Dale's Pale Ale (6.5%) - Oskar Blues Brewery, North Carolina, USA

Hoppy New Year! And a hoppy first review of 2017 as I turn to this huge voluminously hopped mutha of a pale ale as it's modestly described on the can.

Yet again because the people around me know exactly what makes me happy, I've developed an almighty stash of craft beers following the Christmas period, hailing from the likes of Scotland to Belgium to South Africa to this one from the US which shot its way out of a Beer Hawk Beer Bullet and right into my sexy new Teku glass. 

North Carolina within the USA

Dale's Pale Ale pours a gorgeous orange-amber with a surging, bubbly off-white head that develops rusty hues on each swirl the likes of which I'd never witnessed before.

I found it surprisingly tame on the nose with nothing more than some citrus and earthy hop notes surfacing gently, which seemed all too Old World for something from the western side of The Pond. I put this down to the beer being excessively cold, having only just removed it from my fridge which on the very same day had managed to turn a pot of hummus into a chickpea ice cream that even the toughest pieces of carrot couldn't penetrate. Sure enough, as the brew warmed up some tropical mango and piney aromas came forward.

If there had been any doubt about the presence of hops, these were decisively quashed on my first sip when my tongue was overrun with zesty, citrus grapefruit and orange peel bitterness, with only a vague hint of the sweeter, tropical hops. The bitter hop flavours linger on the back of the tongue along with an alcoholic warmth and lead to a dry finish. The hops aren't the only star of the show as you might be led to expect, though, with a robust toasted biscuit caramel malt backing pushing through for some balance along the way.

This beer had struck me as a popular choice after seeing it pop up occasionally on my Instagram feed, so I was drawn to BeerAdvocate to see what the rest of the Beer World thought and it turns out that I'm massively at odds with most others on this one. 

For a moment I wondered whether 18 months of heavily limited access to top-fermented beers and their many new experimental varieties on account of my moving to Spain had deadened my taste buds so much that the exotic nature of Dale's Pale Ale had become too much to handle. 

In truth, though, I'm no stranger to brash, hop-forward American Pale Ales. Something about the combination of bitter citrus hops, the high ABV and used-teabag dryness just didn't make it the easy-drinker that I'd hoped for. An alright sipper that I'd gladly revisit, but I'm puzzled by the hype.

Appearance 4/5

Aroma 3.5/5

Flavour 3/5

Mouthfeel 2.5/5

Overall 6.5/10

What do YOU think of Dale's Pale Ale? Comment below, on Facebook or Instagram.