Saranac Pale Ale
Adirondack Trail Mix
Brewed By: Saranac Brewery (Matt Brewing Company)
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Belgian Ale
ABV: 5.5%
What They Say: Saranac Pale Ale is a classic english pale ale brewed with six specialty malts and aggressively-hopped with hand selected english kent goldings & fuggles hops. Look for a rich, fruity hop bouquet, a copper amber color , and a smooth, full-flavored taste with a crisp finish that only comes from a genuine top fermented ale.
Website: As I mentioned during the 12 Beers of Winter, Saranac’s website is very good. All the stuff on their site is easy to locate. If I had one complaint, it’s that I couldn’t find the Adirondack Trail Mix page.
Why I Picked It: Saranac’s Adirondack Trail Mix is their core beer sampler pack. If I had to rate their beers based on popularity, I’d put this particular beer third behind their IPA and their Adirondack Lager. Since I got the 12 Beers of Winter digitized, I wanted to spend six weeks getting the Trail Mix in here, too. This may not be a straight six week process this time around but it will certainly serve to get me though some vacation weeks.
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Presentation: As you might recall, Saranac’s labels are all basically the same. A label of some color combined with a logo of some color with a watercolor painting of some Adirondack scene. This is no different. I’ve been giving them an ongoing 3 because of the relative ease to recognize their product. 3
Originality: There’s not a whole lot here. Every brewery does a pale ale with their own play on the recipe. Saranac’s isn’t much different. 1
Taste: This is a much hoppier version of the ESB reviewed in 12 Beers Of Winter. Other folks have pointed out that the ESB seems like a small tweak to this recipe. I pretty much agree. The base flavor the same with a bolder hop presence. The citrus combined with strong hops just doesn’t work for me. The ESB is a much better version of this recipe. 7
Body: It pours amber with a minimal head. It’s light and crisp and right on the border of being refreshing until the hoppiness descends on the tastebud like a buzzard on a gutwagon. The whole experience is just very bland for me and nothing I’d go out of my to have again. 6
Efficiency: As mentioned, the light and crisp taste and relatively high alcohol content make for a pretty efficient beer. Unfortunately, the heavy flavor and cloying hoppiness just makes it something you can’t drink in volume or with any speed. 5
Versatility: This beer works well if you’re looking to grab a six pack of something different. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it, but wouldn’t sneer at it either. That said, the pale ale thing has been kind of played out and I’m sure you could find a better introduction to Saranac. 6
The Snob Says: A decent take on the British Pub Ale, but not quite as good as their ESB.
Final Grade: 28 (of 50) – OK Beer.
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