Acme California Pale Ale

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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355ml bottle. Pours a clear mid-gold, with almost no head. What is there froths away almost instantly, leaving no trace of its existence. It is a shame that the same cannot be said of the entirety of this beer. The aroma is strongly akin to the lager-soaked carpet of a disreputable bar - stale, sickly and alcoholic, with a distinct note of cardboard coming through as well. Hops are next to non-existent, providing only a faint grassy taste, which succumbs rapidly to stale, grainy cereal, and a sickly sweet finish. The body is far too watery and there is essentially no carbonation. It reminds me quite strongly of several popular Australian pale lagers - I’m thinking VB here - which is about the strongest insult I can summon up. All this, and I still have most of the bottle to go...

Pour amber with a diminishing white head. Malty aroma. The taste is also very malty and a little stale. Maybe the bottle is old. Body is a little too watery for me. I like the carbonation. Not a bad beer. Not worth the price though ($10/six pack).

Bottle. 12 fl. oz. Light amber color with whitye, frothy head. Soft, prickly texture. Malty caramel aroma. Similar flavor but with some fruity hops.

12 oz. bottle in a shaker. Hazy orange pour with minimal head. Mild citrus aroma. Very mild flavor. Easy to drink, but not much going on.

12 fl oz bottle from BOTW (Rochester), served cool in a tulip glass. 25 FE11.

App.: Clear deep amber with a fair white froth. Aroma: Grains and light malts, minerals, a little vague fruitiness, a thick cereal note, lacks hops... Palate: Medium body, nice effervescence. Flav.: Lots of grain/cereal, boiled cereals, a little citrus, vague fruitiness, minerals, some orange peel, meh...; dry with a little bitterness and a vague Band-Aid and light malt finish.

Disappointing.

Poured from a bottle into a globe glass. I’m sure a lot of people on here won’t like this beer - in their opinion it’s too normal, too few IBUs, too easy to drink, too little ABV for most beer nerds’ "extreme" taste. However, I like this beer. I will admit it’s pretty unremarkable, but when you want the craft beer equivalent of a "light" beer this is a perfect example. Easy to drink, tastes good, has flavor but doesn’t overwhelm you.

UPDATED: FEB 4, 2012 Rather watered down citrus hops, really not as much flavor as a good APA has, although it wasn’t nasty.

12 oz bottle This beer poured cloudy, golden, with a thin white head. Nose was bready toasty malts with fruity hops. Taste was dominated by the bready malts, with earthiness to the hops.

Poured pale yellow with a sparse head.Starts light, but has a nice finish. You want more. Somewhat thirst quenching, bit needs some more hops.

Sampled at the Black Hills Beer Fest. This was definitely a decent brew. I had never heard of North Coast Brewing company but they have some good beers and this is no exception.