Beer Review: Cisco Whale's Tale Pale Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.6 percent

Appearance: This Pale Ale was a light brown in color. Some might even classify it as something closer to an orange. It appeared to have both a thickness to its body as well as a haze. With the haze I noticed, there was also a tiny amount of bubbles that were still visible. Despite the appearance of the bubbles, they failed to assist the brew's head to amount any strength or retention. In this regard, the beer looked somewhat weak. From what I could notice, it was an off-white color.

Smell: I was able to pick up a fruity and ester-like profile from this one. It smelled very sweet. For whatever reason, I was reminded of tea. Then upon looking at it, the light brown of the brew's color resembled much the same. This also seemed to have a strong malty backbone to it.

Appearance: The taste of this beer was really bold. The malt seemed to boast a dark or roasted tang to it. There was a slight hint of fruit on the tip of my tongue as well as a strong bitterness it glided towards the back. This also featured a very complex, unique and pale aftertaste. The hop character of this brew mixed quite well with the paleness that's a great aspect of this beer's flavor profile.

Overall Rating: 

I started off on a bad note with this one. It looked like there was some thickness in the body, but it also looked very weak without the presence of a strong head. The smell was fruity and intriguing and the taste was as close to a home run as you can get in a good beer. Overall, this beer just seemed like a creative idea that was well-crafted and not an experiment gone bad as we sometimes come across.