Style: Pale AleOne of the many, many pleasures of living in Northern California is the proximity to world-class craft brewers. We’re silly with them here, especially in the Wine Country. Yes, along with Cabs and Zins and Chardonnays, one can also find some fantastic Bocks and Stouts and IPAs.
A great Pale Ale coming out of Santa Rosa is Puddle Jumper from Third Street Aleworks. This is quite simply a nice, sticky West-Coast-style Pale Ale, aggressively hopped to blur the line between an uber-hoppy Pale and the lighter bodied IPA.
It pours a clear deep gold and smells like pine needles with a dash of citrus. Mouthfeel is smooth and light, minimal carbonation, very easy drinking. More hops on the palate, with just enough malt backbone to give it structure and balance. An outstanding, thirst-quenching Pale Ale. Very well done.
By the way, this won a Bronze Medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival, considered by many the Olympics of beer competitions.