly, in copious amounts.

Would I buy it again?
That depends. On a 40ºC day in a beer garden? Probably.