Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale

Brewed by Sweetwater Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Better on tap than from bottle. Drinkable but generally forgettable. Light grassy hops, some underlying grain, nothing too complicated going on here, but still drinkable and refreshing. Clean finish. Not a bad beer to drink all day long on a hot day.

12oz bottle pours a totally clear, transparent, orange amber with a frothy, slightly creamy white head. I notice the malts in the aroma more than anything, crackers, biscuit, a little caramel all with oranges and a little light grapefruit. Flavor is very well balanced, lemons, oranges, sweet dough, crackers, nice sweet malts. Finish is dry with some lasting bitterness.

(draught) pale gold with almost no head. Mild hops aroma. Flavor is mild citrus hops, some malt. A bit light for an APA.

I’ve had a number of 420’s ;) This beer tastes so much better to me on tap. In bottle it tastes like it has boat loads of artificial preservatives. However, last night on tap at Mafi’s for St Patty’s day these were delicious. Mellow crisp hops with a decent malt backbone. Great example of an APA.

2 bouteilles de 12 oz partagées lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez moi. Apparence: Légère odeur de céréales. Apparence: La couleur est dorée-orangée avec une faible densité de bulle. Saveur: Léger goût de caramel avec une pointe d’houblons. Courte durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement fruité. (Rating #2927)

Sweetwater Brewing Company--420 Extra Pale Ale--2006 12 oz. Bottle. 5.80% ABV--39 IBU’s. (4.5 / 5.0) Pale Ale--Beer of the Month Club Selection February, 2006. Mild lace head. Wispy bright thick gold color. Rich floral hop front. Rich caramel biscuit mild citrus grapefruit chewy doughy body. Creamy crisp malty hop spice citrus balanced smooth tangy end. Sampled 3/22/2006.

My Bottom Line:
Lightly caramelized cereals thrive in an oily mouthfeel, balanced out by earthy hop flavors and their leafy bitterness.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A dwindling ring of foam sits atop the clear amber.
-This is sweeter and more malt-driven than I expected.
-This is very drinkable, which was the objective I’m sure, yet I can’t say I feel enamoured by the chosen grain bill, its dextrins and the detached bubbles.
-The residual sugars also have honeyed angles.

Bottle.

Sampled on draft at Churchill’s in Savannah. Pours a clear dark golden coppery orange amber colt with golden orange hues when held to a light source and a 1.5 finger frothy white head with very good retention, only slowly fading into a lasting cap. Large rings of soapy lacing are left behind. Slightly earthy light hop aroma with hints of pine needleand very faint citrus fruit. There’s also some fain caramel malt but otherwise the nose on this beer is extremely bland and boring. Surprising reall. Clean, crisp medium body that is more hop forward than the nose leads on to. Well balanced with a decent amount of dry earthy pine hops that linger throughout over the slight tropical/citrus fruit notes and a sweet caramel/biscuit malt backbone into a dry finish.