Founders Pale Ale

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

Bottle: Hazy deep orange pour with a dense white film of head. Light zesty citrus hop notes in the aroma along with light plasticy phenols and apparent cookie-like malt character. Medium carbonation. Cookie-like malt body gives a light sweetness with a mild citrus character. Some zesty notes, and relatively unassertive overall. It could use less carbonation. I don’t think this bottle was too fresh, but it seemed like an OK APA.

Seems underrated to me. Aroma isn’t much - really green, really sharp. But the flavor!! Opens like apple juice, mid palate like champagne, and a finish smoother and crisper (and drier) than Alpha King. I think aside from the aroma, this is the best Pale Ale made in the US today.

Nice drawing of 1920s beauty on the label. Nice big head, but below average aroma, with some soap and herbs. My bottle might have been a little off. The flavor is dry and a fairly sharp, with hints of grapefruit pith. A lot of Cascade hops for a PA, and some light floral flavors too. Foamy with a tingly mouthfeel. An interesting and full flavored pale ale.

I am pretty sure I got a bad bottle, so maybe I should hold off on rating this. Very high carbonation, huge head and very fizzy throughout. Lots of sweetness with some piney hop flavor. Something strange in the taste that tasted like bad homebrew, but I think it was just my bottle.

Hazy orange with an obnoxious amount of whipped creamy head (overcarbonated and gushing with a surplus of bubbles visible). Spicy ginger and sweet pineapple notes in the aroma. Muted, somewhat grapey flavors and very high carbonation make this drinkable, but not outstanding, $2/12oz

Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours a hazy copper with a three finger rocky white head that lasts leaving good lacing. Aroma of citrus and floral hops with sweet malt and a touch of caramel. Taste is the same as the aroma. Medium thin mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and very high carbonation. Good.

Current batch on tap seems better than usual. In general when drinking on tap at the brewery it seems pretty young and lacks any complexity to the malt flavor. The current offering seems to me to be spot on for a Pale of it’s type.

I enjoyed the hoppiness of this beer...but its a bit out of place for a pale ale. Needs a bit more of a malt balance (some toasted biscuit or something similar), or maybe a bit less on the dry-hopping. Still, the Cascade brings a great flavor to the beer.