SweetgrassPale Ale from Grand Teton Brewing took the gold medal for American Pale Ale at
the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, no small feat in itself, and undoubtedly
been a popular beer for Grand Teton both before and since.
Originally based on the British
Pale Ale, the American Pale Ale takes on the flavors and character of American barley,
yeast and hops. Instead of the fruity
esters, herbal or spicy hop notes spicy and nutty/caramel malt character of
British Pale Ales, the American Pale Ales tend towards the floral, piney, resiny
and citrus hop varieties, and a cleaner fermenting yeast. American pale ales often have more hop flavor
and bitterness than British pale ales, while many American commercial examples blur
the line between being a pale ale and a much hoppier India pale ales.
Moving on to the review; on Beeradvocate, Sweetgrass
American Pale Ale has a score of 84. Over
at ratebeer, it has a score of 84 overall and an 83 for style.
They Say:
Sweetgrass APA is a Pale Ale of distinction! 2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner in the American Pale Ale category, this crisp and fragrant beer is hopped and dry-hopped with plenty of Bravos. Try it with any bold, flavorful food to complement its citrusy, resinous spiciness. Alcohol 6.0% by volume.
Specifications
Malts: Idaho 2-Row Brewers, German Vienna & CaraAmber
Hops: Columbus, Galena, Simcoe & Cascade. Dry hopped with Bravo
International Bittering Units: 60
Original Gravity: 15.0 Plato (1.060)
Alcohol by Volume: 6.0%
Lovibond: 8.4°
Awards
2009 - Gold Medal, American Pale Ale (Great American Beer Festival)
I Say:
Sweet Grass Pale Ale pours a
slightly hazy reddish amber with a thick creamy white head that holds excellent
retention, through the entire glass and leaves exquisite lacing. The aroma is of caramel, and tons of citrus (grapefruit,
orange and lemon) and slight pine notes up front. As it warms, the aromas turn toward papaya
and pineapple.
The
flavor is smooth and sweet with a slight grainy notes, backed up by grapefruit,
orange and papaya hop flavors. It is moderately
bitter throughout with a refreshingly bitter, dry finish. Sweetgrass is medium bodied with a moderate carbonation
level.
It is a
very refreshing, easy drinking American Pale Ale. It is very easy to understand why it won the
gold medal at the 2009 GABF. I am not
sure why it is rates so low on the two major ratings sites, but I tend to not
trust a majority of the scores on those sites and only include them here for
reference.
That's
all for tonight, check back on Friday for a review of Double Vision Dopplebock.
Happy
Drinking!
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