5 Seasons Sledgehammer West Coast Ale

Brewed by 5 Seasons Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Draft at the pub: Poured clear orange with a big fluffy beige head. Big citrus hop aroma. Flavor is hops: earthy and citrusy. Nice lacing. This is a damn good beer.

Wow, this one has a nose that just jumps right out of the glass. Fresh hoppy citrus nose, with hints of caramel maltiness. Not exactly big enough to be called a west-coast style, but I don’t want to get caught up in all the coast style bickerings, cause where I live we are above all that. This is still a really good, solid pale, with a bold decoration of hoppiness thoughout, and a solid well-structured malt backbone. Enjoyable.

My Bottom Line:
Earthy and citrusy hops bulge out of the well-fed caramel maltiness before a leafy hop bitterness efficiently seals this silky Pale Ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A slice of foam decorates the clear bronzed russet.
-The citrusy fruitiness even visits cranberry territory.
-Wooden notes also emerge from the hoppy nose.
-The overall result is balanced and quite drinkable.
-This is perhaps not boldly hoppy enough to be advertised as "West Coast" style.

On tap at the brewpub.

Draft. Pours a dark amber. Aroma of piney hops. Flavor was much the same. Lightly bitter finish. I would have preferred a bit more hop bite to this beer. Was a bit underwhelmed with this one.

On tap; color was reddish for the style, but the lighting was not all that great. Aroma was not all that hoppy; mostly floral hops. Not much like a west coast IPA in the aroma, nor in the taste. Decently balanced, but I found it underhopped. Would have liked citrus notes to be more forthright. All in all, I am not sure that this compares at all to a real west coast version of the style.

On tap at the restaurant. Classic APA hoppiness throughout. I’m guessing here (because I don’t really know what I’m talking about), but what I interpret to be Kent-Goldings on the nose (with easily identifiable C-hops too). The aroma is somewhat flowery, as is the taste. Low malt profile, like an ESB, but with the hop profile of an APA with citrusy as opposed to earthy qualities. Clear, fizzy head of taupe bubbles over a burnt copper beer.

I also didn’t write any tasting notes for this brew. Only have my scores. Didn’t fair too bad.

Date: 03/31/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

opaque dark amber, thin head, nice lace, big citrus hop aroma with a touch of sweetness, body is a bit thin at first but evens out, rich hop flavor, lots of bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 04/20/2006
Score: iii to ii+

picking up some toasted malt in the flavor, hop flavor is much more earthy than citrus this year, mostly dry with only a hint of carmel sweetness, still an ipa but no longer a west coast style ipa, nice bitterness

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Draught at the brewpub. Pours amber with a small white head. Aroma is hoppy with noticeable malt, somewhat caramelly. Flavor is equal parts clean citrus hops and sufficiently robust supporting caramel malt, with a mixture of spicy and syrupy character. Quite well balanced; recommended.

Amber colored with a small white head. Lots of hops in the nose. Love the Cascade hops. Very citrusy. More a malt flavor than I expected, but still very hoppy.

Beautiful reddish-brown with a thin but rich and persistent head. Aroma is hoppy. The strongly but not overwhelmingly hoppy flavor has caramel undertones. Smooth and lively, not too bitter.