Eighty-Eight Brewing Hammer Pants – American Pale Ale at 4.8% ABV | 35 IBU (C$4.09 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 1-Apr-2021, acquired 9-Apr-2021, reviewed 10-Apr-2021)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale straw with one fat finger of loose white head diminishing gradually to a thin cap, spotty stringy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical and stone fruit, citrus, pale crackery malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, drying crisp slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
I made a great many questionable decisions in my youth, but for good or bad, hammer pants weren’t one of them. This is neither good nor bad – it just is. No real problems, other than a slight astringency in the finish, but not a lot going on, either. The clean crackery malt is almost Pilsner-ish, but far enough behind the fruity, almost floral hops that there’s no risk of mistaking it for one. The brewer web site suggests this is the third revision for this one, and mentions Ella hops, but doesn’t specify if that’s the only hopping in the DDH. I suppose I could have rated this half a point to a point higher, but ultimately it’s just a little boring, so I didn’t. (13/20)
6.5/10 ryansbooze.com #ryansbooze
