Sun Thief (Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN)

Sun Thief Pale Ale. 

From Town Hall: A pale ale to get us through the shortest days of winter, hopped with Willamettes and Cascades. 

After a week or two of spiced winter ales, I pulled this growler of American Pale Ale from the back of the beer fridge as my first beer of 2012.  Picked it up from TH without a taste first just for the Williamette and Cascade blend, a favorite of mine since doing a fresh hop homebrew with the combination two years ago.

Copper and gold ale with an off white head.  Looks a bit like Masala Mama in the glass, but lighter.  Hops busted out of the growler and climbed out of the glass right to my nose from the counter.  Excellent.  Classic northwest hop smell with tons of grapefruit, clementine, lemon and a little pepper on top of a light, sweet biscuity malt.  Again, the base beer reminds me of Masala Mama and wouldn't be surprised if it shared a similar malt bill.  Sweet and light in the mouth.  Hops have a nice twang but lighter than the nose.  Dry, grassy hop bitterness of the back of the tongue.  Grassy, fruity and spicey hop bitterness lingers in the mouth in between sips. Straight forward pale ale that is small enough to let the hops shine but doesn't become thin.  Looks like it's going to be a very good year!