Portsmouth Brewing Company's Peerless Pale Ale

I think this is my first brew from Portsmouth Brewing Company. I'm a little stoked to see what this brewery from the Ohio River has to offer; let's just hope they condition the water from the river (if that's what they use).

The pour is a medium amber color, fairly clear, with an off-white head that is thin and doesn't stick around too long. In the nose, I pick up brown sugar, along with bready malts and moderate hops additions. As I take a solid drink of it, I find this to be a very interesting beer with many levels and notes. Brown sugar, slight tinniness, citrusy hops, again a taste of tinniness, and back to citrusy hops. It reminds me of Dogfish Head's Sahtea in its complexity alone. I agree with Nathan, there's a bit of almost clove in the aroma and middle taste.

The body of this is fairly thin, with a dry finish. I don't find the tinny notes as off-putting as I did in the Patriot Pale Ale (see prior post). All in all, I think I do actually pick up a taste of river water. But it's not offensive.

3.5/5 caps

-Jennie

I pick up some slight characteristics on the nose that reminds me of a hefe. Sort of spice-like, almost clove notes. I get the brown sugar tones in the taste, but I also pick up the spice-like in the taste, probably from the yeast strain they're using. Not a bad brew, I'd be interested in trying other beers from them, see if they have the same yeast (like Indigo Imp's brews all have an AMAZING yeast strain). I could see the yeast fitting perfectly with other styles, although it lends something interesting to this brew. This isn't your typical pale ale, with the slight tinge of hops and the California yeast strain, this is more complex and it's hard to put my finger on.

3.6/5 caps

-Nathan-