Time for another review!!!  Tonight, I’m going to pour a glass of the Schlafly Dry Hopped APA brewed by the Saint Louis Brewing Company located in none other than St. Louis, Missouri.

I have only recently discovered this brewer within the last year or so and have tried several of their offerings, but as Spring and Summer starts to get into full swing, I thought it might be interesting to do an APA.  Let’s face it, as the weather starts to warm, not many beers are better than a fresh, bitter, crisp, hoppy ale. 

First, a blip from the brewer about this potion found on the company’s website, schlafly.com.

Our Dry-Hopped American Pale Ale (APA) uses a hefty dose of American hops to create a bold, bitter ale.  After fermentation, the beer is re-circulated through a tank packed with hops for 7 days, for added hop flavor and aroma.  We use American ale yeast and Northern American caramel malt to showcase the purity of the 100% whole cone Cascade and Chinook hops. 

I am very eager to pop the top and try this.

This 12 oz. bottle comes in at a cool 5.9% ABV.

The appearance was a respectable, hazy, golden/orange color with some yellow highlights peeking through at the bottom of the glass.   A very nice, bright white, thick head that had a creamy texture with worthwhile retention and some dang good lacing.  This thing looks worthy to me.

As I stuck my nose in, I got a suitable grapefruit citrus aroma intermingled with some dry wheat and a prevalent biscuit malt note.  The wheat/biscuit malt helped tame the citrus and the hops.  As the brew warmed a bit I started to detect subtle hints of orange peel, however it wasn’t excessive and it fell in line nicely to add a bit of intricacy.

With the first couple of sips, I found favorable flavors of grapefruit and orange citrus.  A sensation of hoppy bitterness tickled the tongue, but it was very comfortable and well mannered.  Toward the back end, a sweet caramel malt arrives to complement the wheat and biscuit touches that were hiding under the covers.

The mouthfeel was a stable medium that was dry, crisp, smooth and mostly refreshing.  The palate is treated to amiable amounts of flavor that tended to hang around for a long time while waiting for the next drink, which I was more than happy to do.

This brew is, without a doubt, a “sleeper.”  It’s solid all around.  It’s sessionable, easy to drink, pleasant on the eyes and taste buds and is really just pretty darn good.  It’s not super outstanding, but it’s good enough to make me want another bottle.  Actually, I could probably make a night out of this and be perfectly happy.  A brew that was a pleasant surprise to me and one that I will be sure to pick up again sometime this Spring or Summer.
 
Please, if you’ve had this, leave a comment below.  I would love to hear what you thought of it.

Also, don’t forget to cast your vote on your favorite style of beer.

Score:  4.05 out of 5.
Grade:  A-