Tröegs Brewing Company Pale Ale

**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.”

**Aroma:** “Bright citrus hop profile includes notes of lemon, orange, and tropical fruit with some floral notes and a bit of grain sweetness.” **Flavor:** “Strong fruity and tropical hop flavors—pineapple, star fruit, kiwi, lemon—is balanced with a grainy malt sweetness, but the balance is definitely weighted toward the hops. There is a floral element to it, but it’s more honey floral.” **Overall:** “A very juicy IPA with more tropical notes in the hops than others in the category. It’s crisp, clean, and well-balanced. The juiciness hides some of the bitterness, but it’s a very well-balanced beer.”

**Aroma:** “Hops are not assertive—what’s there smells floral, like springtime. Notes of red apple and grass with a touch of telephone pole resin. Moderate esters, mild hops, and light, toasty, biscuity malt notes.” **Flavor:** “Clean malt barely balanced with crisp hops bitterness. Clean fermentation produces light fruit esters and malt is bready and fairly complex for style. Hops are slightly piney and fruity (red apple again). Finishes fresh and inviting—pleasantly mild hops flavor and a clean bitter finish that leans a bit toward the British style.” **Overall:** “Enjoyable if somewhat malt-focused pale ale. Hops aroma could use a bump to bring it to the level of its contemporaries. Pretty well-balanced except for the odd apple ester. It could benefit from more hops, and specific American-style hops, to kick up a more inviting aroma. Very drinkable—I like it, but not as an APA.”