Dahlonega Extra Special English-Style Pale Ale

Brewed by Dahlonega Brewing Co./Carusos Italian Restaurant
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Dahlonega, Georgia USA

Name: Extra Special English Style Pale Ale
Date: January 31, 2009
Mode: Cask
Source: Beerfest, ACAT
Appearance: hazy orange, frothy white head
Aroma: sweet malt aroma with light floral hops
Flavor: sweet caramel malt flavor, light earthyness, light balancing bitterness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

Cask at the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Pours a hazy orange amber with a very small off-white head that doesn’t stick around for long. The aroma has some modest hops on top of a generally sweet aroma, mostly mild caramel malts with some earthy hops in the background. The taste is a slightly amped up version of the aroma with sweet malts forming a good basis for the floral hop kick up front from the dry hopping. The finish is bitter with some earthy hops and leaves a fairly dry finish. The mouthfeel is super smooth and perfect for a cask ale. Despite not being the biggest or most complex beer at the ACAT, I quite enjoyed this one as it represented one of the more faithful representations of a traditional cask ale. Nice.