Island City Pale Ale

Formerly brewed at Minocqua Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Minocqua, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Clear amber body, off-white ring of bubbles around the top. The aroma has purple grape, taffy and a touch of spicy, piney hops. Buckwheat pancake malt, caramel, more pepper-spruce hops, and grilled grapefruit comprise the flavor. I enjoyed this pale because it did a good job of differentiating itself from other run-of-the-mill pales.

The other reviews on this site are quite a bit less recent than my own, and while I thought this beer was OK, I htink it was decidely less hoppy than the previous two reviews from 2004. This beer looked like a very serious IPA...a hazy dark straw color with a minimal soapy head that appeared as if it could be skimmed off and used to blow bubles in the yard. IMO, this appearance often foretells a pretty serious blast of hops, and I was a bit disappointed by the actual flavor of this beer. This pale ale is noticeably hoppy but not decidely so, and has some malt balance to it. Mouthfeel was a bit thin, flat, and watery. I would say this beer is just OK...not sure how it stacks up to Minocqua’s other offerings, but I was neither impressed nor offended by this beer.

Redish-orange body, fizzy/soapy off-white head. Dry and peppery bubblegum dominates aroma the aroma. In fact, I normally like a bit of bubblegum, but this was too much. But, it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Sweet grapefruit, caramel, and spruce in the flavor. It had a slight resiny feel to it and a nice bitter grapefruit peel finish. Not too bad overall.