Big Hole Headstrong Pale Ale

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

Reddish brown. A clean bitter, medium bodied American style pale ale. Crystal malt flavour, otherwise very clean. Perhaps too clean to really be something extra.

Wellington County, sampled by the pint on tap at the Bow & Arrow, Toronto

Bright amber colour. Tasty, yeasty aroma with amber malts. Very toasty (mainly a yeast byproduct in this case). Light bitterness with woody hop notes.

Clear amber body topped by small-medium off-white head. Aroma is sweet, earthy, some spice, caramel, berry, mild herbal. Taste is smooth herbal/grapefruit/earthy complemented by mild sweetness. Medium body. Simple but tasty.

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.

Sample by Wellington County Br. - thanks Lubiere Good yellowish dense head; clear orange-amber beer. Cookies, caramel, rainwater and quite some hops. Hoppy, bitterish taste, good UK-type hops, no anachronistic citrus or pure pine flavours. There’s some resin in there, all the same. Some caramel, but it cannot vie with the bitterness. Finish is resiny-metallic. They were heavy handed with the hops. Resinous slickness, medium to full bodied, touch of tartness. Good ale, much closer to its English image than Wellingtons’ own Iron Duke. Strange.

Bottle purchased in Ontario.

The Lure:
A deep orange/brown gown proposes bright earthy hops, but mostly hefty caramel malts.

The Festivities:
Potent caramel with fading, but supportive wooden hop bitterness. More and more the sweet and fruity malts take over, and the hops become undefined. There is nothing complex going on here, flavors are really straightforward, but it is a very satisfying pint for malt lovers.

Transcendence:
Preparing the coulis for a piece of game.

Wellington County version. 650 ml bottle. Deep amber colour, light haze. Thin white lace. Aroma of caramel/toffee. That unmistakable Canadian industrial malt backbone that I really dislike. Husky and grainy. Flavour is similar, sweet caramel, dirty sweet malts. However, nice sweet orange hop flavour behind all the cheap malts. Spicy and woody golding flavour and lingering orange hop flavour in the finish. The hops really save this beer from being bad, but with better malt development this could have been a really good brew, as it stands it’s just an adequate one.

Bottled, brewed in Guelph Canada, said 5.7% ABV. Sweet, herbal and cookie aroma. Amber color, beige head, good lace. Light sweet, very herbal, bitter, fruity, soft and very drinkable.