BridgePort Haymaker Extra Pale Ale

Clear yellow with dense white head. Sweet malt aroma, faint citrus hop nose. Dry, grassy flavor, clean finish.

Pours a clear yellow gold with a fizzy head that’s gone in a flash. Sweet malty aroma, with just a hint of floral and citrus hops. Flavor is much the same, sweet and malty, with just a hint of hop presence. Medium, well carbonated body. Refreshing, but not much else going on.

02-Mar-08 (12 oz bottle: Purchased 09-Nov-07 for $7.99/six-pack at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Haymaker, thy middle name is Meek. Popping the cap releases only a soft whisper, and because of the bottle shape, the beer pours stealthily into the glass. The uninspiring nose is honey-like in its sweetness with a hint of grainy malts and no hops to speak of. On the palate, the beer is meek and uneventful, providing a very mildly bitter hop flavor at first, fading in the evolution to reveal a grainy malt finish. It’s also moderately sweet and shows a honey character throughout. Light-medium in body, softly carbonated, and gently bitter, this beer is smooth and easy drink, but also somewhat boring and unchallenging on the palate. As a result, the mouth begins to feel tired and stale after only ten minutes. Defined as "sunshine in a glass," the beer is medium golden in color and moderately hazy, but the one thing this beer really has going for it is the plethora of small-bubbled carbonation streams rising through the beer. The initial quarter-inch off-white head quietly settles to a thin layer, but is propped up by the steady carbonation. Haymaker could be a decent pale ale if the beer had a bit more gumption, but the flavor is pretty lackluster, and without any real semblance of a crisp, hop bite, the beer fails to even refresh the palate. The honey-like sweetness and flavor doesn’t help matters either. Not a beer I’d buy again.

I can’t place it, but this beer reminds me strongly of another beer that I had probably 5 years ago. Attractive dark yellow color with a sturdy white head. Smells of wheat and lemon zest. Fairly complex, highly carbonated, good hops punch, which is quickly dissipated. Very nice beer.

12 oz bottle from Safeway, Port Angeles; Nose is light caramel and a fruity gum aroma; clear yellow-orange with a medium yellow tinged head; flavor has some mild hop bitterness, a peachnote, and light caramelly sweetness. Fruity and different.