Beer of the Weekend #786: Juice Factory
It has been a long week and I’ve been busy, busy, busy. Needless to say, it is time to drink a few brews.
The beer of the weekend is Juice Factory, brewed by the ReUnion Brewery of Coralville, Iowa.
The color is cloudy medium amber. I don’t think I have ever seen a cloudy pale ale, but I will roll with it. (It’s not disconcerting or anything. It is just that I don’t think I have ever seen a cloudy pale ale.) A half-finger of eggshell-colored head leaves a bubbly skim, a ring around the edge, and a short trail of lacing. It smells juicy, as promised, with a lot of tropical fruit and citrus. There are strong scents of pineapple, kiwi, mango, cara cara orange, tangerine, and lemon zest. Sweet malt emerges as the beer continues to warm. The flavor is quite bitter and has much more grapefruit than anything else. It is zesty and features more citrus than the aroma. The prominent flavors include grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon. The beer’s description mentions apricot, so it could be in the mix; I’m not familiar enough with apricot (still) to confirm that. The bitterness is sharp and the zest lingers on the taste buds. It is almost too much.
Fun facts about Juice Factory:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: $8 for a 64-ounce growler fill at the Lucky’s Market at the Iowa City Marketplace. Yeah — $8! Not only is it the cheapest fill of the summer, it is the best. The bartender let the thick foam run out of the opening for a while to make sure she filled it all the way.
• Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
The beer of the weekend is Juice Factory, brewed by the ReUnion Brewery of Coralville, Iowa.
The color is cloudy medium amber. I don’t think I have ever seen a cloudy pale ale, but I will roll with it. (It’s not disconcerting or anything. It is just that I don’t think I have ever seen a cloudy pale ale.) A half-finger of eggshell-colored head leaves a bubbly skim, a ring around the edge, and a short trail of lacing. It smells juicy, as promised, with a lot of tropical fruit and citrus. There are strong scents of pineapple, kiwi, mango, cara cara orange, tangerine, and lemon zest. Sweet malt emerges as the beer continues to warm. The flavor is quite bitter and has much more grapefruit than anything else. It is zesty and features more citrus than the aroma. The prominent flavors include grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon. The beer’s description mentions apricot, so it could be in the mix; I’m not familiar enough with apricot (still) to confirm that. The bitterness is sharp and the zest lingers on the taste buds. It is almost too much.
Fun facts about Juice Factory:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: $8 for a 64-ounce growler fill at the Lucky’s Market at the Iowa City Marketplace. Yeah — $8! Not only is it the cheapest fill of the summer, it is the best. The bartender let the thick foam run out of the opening for a while to make sure she filled it all the way.
• Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
