Dominion Hop Mountain Pale Ale

Brewed by Old Dominion Brewing Company (Coastal Brewing Co.)
Style: American Pale Ale
Dover, Delaware USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

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Very subtle nose - slight hint of mango and candy. Flavour is medium-bodied with steady bitterness and some strong fresh hop. It’s just a little uninspired is the only downside - fair to middling.

Draft. Clear amber with a small white head, little retention. C-note hop aroma (pine sap / needles, pineapple rind, overripe mango), sourish-smelling amber malt, clean fermentation profile in the nose. Medium-light body, medium bitterness, mildly dry. Caramel malt, toasted grains, light sock sweat, maybe that’s the flavor profile of what smelled a little sour. Simple and average but nice enough to havens straight pale ale with no bells or whistles. Made for drinkability.

12oz bottle from Country Fresh. Bottled 12/04/12. $1.89. Mostly clear amber color. Hazy with the large amount of chunky sediment. Thin, but kind of bubbly off-white head. Little lace. Medium body. Kind of soft, lighter carbonation. Very dry texture. More pronounced malt profile, caramel malt. Some musty earthy spicy hop. More bitter taste. Light sweet. Kind of spicy (from the hops) overall. Not a very smooth or well integrated pale ale.. Hoppy, yeah, but it’s just a big spicy hop.

Bottle at CGarvie tasting. It pours clear amber with a medium yellow-white head. The nose is earth, wood, varnish, faint orange and Irn Bru, The taste is earth, wood, light resin, spice, moderate bitterness, touch of citrus and metal with a dry finish. Medium body, moderate carbonation and slightly sticky mouth-feel. The flavour is quite muted. So-so.

Bottle. Pine and malt aroma. Flavour is resin and pine hops with a considerable amount of caramel malt. The malt was more prominent than I was expecting but it is nicely balanced with the hops.

Aroma: Big caramel and pine with light notes of orange.

Appearance: Muddy amber body with a medium off-white head. Light carbonation. Great lacing.

Taste: Maple syrup, caramel and lightly roasted malt. Orange and grapefruit hints.

Palate: Medium body with a very oily, creamy texture. Average carbonation.

Overall: After reading the blurb on the bottle, I expected this to be much hoppier. It’s still a tasty beer, but I think the malt flavours are more prominent over the hop flavours.

Has a slightly flabby scent, not at all citrus in nature, a little dull. In the mouth soft, sweet fruit predominates with a vegetal hint to the proceedings. Has a light bitterness to the close. Drinkable but not great.

Half pint at the Rake. Served in a small goblet. Amber colour, hazy, decent sized head, good lacing. Aroma was off fruit and malt. Tasted malt and cranberry, corky finish. Less hoppy than expected. Smooth, thick texture, low carbonation. Overall passable but more malt forward than expected from an APA.

12 oz bottle, Whole Foods. Lovely pour; brownish-red, hazy with discrete yeast particles; rocky tan head; heavy lacing. Aroma very strong pine, medium citrus and caramel, light toast. So far so good, but it falls apart in the flavor; bitter bitter hop and sharp, a little astringent, not nearly enough malt for balance. Thin body.

Dull. Bit of a burn. Lacks definition & structure. Sort of unforgettable. I’’ve had better. Hmmm.