Creemore Springs Mad & Noisy Orange Pale Ale American Pale Ale at 4.8% ABV | 32 IBU (C$3.60 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 3-May-2018, acquired 29-Jul-2018, reviewed 2-Aug-2018)
Appearance: clear pale amber with two fingers of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: orange zest & flesh, caramel, resiny pine, earth. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry medium bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
The brewer’s description says they’ve combined “bright and bold citrus hops with real orange peel” for an “appealing bright orange twist.”, which I guess is sort of true, as far as it goes. They go on to say that it has “a traditional caramel malt backbone”, and is “enhanced with hints of pithy orange peel” – and there, I think, lies the real story. Yes, there’s some real orange flavour there, but its brightness is dulled somewhat by the fairly emphatically malty caramel base. Worse, after the beer just kind of flops onto the tongue with minimal carbonation, the oily bitterness of the orange peel causes the finish to be slightly astringent. Good idea in theory, perhaps, but a slightly dubious implementation. (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
