Alpha King Pale Ale

Had a bottle of this at the excellent Marker 20 pub in Hampton, VA. I was a little nervous about the fact this bottle had obviously been in the cooler for a while (dinged up label, etc). But after one sniff of the aroma, I knew that this would be a nice beer…!

Massive citrus aroma – no, not in a wretched Saxer Lemon Lager sort of way, mind you! But in a pleasing “I have Cascade and perhaps Centennial and Goldings, and you just better sit down and shut up, punk!” sort of way. ;)

The flavor profile follows along with the aroma, in that there in no mistaking the old-school Cascade hop profile here. Bitter and citrusy, as expected, and nearly approaches the borderline between “fragrant and bitter” and “grapefruity”. Very tasty, especially in the ultra-clean finish and aftertaste. Highly drinkable, overall.

If I have but one complaint about this, is that it seems to me to be something of a tamer and less balanced version of it’s bigger and badder cousin, the Dreadnaught Imperial IPA. But I wouldn’t turn this down, mind you!

“A Sierra Nevada on steroids”, I’ve heard this called, and it’s not an unapt expression. Rare on the West Coast, but if I do happen to see it where I happen to be, I wouldn’t pause too long deciding to get this. Recommended.
//TB