Old Bust Head Brewery Bust Head English Pale Ale
Along with a six pack of Old Bust Head’s Wildcat IPA that I purchased a while back, I also snagged a sixer of their Bust Head English Pale Ale. This was also a brew that I had sampled with mixed results at their grand opening. Again, I believe that experience was due to several beers prior, so I opted to give this 5.6% ABV brew another shot.
Crafted with 2-Row Brewer’s Malt and 2-Row Caramel 40L Malt along with a blend of Goldings, Fuggle and Cascade hop varieties the beer definitely has more of a presence on the palate than it’s IPA counterpart, but again, it’s still pretty darn subtle. A solid bit of bready malt forms the backbone for distant grassy hop notes for an easy drinking and smooth brew.
Appearance
Bust Head English Pale Ale pours a deep amber in color with a short-lived cap of frothy, beige foam.
Aroma
Unfortunately, there’s not much on offer here — hints of grain, caramel and bread, but not much else.
Taste
Thankfully, the flavor is more outgoing than the subdued aroma. The beer is smooth, but still fairly subtle. The malt presence shows through more as the beer warms with a good bit of bready malt that arrives late with caramel and a distant, grassy hop flavor. Bust Head English Pale Ale has a good body to it and appropriate mouthfeel.
Overall
I’m not sure if the brewery is aiming for an inexperienced consumer palate that is more apt to enjoy macro-lager, but both of the beers that I’ve had from Old Bust Head have been pretty darn muted in the flavor area. Bust Head English Pale Ale is the better of the two I’ve had thus and has got a decent malt character, but I think their customers would be pleased with a good deal more flavor in their beer — especially that IPA.
Rating: 3.25/5
