Tasting: Marin Brewing Co. Pale Ale

Tasting: Chilled to ~30 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2.5/3 Translucent orange somewhat cloudy perhaps caused by dry hopping.
Head: 2.5/3 Reluctant head with fine bubbles, nice lacing down the glass.
Aroma: 3/3 Nice hop aroma, no discernable malts, at 30 degrees anyways.
Flavor: 3/3 Great ale flavor. It leads with the hop flavor, then a bit of bitterness followed by subtle malt.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Medium to light body, significant carbonation.
Overall: 3/3 This is a great ale. I need to compare it side-by-side with a Full Sail to see which I prefer, but it is one of the best American style Pale Ale's I have had.
Buzz: 2/3 Light buzz after 2/3 glass.

Tasting: Brew 10 Pale Ale

This is my 4th effort to make a good pale ale, this time I increased the flavor and aroma hops as well as the bittering hops. For some reason the final gravity ended up too high, and the fermentation temperature was too high so I am not there yet, but I am getting closer.

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2/3 Beautiful copper color, thick off-white head, champagne-like bubbles minor haze.
Head: 3/3 Light, thick head that lasts.
Aroma: 3/3 Nice hop aroma, surrounding subtle malt.
Flavor: 2/3 Somewhat dry, nice bitterness with strong hops, and some yeast a bit sweet.
Mouth feel: 2/3 Medium body (for a pale ale), somewhat overly carbonated, sweet flavor remains after swallowing fading to hoppy tartness.
Overall: 2/3 This is a very drinkable beer. The hops are a little more forward than necessary, and it is still a bit too sweet, but I think I have worked out why and will fix that in the next brew.
Buzz: 2/3 Light buzz after 2/3 glass.

I am quite pleased with this beer. It is more complex because I used 3 different hops, and the aroma and flavor that were lacking in the prior effort are there, perhaps a bit too strong. The bitterness is nice too.

Brewing Notes:

5:54 PM 8/22/2008 Heat started.

Strategy: Dough in at 145, observe drop to 135

Lauter/Heat until 148

Rest 30 min

Lauter/Heat until 160

Rest 30 min

5:13 PM 9/27/2008 Dough in at 145

5:18 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 135

5:23 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 140

5:27 PM 9/27/2008 Started heating sparge water

5:58 PM 9/27/2008 Mash temp = 158

6:06 PM 9/27/2008 Cooled to 150

6:28 PM 9/27/2008 Recirc up to 160

6:43 PM 9/27/2008 Start Sparge

8:22 PM 9/27/2008 Start Boil

8:28 PM 9/27/2008 Added .8 oz Chinook Hops

9:15 PM 9/27/2008 insert chiller

9:25 PM 9/27/2008 add 5 min hops + irish moss

9:30 PM 9/27/2008 Stop heat + add aroma hops + start chill

10:01 PM 9/27/2008 og = 1.054, taste is thin, not bitter.

3:11 PM 9/28/2008 Fermenter is bubbling away

Updated:
Recipe
11 lbs American 2-row
8 oz Crystal Malt 40°L
4 oz Crystal Malt 60°L
4 oz Carapils®/Carafoam®
.85 oz Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Tasting: Full Sail Pale Ale

When up in Oregon, my friend Dave and I were enjoying a Rogue Ale, and he said his favorite ale was Full Sail, so of course I bought a 6-pack before leaving Oregon. The Full Sail brewery is located in one of my 2 dream places to live in Oregon; Hood River (the other is Bend). Less than an hour to the sunny side of Mt. Hood, in the Columbia River Gorge, it is an outdoors lover's paradise. It is famous for its fruit, its windsurfing, and access to the mountains and trout streams in the area.

Tasting: Chilled to ~45 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2.5/3 Slight haze, but a beautiful light orange.
Head: 2/3 Light head that thins before the glass is half empty.
Aroma: 3/3 Almost perfect balance between the tangerine of the hops and the mild, rich malt .
Flavor: 2.5/3 The hops lead out, with the malt following behind. Bitterness balances out the sweetness nicely.
Mouth feel: 3/3 This beer has great body, not heavy, but silky in the mouth. Moderate carbonation.
Overall: 2.5/3 A very nice ale. I have had others I enjoyed more, but it is better than most. The yeast leaves this beer nice and dry but the brewer did not brew it too thin, so it is very nice overall.
Buzz: 3/3 Good buzz after 1 glass, 5.4% ABV.

Dave's is a man who knows good beer. As I progress along this path of beer reviews, I find that my standards are getting higher. 6 months ago this beer would have received a perfect score. Now that I have tasted more, I know that there are a couple ales out there that are hard to beat. I will review them in the next month or so.

Tasting: Otter Creek Pale Ale

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 nice golden color, clear.
Head: 2/3 thin head.
Aroma: 2/3 Citrusy, hoppy smell, almost lemony.
Flavor: 3/3 Hoppy smooth flavor, not too bitter on the tongue.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Medium/light carbonation, medium body, hoppy almost resinous aftertaste.
Overall: 2/3 This beer is quite drinkable, but not balanced. I think it would go well with a strongly flavored dish or heavy food, but not as enjoyable (to me) on it's own. It seemed more like a IPA to me than a Pale Ale.
Buzz: 3/3 Mild buzz after 1 glass.

I wanted to enjoy this beer since I had 4 12oz bottles in the beer club shipment, and since I heard of the brand from Andrew but alas, it wasn't for me.

Tasting: Anchor Liberty Ale

PortBrewing Carlsbad has a few coolers in their brewery with around 400 different bottled beers available for purchase. One beer I had been looking for that they have was Anchor Pale Ale. It is referenced a few times in Ray Daniels book: Designing Great Beers as a prototype for American or California Ales so I wanted to give it a try.

Tasting: Chilled to ~55 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2/3 Nice orange color somewhat hazy .
Head: 3/3 Thick, thick light head that foams up quick and lasts, nice lace down the glass.
Aroma: 3/3 Nice hop aroma with some esters from the yeast.
Flavor: 3/3 Great blend of hops and malty sweetness.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Medium carbonation, medium body, hoppy finish.
Overall: 3/3 Great ale, subtle and balanced.
Buzz:2/3 Nice buzz after a 12oz bottle.

Tasting: Stone Pale Ale

Tasting: Chilled to 50~60 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 beautiful amber color, very clear.
Head: 3/3 Nice head that lasts the whole glass.
Aroma: 3/3 Floral, mild malt aroma, very pleasant.
Flavor: 3/3 Faint malt and medium hops, sharp but not bitter.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Medium carbonation, medium-light body, pleasant flavor of hops linger.
Overall: 3/3 This beer is what I would like to achieve with our Pale Ale, with perhaps a bit less hop bitterness and a touch more fruity.
Buzz: 2/3 mild buzz after 1 glass.

Stone is the giant among our local breweries, and I have had this Pale Ale before and really enjoy it. I plan to visit their brewery sometime in the next few weeks.

Tasting: Fuller's London Pride Pale Ale

Tasting: Chilled to 50~60 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 3/3 beautiful amber color, very clear.
Head: 3/3 Rich, frothy head that lasts the whole glass.
Aroma: 3/3 Faintly floral, fruity aroma, very pleasent.
Flavor: 2.5/3 Faint malt and light hops blend nicely with a mildly sweet, vanilla/fruit flavor.
Mouth feel: 3/3 Medium carbonation, medium body, pleasant flavor of hops with light malt linger.
Overall: 2.5/3 This beer is the closest I have had to our homebrew #1. It is a bit sweeter than I prefer, but a tasty, balanced beer.
Buzz: 2/3 mild buzz after 1 glass.

Tasting: Eric and Brad's First Brew (Pale Ale)

Tasting: Chilled to 50~60 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2/3 light amber color, minor haze.
Head: 3/3 Nice light head that lasts the whole glass.
Aroma: 2/3 Very pleasant fruity aroma (from the yeast), and hops. The yeast aroma, while pleasant, is stronger than it should be, probably caused by using one fermenter.
Flavor: 2/3 Mild fruit and hops pleasant, but a bit sweeter than ideal.
Mouth feel: 3/3 full bodied, light fizz, very mild hop flavor lingers.
Overall: 2/3 a great first brew, and very encouraging.
Buzz: 3/3 nice buzz after 1 glass.

I plan to replicate this recipe in one of our first all-grain brews, we will try to mash in at a moderately low temperature to reduce the sweetness. We will also use a secondary fermenter to reduce the influence of the yeast. It was good, but a bit out of balance. The hops were very balanced and we won't change that part of the recipe.