What did I unwrap today?
4 Pines Pale Ale
American Pale Ale, 5.1%
Slightly disappointed again today…another beer that I love and know very well in my “Surprise” advent calendar. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way I would be tipping this great liquid out, quite the opposite, but maybe they should have put in the new Indian Summer Pale Ale instead…that would have delighted me!
Still, I won’t complain too much, cos this is a great brew from one of the new breed of cutting edge Australian craft breweries that are smashing it right now!
I met Adam and Jaron Mitchell, two of the owners of 4 Pines, a few years ago at a beer festival in Hobart. Absolutely ripping lads who are very passionate about their craft, and their facial hair…I think it was Adam who had one of the best craft beer beards going around at the festival…left me and my short, patchy and grey beard for dead! My memory is a little bit hazy, but I think they may have been around after the festival closed for Human Ten Pin Bowling. Sorry, if you have seen this video before, but I think its cool!
These guys have been building quite a portfolio of beers in recent years. Apart form the new Summer Ale, they have been pretty busy with limited releases m their Keller Door series. The West Coast RIPA was a…um…Ripper (sorry!), as was their Citrus IPA! Their regular release beers are tops as well, I do like to have a couple of their Kolsch’s every now and then when a warm day strikes!
My thoughts on the beer
Anyhoo…this beer, the Pale Ale, pours a pretty nice burnt orange colour with a nice white foamy head…laced all the way down the glass for me! The finishing hops on this beer are Cascade, Amarillo and Citra, three of my absolute favourite aroma hops. These bad boys give off citrusy and grapefruit aromas, a little bit of pine, and they are supported by some roasty malt characteristics as well. I found myself wanting to sit in my lounge chair and keep inhaling the wonderful aromas on offer, I suggest you do the same!
The beer has a really nice caramel sweetness to it, could have been more pronounced due to me taking longer than usual to sample the beers aromas. A nice medium body, little bit creamy, bit of pine and citrus coming through with a nicely balanced bitter finish. At only 35 IBU’s, I have certainly had APA’s with a more bitter finish, but I felt this was just right for this beer.
What food would go with this beer
Let’s (loosely) stick with the origin of beer and origin of food theory when pairing this one up and go with the old American Classic…the Cheeseburger. There is something great about a nicely flamed grilled burger (made with Tasmania’s own Cape Grim Beef, of course), topped with a bit of cheese and some barbecue or tomato sauce…now that’s a food pairing!
If you like your American Pale Ale’s, there were a few beauties in my Top 10 USA Craft Beers, so check it out.
See you tomorrow for the next beer in my Advent Calendar. To see my other Advent Calendar beer reviews, click here. Feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment, or you can share my posts and photos on facebook, twitter, or instagram!
Oh, and if you didn’t catch my Video Beer Review Debut, check it out here!
Cheers to Xmas Beers!