The Trail Head

Few beers are brewed with a purpose but the Fat Head's Trail Head Pale Ale is one of them. The purpose is clearly set forth on the can: get your can off the couch, find a Trail Head, and give back some good vibes.  A "trailhead" is, as the word suggests, the head of a trail.  There is more to the word than its obvious meaning.  A trail head is not simply the beginning of a trail.  It is the start of an adventure through the wonder that is Mother Nature. 

The Trail Head Pale Ale is dedicated to the adventures that one can enjoy in the Cleveland Metro Parks.  The Metro Parks are a ring of connected nature preserves encompassing more than 21,000 acres.  That ring is also known as the "Emerald Necklace," providing a deep green that contrasted with the brownish image of a once-proud steel town that became part of the Rust Belt.  The necklace is invaluable to local residents, offering an escape where people could hike, boat, fish and observe all sorts of nature.

The Metro Parks

I know the Metro Parks well.  Having grown up outside of Cleveland, I have memories of riding my bike with my father along the trails.  I also have memories of fishing in Baldwin Lake with my grandfather.  Even after I left the Cleveland area, I would still return to visit family and friends. Inevitably, I would find myself in those parks, walking the trails, taking pictures and enjoying the beauty that is nature.

The head brewer of Fat Head's brewery, Matt Cole, is also familiar with those trails. He brewed the Trail Head Pale Ale and a portion of the sales of every pint and growler goes to help maintain the 270 miles of trails of the Metro Parks.  Just as I visit the Metro Parks, I also visit Fat Heads.  I've had this beer on a few occasions.  However, Fat Head's now bottles and cans its beers, which allows me to take some home to enjoy ... and, of course, write a beer review.  

Matt Cole and the other brewers at Fat Head's brew this beer with a variety of ingredients.  The hop list is four-fold: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe and Amarillo.  Each hop has a reputation for its aroma or taste; but together, the hops provide a chorus of pine, citrus, and tropical fruit.  The malt list is also four-fold: pale, Munich, Crystal and Carapils.  The end product is an American Pale Ale with a 6.3 ABV and 55 IBU.

The Trail Head pours a dark orange, copper color, with a thin cloud of foam that floats on the surface of the beer.  As the beer sits in the glass, the aromas of lemon and other citrus, wrapped with pine needles greets the nose.  The taste of the pale ale gives hints of each of the hops used in the brewing process.  The citrus notes are well developed and complemented by piney notes that follow.  With each sip, there is a pleasant bitterness that accompanies the beer.  That bitterness gently grasps the edges of the tongue, holding through the finish.  This is a pale ale for hop heads, and, it is definitely a great beer.  

As with any American Pale Ale, the Trail Head pairs well with shellfish dishes, such as Sauteed Shrimp with Shrimp Hummus or Grilled Soft Shell Crabs.  The pale ale also pairs well with any grilled or roasted meats, such as a grilled porterhouse or grilled ribeye.

The Trail Head is available for sale at the Fat Head's restaurants or tap room.  It might also be available at grocery stores in the Cleveland area, but I could not say that for certain.  If you happen to come across a six pack, it is definitely worth the price.

ENJOY!

D.C. Brau's The Public

D.C. Brau is the first production craft brewery to brew beer for sale in the District of Columbia since the Heurich Brewery closed its doors. However, D.C. Brau's decision to sell their beer in cans follows follows a path taken by many other brewers over the past several decades.  According to Oxford Companion of Beer, which was edited by Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver, beer was first canned shortly after the repeal of Prohibition.  In 1993, Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company sold the first beer in a can, Krueger's Finest Beer.  Two thousand cans left the brewery into the hands of thirsty customers ... in Richmond, Virginia.  Gottfried Krueger decided to test the cans in a "remote location" (apparently Richmond, Virginia is considered a remote location to a brewer in Newark, New Jersey) just in case it flopped.  The locals would be none the wiser.  

Of course, others followed Gottfried Krueger and they have names that are much more recognizable.  Pabst.  Schlitz.  Schaeffer.  Busch.  Busch Lite.  Shudder.  (That last one is not a beer, just a reaction from typing the previous six words.)  These beers were basically the beers that dominated the market for decades.  Fortunately, in recent years, the craft beer movement has made great strides in the canned beer market.  It began with Oskar Blues, followed by others like Ska Brewing, and, most recently, D.C. Brau.

The Public is brewed in the style of an American Pale Ale, which is a variation of the English Pale Ale.  I searched for the different types of malts, hops and yeast used to produce this beer.  According to the D.C. Brau website, the brewers use C-60 and Munich malts, but they do not identify the hops or the yeast.

The Beer Judge Certification Program ("BJCP") describes an American Pale Ale as having a pale golden to deep amber color, a moderate to strong hop aroma (with primarily citrusy elements, but some malty, toasty elements as well) and a moderate to high hop flavor.  These are rather wide ranges in descriptions, which bespeaks of the varieties of American Pale Ales that are out in the market. 

D.C. Brau's The Public fits neatly within the BJCP's Guidelines.  While the brewers describe the appearance of the beer as a "crimson copper," I think it is more of an amber, orangish copper color.  The beer is nicely carbonated, pouring with a good, thick foam of large bubbles that takes its time to recede.  This foam provides a hint as to how to enjoy the beer ...  slowly.  The aromatic elements of The Public are a nice mix of the malts and hops.  No one predominates over the other, rather they are in a nice equilibrium.  The brewer suggests hints of white citrus and grapefruit, and I can get a sense of some of those aromas in the beer.  As for the taste, there is the piney, citrusy flavors that one expects from an pale ale.  The beer follows in the style of an American Pale Ale by not overwhelming the drinker with those bitter flavors as some India Pale Ales have a tendency to do.  Instead, the hop flavors are well balanced with the malt flavors, just like the aroma of the beer. 

One final thought about food pairing.  American Pale Ales are fairly versatile beers, pairing well with an array of foods.  The pairings include all types of meat, especially beef, bison, lamb and chicken.  The beers also fare well with foods that have a little spice or smoke element to them.  For that reason, American Pale Ales go well with grilled burgers or steaks, as well as spiced rubbed chicken or pork.  

If you are lucky to live in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, you could possibly find The Public at a local grocery store.  It sells for $10.99 for a six pack. 

ENJOY!

For more about canning beers, checkout The Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver, at pages 214-215. 

Troegs Brewing Company Pale Ale

Two brothers -- Chris and John Trogner -- founded Troegs Brewing Company in 1997 and, for the past fifteen years, they have expanded its operations and the distribution of their beers to the point that they are fairly common around where I live.  I've had several of their beers, including some of their more hoppy offerings, such as Hopback Amber and Nugget Nectar.  But, recently, I realized that I never had Troegs Pale Ale. 

Almost every brewer produces a pale ale and, often times, the pale ale is just ordinary or forgettable.  By contrast, the Troegs Pale Ale is really, really good.  Troegs brews this beer in the style of  an American Pale Ale. According to the Beer Judge Certification Program, an American Pale Ale is usually a pale golden beer with a moderate to strong hop aroma.  An American Pale Ale also has an equally moderate to strong hop flavor, that highlights the citrusy quality of the hop and provides a lingering bitterness that hopheads, like myself, like in a beer. 

Troegs Pale Ale pours a pale gold or copper in color.  The aroma is full of hops, but it does not overwhelm the drinker.  The taste of the beer is also full hops.  Troegs uses Cascade hops to make this beer. Although the brewer uses crystal malts in the brewing process, there really is no malty flavor to this beer.  Instead, the beer is very hoppy through the finish.  Like most pale ales, there is a bitterness that can be tasted with every sip and the beer has a certain dryness to it.  However, those are the attributes that one expects with an American Pale Ale. Troegs Pale Ale has an ABV of 5.4%, which is within the range of most American Pale Ales. 

The Troegs Pale Ale is available in most beer stores, as well as  Rodman's and Corridor Wine.  It sells for about $8.99 or $9.99  for a six pack. 

ENJOY!