Discovery American Style Pale Ale

All the way from scenic New Zealand comes Discovery American Style Pale Ale. It's produced by the excellent Renaissance Brewing Company out of Marlborough, though, as you'll see, I don't find this stuff particularly up to snuff. Ontario's provincially-run liquore stores have had a string of Renaissance products lately, and I'm gradually working my way through.

Discovery is sold in 500mL bottles and contains a woefully understrength 4.5% alcohol. It's a cloudy brew, the colour of tarnished brass. It has a thin, ivory head. When I opened this "American style" pale, I expected to get a snoot full of citrus zest.  However, what I ended up with was a toffee-focused nose with only an allusion to grapefruit. The flavour is more evenly distributed, walking a line between citrus hops and toffee malts. The label speaks of "lingering tangy resins".  This is a promise that is ably delivered--the finish is rich and resinous, easily Discovery's best feature.

This beer is reasonably flavourful, but not very full bodied. I found the mouthfeel disappointingly sparse. It was a pretty tasty beer, but I wanted more from it--more flavour, more head, more body, and, of course, more booze.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.