Beer Review: Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: Great Lakes Burning River pours somewhere between a light amber and a dark copper. There is a remarkable amount of bubbles trickling towards the fluffy, white head which provides its gazer with a thickness of a half-inch. The head has somewhat weak retention as it doesn't leave much lacing on the inside of the glass.

Smell: The first thing I noticed was a slight over abundance of hops. I know that American styles of pale ales tend to be hoppier than their British counterparts, but it sometimes reminds me too much of an IPA. I also picked up some citrus notes (yet another characteristic of an IPA). The maltiness that I expected was very weak in the aroma.

Taste: As I expect from a pale ale, this beer was decently malty and crisp in the taste. The problem I had was that the hops and the citrus seemed to creep back onto my tongue now and again and provided a harshness I don't get that exuberant over. Yet again I was reminded of an IPA. I prefer to pick up a few sweet, but subtle hints in a pale ale.

Overall Rating: 

I recognize that there are many people out there that have fallen in love with this beer, but I think it's just that I look for something different in pale ales. Maybe it's that I prefer more of a British style? It's even possible that pale ales in America tend to be more experimental. I'd just have to do a little more research on that topic. This beer was alright. It's just another episode of going into a beer with such high expectations.