Friday, July 24, 2009

Nøgne Ø Pale Ale

Another offering from Nøgne Ø, this time the Pale Ale, 6% abv from Grimstad, Norway.

After trying the brown ale, I was pretty excited to see what else Nøgne Ø has available. Unfortunately, this is the only other style I can get around here at the moment, which is probably a good thing, since this 500ml bottle is $5.50.

The glass pours a hazy reddish brown with a nice off-white head that fades to a thin coating.

The nose is pretty floral, with some grassiness and malt sweetness peeking through.

The hops are right up front in the taste, but there's a surprising balance of malt. You kind of expect this to assault your palate, but it immediately eases up with some nice breadiness. The Northern Brewer hops add some earthiness, while the Centennial hits you with some citrus tartness. It finishes fairly crisp, with some slight puckering grapefruit at the very end.

Tasty stuff, and the more you drink, the more subdued the bitterness becomes.
It's really an interesting variation of the American Pale Ale.

No comments:

Post a Comment