Boulder Beer Company Hoopla Pale Ale

**Aroma:** “Floral hops aroma meets medium sweet malt with biscuit notes verging on caramel. Light esters of pear or peach and very subdued citrus notes. Mild floral hops, with a fair amount of peach. Musty yeast aromatics, low orange peel hops, lovely honey-bread crust malt, low but noticeable.” **Flavor:** “Full bodied with a sweeter malt finish and hops bitterness to match the body. Hops are mostly piney and resinous with a touch of lemon. Moderate hops flavor—peach, pear, and some cherry, with a proper bitter finish. Initial flavor is much more simple than aromatics suggest—a good surprise. Lovely.” **Overall:** “Well crafted, balanced pale ale. Hops flavor lingers into aftertaste with juicy citrus notes and fresh pine boughs. Right down the center of the style, an archetypal example. Carb makes the hops pop, and then the bitterness lingers. Great West Coast hops character. Nicely balanced beer. Stylewise it may be a bit bitter overall, but the malt complexity backs it up well.”

__Aroma:__ “Highly aromatic passion-fruit richness. Plenty sweet and tart in the way only passion fruit can give. Lightly sweet background malt is somewhat hard to find, as are any hops. Fruit esters (melon, berry) blend into the background giving center stage to the passion fruit.” __Flavor:__ “First impression is the taste of fresh passion fruit. Flavors of mango, papaya, lemon, lemongrass follow. Good underlying base beer with a subtle hops bitterness and supportive bready malt. Highly carb’d with intense fruitiness that dances on your tongue. A lingering not-quite syrupy mouthfeel and nice lingering passion fruit in the aftertaste.” __Overall:__ “Excellent aroma and a nice drinkable tropical-fruit beer that would be refreshing for sunny summer or spring days. It’s very focused on the fruit. Some may find the syrupy richness a bit much, but this beer is otherwise very drinkable and enjoyable.”

**Aroma:** “Light grapefruit, lemon, and floral notes with a slight grainy sweetness behind hops aroma. A little restrained for style, but still pleasant. Light sweet malt notes with a touch of biscuit malt. Mostly clean with low esters and just a hint of sulfur.” **Flavor:** “Nice up-front hops, balanced wonderfully with a soft malt character. Citrus rind dominates hops flavors with some floral notes. A slight juiciness may be related to the slight caramel note from the malt. Restrained yeast notes provide a subtle fruitiness that works well. Light and carbonic—very drinkable. Definitely hops forward but not out of balance, with a slight lingering bitterness.” **Overall:** “This is your dad’s pale ale—a pretty classic-style pale ale that’s rounded out with no intense sharp edges that hits straight down the middle. All ingredients play well together, but nothing really sticks out. A clean, quaffable pale ale with just a touch of sweetness in mid-palate and a bit mild on the hops for a modern APA.”