Central Waters Happy Heron Pale Ale

Brewed by Central Waters Brewing Co.
Style: American Pale Ale
Amherst, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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Simple but well done APA. Decent American hop aroma, quite bitter, good hop flavors. A little juicy malt and fruitiness to balance. Good for those who like a session brew on the bitter side.

UPDATED: JUN 15, 2004 Amber body with a thin, soapy head. Aroma of floral hops and some citrus. A flavor with malts & hops of a good APA with decent hop bitterness at the end, intruding on the maltiness. Low carbonation. Another good brew from Central Waters.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hezron, thanks Nathan!) Central Waters is rapidly becoming one of my favorite midwestern breweries. This is now my fourth from this place, and once again, I’m impressed. It seems an ample toasty maltiness is their signature; as with other offerings, this pale ale is noticably maltier than many others in the style, with a modest toastiness contributing to the pleasantries. It’s mildly sweet, and balanced by a moderately bitter and citrusy hoppiness. The nose is very aromatic, showing plenty of toasty, grainy malt and a lighter contribution from hops. Medium-to-full bodied, stimulating all corners of the mouth for a few seconds before trailing off, finishing crisp, somewhat dry and bitter. Dark golden color, somewhat hazy in appearance, with a steady supply of carbonation bubbles still rising long after the pour. The off-white head shows solid retention and fully coats the glass with a curtain of lace. A solid pale all in all respects, one which isn’t widely distributed, so make the extra effort to trade for it.

Bottle: Aroma is sweet grapefruit. This smells like an IPA more than there IPA actually does. Pours a transparent goldish-orange with a decent off-white head with fair retention. Okay lacing. Initial maltiness with some caramel followed by a light to below moderate citrus hop finish. Has a rather fruity taste to it as well. Very smooth and easy drinking. Light hop aftertaste.

A little hazy, straw yellow with a rocky white head. Crisp hoppiness. Piney with some fruity malt. Lower body makes it a quaffable drink, but hoppy for a ’sconny beer. Like it.

Very nice. Pours a pale amber body with a decent creamy head. Heavy lacework. It has an aroma of tart tangerines and orange zest. There’s just enough sweet pale malt to balance out the flavor nicely, the citrus tastes dominating over all. Nice mildly bitter finish. A good session ale.

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12oz bottle. ~10mo old bottle. Wildflower honey and orange in the aroma along with a little biscuit. Smells great. Hazy copper color with a small, but pretty, off-white head. Taste is resiny and bitter with citrus and light pine. The malt shows itself briefly, near the end, but the finish is all hops and hops bitterness. I wonder what this is like fresh, probably a good old Wisconsin Hop Bomb similar to Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious.

Pours a golden amber with a decent head but gone quickly. I might be the minority, but I thought it had a flowery hop aroma. Sweet malt up front, smooth middle and a pretty good hop bite at the end. Pretty nice lacing. Shouls be a great summer beer.

12oz bottle shared by ClarkVV on 6/7/06. Pours a crisp light orange color with a small white foamy head. Black specks of bubbles race towards the top and present a slight haze to the body of the beer. Nose is intriguing. At first I smelled some type of fart, but that was replaced by some light crisp malt notes and hints of fruit. Palate is crisp and fizzy with a very refreshing quality. Flavors of light citrus fruits, some hop notes, a crisp malt character, little bit of toastiness, and a clean finish.

Bottle from non ratebeer friend Jason...a special surprise that I didn’t even ask for. Thanks JT. Pour is orange golden with a sufficient sized head. Aroma is fruity. Apples, pears, and as the last rater mentioned, cereal like notes. This is a solid tasting brew. I’m impressed by my first central water brew. I’m looking to sample some more in the future.