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    Blue Heron Pale Ale

    Name – Blue Heron Pale Ale
    Country – United States
    Type – American Pale Ale

    Appearance – Poured a hazy gold almost orange color with a very thin bubbly head that disappeared very quickly.

    Smell – The smell was rather skunky.  Some hop smells to it.

    Taste – Was quite bitter.  The hops used just didn’t seem right and there wasn’t much balance with any malts that I could pick up.

    This beer just seemed to have something wrong with it.  I thought maybe it was just the first bottle but my second bottle was the same.  Hops are good but when not balanced properly it just comes off bad.  I’m sorry but this was not a good pale ale in my opinion.

    Overall Grade – D-

    Saranac Imperial IPA

    Name – Saranac Imperial IPA
    Country – United States
    Type – American Double IPA

    Appearance – Pours a clear copper color with a foamy white head that is not quite thick but does lace the glass well.

    Smell – Big hops in the smell that are a little citrusy.  You can pick up the alcohol in there as well.

    Taste – Think lots of malts and lots of hops and that pretty well describes this.  The malts are on the caramel side.  Not for the weak.  You can also taste the alcohol in this one too.

    This is a big beer with big flavor.  I’m not sure if I think it is a little overboard though.  It borders to say the least.  If you are into really big hopped beers I would recommend this one.

    Overall Grade – C+

    ACME California IPA

    Name – ACME California IPA
    Country – United States
    Type – American IPA

    Appearance – Poured a golden straw color with a nice white head.

    Smell – The smell was faint but malty.  Some pine and citrusy hop notes in there.

    Taste – Slight pine taste with good grapefruit like hops along with it.  Not high on the hops at all.

    This IPA is pretty straight forward for it’s style with nothing crazy going on but it seems to lack something.  I think it just isn’t bold enough.  While I’m not asking for it to be a hop bomb a little bit more hops would have made this a great IPA.

    Overall Grade – C