Review of Summit Extra Pale Ale ep 009

Posted on March 12, 2010 by mike

Summit Extra Pale Ale has always been a favorite of mine. I wouldn’t consider myself a hop head or a guy who likes and over abundance of hops, but I do enjoy hop flavor. I believe this beer does a great job of balancing hop character with sweet caramel tastes. The hop character and aroma definitely overcome the caramel, especially as the beer warms. With that said, I think this beer is a beer that will always be a go to beer for me.

Packaging

I don’t think the packaging is all that great. The colors and design are good, but it really reminds me of their Octoberfest packaging. On top of that, I really associate this beer with summer and the fall colors just don’t make sense to me. However, I can see why they took this direction, it definitely compliments the beer, but it doesn’t pull me in for this spring season.

Appearance

Copper and amber, I can’t really give it one more than the other. The head was bigger than expected, usually with a Pale Ale you have a little bit less carbonation so head usually isn’t to big. However, my beer had 2 fingers of head and it stuck around for a little bit. I really like that malty/foamy head.

Smell

Hops. I don’t know what to really say other than that. They are not over whelming or anything, its just that is all I smell.

Taste

Hoppy bitter. I can taste a hint of caramel from the crystal malts, but it is just bitter. That bitterness sticks to the middle of my tongue and just won’t go away.

Mouthfeel

Its very middle of the road. One thing to note is that when this beer warms up and hits my tongue it seems to immediately foam up again in my mouth. Sometimes it tastes like a mouthful of head going down my throat. This is probably the only part of this beer I don’t like. I suppose I’ll just have to drink faster.

Dinkability

Even at over 5% ABV, I love to make a night out of this beer. A 12 pack of this beer for $14 is totally better than a case of cheapo beer for $19. Plus I don’t piss all the time and get bloated. So, highly drinkable!

Overall

Completely worth your time if you like hops. It isn’t a big hop beer so you don’t have to be an IPA fan or anything to enjoy this beer. I think the hops overwhelm the sweetness of the beer, but it is just enough over the top to make it a great beer. Definitely recommend giving it a try.

How bout you?

Has anyone else tried this brew? What do you think?

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