Monday, September 30, 2013

Belgian Pale Ale Project – Eagle Rock’s Unionist (#10)

22 ounce bottle decanted into a tulip.  5.4% ABV.

Appearance:  Tarnished gold.  Cloudy body.  Almost completely flat (2/5).

Aroma:  Smells like fermented apple juice.  If I dig I can find a little bit of clove and cinnamon.  I also pick up a very faint whiff of vinegar (2.75/5).

Taste:  Very watery and thin.  Not a lot of flavors to describe.  There’s some of the apple that’s in the nose, a bit of pilsner malt, and a hint of Saaz bite on the end.  As the beer nears room temperature, the apple and pilsner seem to switch positions on my tongue (2.5/5).

Mouthfeel:  Medium body, almost zero carbonation (2.25/5).

Overall:  First of all, I’m not sure what happened to the carbonation in this beer.  I’m assuming this was the result of a leaky crown, and not the intended volume of CO2.  Secondly, I’m struggling with the blatant simplicity.  On the label Eagle Rock describes it as “easy-drinking”, but I would argue that it has been made so “easy” that it has been stripped of any character or personality.  I might as well be drinking the Blue Moon version.  Belgian Pale Ales aren’t supposed to be an unsolvable enigma, but there’s just nothing to this beer.  I didn’t hate it, but I would never pick up another bomber (2.5/5).

-Matt

No comments:

Post a Comment