Great Bear Hatcher Pass Ale

Formerly brewed at Great Bear Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Wasilla, Alaska USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Passing through Wasilla, I only had time to stop off at Great Bear to pick up a growler. Glad I chose this one. Murky amber in appearance. Crisp and clean mouthfeel. Nice malts ... fruity and yeast-accented, with earthy notes of cookie dough. Hops were really nice, too ... grassy and flowery, with a decent amount of bitterness to finish things off. Really enjoyable beer, and I easily finished off the growler without a problem.

(Draft: Great Bear Brewing Co. in Wasilla, AK) Not a whole lot of maltiness in this pale ale, but lots of bitter grapefruit hoppiness in the nose and flavor, so the beer is somewhat unbalanced. That’s okay, it’s just a really hoppy pale ale, something I’m quite used to living on the west coast. Medium body, clean and crisp on the palate. Fully clear light amber body is topped by a small off-white head and rapidly dissipates to nothing. Pretty good, but I’d like more malt in this.

On draft at the brewpub 7/14/05: Same muddy orange as their IPA but with little head and little aroma. Flavor is hoppy but comes across soapy instead of appetizing. After the IPA, it fell flat (literally).

Had on tap at the brewpub in Wasilla. Has a murky orange appearance with a decent sized head. Slight floral aroma. Flavor has some light citrusy notes but is a little "off" in some regards. Not altogether bad, just not up to par with the rest of Great Bear’s other offerings.