Beer of the Weekend #776: Long Ride Pale Ale
I am in the Des Moines area this weekend to dogsit for The Loud Sister and J-Rod. Tonight we went to Confluence’s taproom and I filled my trusty growler with the beer of the weekend: Long Ride Pale Ale, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.
The color is light, clear amber. Two fingers of eggshell-colored, shiny, bubble-spotted head dissipates unevenly. The aroma is a pleasant and enticing balance of citrus, fruit, and pale malt. There are scents of citrus zest, tangerine, mango, another tropical fruit (perhaps kiwi), maybe a little muskmelon, and light malt. Combined, it smells a little like body odor — in a good way, of course. (It is fitting, I suppose, since the beer’s name is a nod to bicycling.) The flavor mostly mirrors the aroma and is clean and well-balanced. There are flavors of zest, tangerine, a little orange, muskmelon, and pale malt.
Fun facts about Long Ride:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: $14 for a 64-ounce growler fill.
• Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
• IBU: 54.
• At the brewery’s taproom, I asked one of the bartenders if Long Ride is citrusy. “No,” she said without hesitation. She gave me a sample and, low and behold, it was citrusy. It’s not overly citrusy, but it has citrus characters.
• Long Ride was brewed in collaboration with the Single Speed Brewing Company in Cedar Falls and the Des Moines Bicycle Collective in celebration of National Bike Month (which is May).
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
The color is light, clear amber. Two fingers of eggshell-colored, shiny, bubble-spotted head dissipates unevenly. The aroma is a pleasant and enticing balance of citrus, fruit, and pale malt. There are scents of citrus zest, tangerine, mango, another tropical fruit (perhaps kiwi), maybe a little muskmelon, and light malt. Combined, it smells a little like body odor — in a good way, of course. (It is fitting, I suppose, since the beer’s name is a nod to bicycling.) The flavor mostly mirrors the aroma and is clean and well-balanced. There are flavors of zest, tangerine, a little orange, muskmelon, and pale malt.
Fun facts about Long Ride:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: $14 for a 64-ounce growler fill.
• Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
• IBU: 54.
• At the brewery’s taproom, I asked one of the bartenders if Long Ride is citrusy. “No,” she said without hesitation. She gave me a sample and, low and behold, it was citrusy. It’s not overly citrusy, but it has citrus characters.
• Long Ride was brewed in collaboration with the Single Speed Brewing Company in Cedar Falls and the Des Moines Bicycle Collective in celebration of National Bike Month (which is May).
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
