Big Hole Headstrong Pale Ale

Brewed by Madison River Brewing Company
Style: English Pale Ale
Belgrade, Montana USA

Bottle from LCBO. Pours a clear copper with a huge head. Aroma is malty and earthy with notes of grass and caramel. Aroma is malty with caramel, nuts, grass and a bitter aftertaste. Good pale ale.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with beanmedic (thanks!). Poured a medium orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel with some fruits. Tastes of caramel, toasted malts and some citrus. Thinner body.

650 mL bottle. Lovely reddish-brown colour, but virtually no head. Mild aroma is slightly spicy, slightly apple-y. I think. It’s really mild. Nice hoppy bite to it, which fades as the beer warms, and the sweeter malt flavour becomes more apparent. Alcohol is hardly noticeable. Not bad.

650ml bottle at the LCBO - pours nice, but I had to change the angle to get any head on it. Interesting aroma, lots of grass. Taste comes through very nicely - hops are detectable, and there’s a craft-tasting kind of cardboard in there, that’s all I can describe it as. Good bitterness balanced with the malts, higher Alcohol is pretty well-hidden. Kind of citrusy too. A good pale ale! I’ll pick this up again for sure.

Aroma: Straw, low hop aroma, low estery fruitiness and sulphur Appearance: Murky copper, light head big fisheye bubbles Flavour: Malt and bitterness are balanced, low hop flavour, lacks punch. Very sweet, diacetyl and metallic character in the background Mouthfeel: Medium light body with a prickly carbonation on the tongue Overall: Delicious crystal malt character and balanced bitterness, but that makes it finish too sweet overall.

650 ml bottle - pours a foxy amber, with a very small head that fades quickly. Aroma is fairly sweet, with a nice mix of malt and British hops. Taste much the same, but the hops show themselves a bit more. Highly enjoyable, superbly balanced pale ale that is a great session beer, and a staple in my fridge. Nice, nice.

473mL can. Pours amber with a large off-white head. Aroma is of generous, flowery hops. Taste is of floral and mildly spicy hops up front, with a solid core of sweet malt. Leaves tons of lacing down the glass. Nicely balanced. A tasty beer.

Light amber (copper) body, thin off-white head. Grassy aroma, bitter, with some pine. Light bready body, toasty and cerealy, and a touch metallic (copper pennies). Grassy hops with relatively light bitterness. Quick finish does not linger. Enjoyable.