“Alpha Queen is our flagship beer. We use classic American hops like Cascade and Centennial, which impart a wonderful citrus aroma and flavour. Named after all the female hops and all their natural alpha acids that we use to make this classic pale ale.”
As our name suggests, we love our highly hopped ales, so when we came across a beer named the ‘alpha queen’ it was quite an easy choice. Served in a shaker glass the slightly hazy golden amber pour produced a thin white head that slowly collapses to thin patchy foam on top. Minimal lacing. We were hoping for a really floral, citric aroma and we got it. Lots of zesty orange, pine resins and grapefruit offer vibrant acidity. Lightly toasted notes soften the bitterness.. Some passion fruit and peach adds a hint of sweetness with a touch of biscuity malt but it’s the zesty and acidic hops that dominate. The mouthfeel is soft and bulbous with medium carbonation. Quite light bodied, almost sessional with only a 35 IBU rating. Slightly low for a beer claiming high alpha acidic hops. Upfront a touch of acrid lemon and grapefruit paves the way for a bitter mid-palate. Quite drying but nowhere near as aggressive as we thought the hops would be. Refreshing, citric finish with a rounded hint of caramel from the crystal malts adds a little balance but not much. 5% ABV. Seems to be a little something missing, it could do with a bit more body. Still, it’s a nice ale.