Tasting Notes: Little Creatures Pale Ale
Brewery: Little Creatures
Location: Fremantle, Australia
ABV: 5.2%
Version: 330ml bottle
Source: The Vineyard, Belfast
My experience of Australian beer is very limited. Very little of it makes it way over here, no doubt due to the high transportation costs that the majority of breweries just can't financially stretch to and still make the beer affordable. Other than cans of Fosters lager piled up in supermarkets, the only other stuff I've seen here is two or three from Coopers and this one from Little Creatures.
I'll let the brewery themselves describe their Pale Ale -
"Bag loads of whole Chinook and Cascade hop flowers that we source from Washington and Oregon in the US as well as some local flowers from Tasmania are thrown at this beer, creating an intense citrus and grapefruit aroma and flavour that we balance with a careful selection of specialty malts and a local pale malt made to our own specifications.
"Preservative and additive free our Pale Ale is live-yeast conditioned in bottles and kegs for unmatched freshness and character.
"From brewing to release, a batch of pale ale takes about six weeks, allowing for two weeks conditioning in the bottle after packaging."
Little Creatures Pale Ale is golden in colour, with a light amber tint. The smell is lovely, light and hoppy with grapefruit and lemon citrus notes, and bodes well for the tasting. And it doesn't disappoint with that either. First up is some citrus, quite restrained initally but it quickly develops as the grapefruit pushes through to the fore, with some lemon, orange and a hint of apricot adding some extra depth. Mouthfeel seems a bit thin at the start but it soon livens up, before giving way to a slightly dry finish.
Overall, this a lovely zesty ale, one for hop lovers, and ideal refreshment on a warm summer's day. Just make sure you pick up a few, those little bottles don't last long, which is exactly what I do anytime I see it.
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