Britton:  After 4 ½ years of graduate school, it is difficult to stay motivated to study for your last final ever. I had to take a break from studying because my taste buds wanted something hoppy. I decided to indulge in a beer I’ve wanted to try for a long time.

It poured a very foamy head. The head lessened some but most of it stayed around for the duration of the beer. The smell is very hoppy which is expected from a dry hopped ale. Dry hopping is the process of adding hops at the end of the brewing process to increase the aroma of the hops. I was pleased to smell a good amount of citrus and some floral notes as well.

This beer hit the spot for me. It was a perfect balance hops and flavorful citrus fruits. It had the taste of hops I was looking for but it wasn’t overpowering. I’m afraid if it was too hoppy I wouldn’t have been able to focus on studying. It was very crisp and easy to drink. This is the perfect beer for you if you enjoy hops but are looking more for something on the refreshing side.

Needless to say, this beer made studying much more enjoyable!  Grade: A+

Tom:  Using a dry hopping method Founders gives this Pale Ale a nice floral, minor citrus, salvo of hops upon pouring this beer.  The light egg shell white head capped its toasty golden counterpart.  Pretty straight forward in my book albeit this APA is on the hoppier side.  The balance between malt and hops is right on making this a great session beer (not to mention the low abv).  The way I see it, this beer comes in just below Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale with regards to hops and overall flavor.

While both beers highlight the Cascade hop (which can be both fruity and floral), Sierra’s rendition is more citrus in nature.  Founders’ seems  draw out the herbal, spicy, and floral character.  Don’t get me wrong, this beer has great flavors and is top notch.  However, I noticed the finish to have a more spicy drying effect and the resins imparted by the dry hopping stick (pun intended) around in the aftertaste.  If you want to experience various aspects of the Cascade hop pick up a bottle of this beer and Sierra’s APA and do a side by side taste test.  You will get the wide range of qualities one hop can have.

In the end, this was a stellar example of a APA perfect for any gathering and versatile with just about any food.   Grade: B+