Kinnegar: Limeburner (Pale Ale)

Key Stats:

Brewery: Kinnegar

Beer Name: Limeburner

Country: Ireland

Style: 18B - Pale Ale

ABV: 4.7%

Aroma - 4/12

Moderately high grain sweetness, low hop aroma, no discernable esters or yeast by-products. No DMS or sulphurs. But very low hop aromas, only somewhat sniffable after a while and then faintly grapefruity in nature. These should be much more apparent.

Appearance - 3/3

Pale gold, slight haze. Poured with a frothy white head that dissipated to a low, stable rim.

Flavour - 12/20

The initial flavour is grain forward, with moderate flavours of crackers and cereals. Reminiscent of a lager where crispness is high. Moderate hop bitterness with a prickly crisp mouthfeel. The bitterness does linger after swallowing but not for long. Moderate-low hop flavours are present - where the bitterness does more of the job. The hop flavours are lightly citrusy, maybe grapefruit - but are overpowered by the grain flavours. The beer is well attenuated and does not leave lingering sweetness. Low-to-no caramel flavours. The hop flavours are quite low. Clean fermentation profile, with no yeast byproducts discernable.

Mouthfeel - 4/5

The carbonation is medium with a prickly effervescence at first. The body is medium-thin and the finish is dry, moderately lingering. It’s crisp.

Overall Impressions - 6/10

This beer is well made, and clean and is an easy to drink beer, but for a pale ale, I would expect more hop flavour and aroma. Adjust your late hopping to add more hop flavours and aromas while keeping bitterness at the same level. This beer is on the lower end of “acceptable” pale ale stats at 4.7% and tastes as if it could straddle 18A - Blonde and 18B - Pale Ale. To keep it firmly within pale ale territory you could up the ABV and focus more on hop flavours, while keeping the firm bitterness.