Elk Creek Great Blue Heron Pale Ale

On tap at the brewpub. Fast fading lacy white head, leaving a sticky sheet intact on top of a golden pour. Clear. Aroma is a fantastic swirl cascade pine hops, sticky resins, and sweet orange blossom. Flavor moves similar with loads of Centennial and/or Cascade. Very Balsam fir orange flavored. Surprisingly light on the carbonation. Flavor fades pretty quickly, but the beer doesn’t come across as thin. Fresh outdoor feel. Crisp, as is demanded of the style. Nice. Airy.

On tap, at brewpub. Pours a slightly hazy light copper body with a small off-white head. The nose is slightly toasty and crackery malt with a mild hop nose. The flavor is a little bland, with just a light bitterness and slightly grainy malt base. It’s just a little too thin and bland overall. Moderate fizzy carbonation with a rather short finish. Overall, not something that really stood out, and probably my next to least favorite of the 6 on tap that day. Still, pretty far from offensive, which is a pretty good sign from a new brewpub that a 3.2 was the near worst I had.

Dark golden amber orange color. A good mix of cereal grain and oat malt and some wet, slightly caramely hops, both in the nose and also tasted. Slightly vegetal (but not in a bad way), and turning just slightly sour in the finish, with some greenish leafy hop notes. From the malts I pick up what I would best describe as a Cracklin’ Oat Bran note: cerealy, husky, but fresh. A good pale ale, overall.