Beer Review: Climax Cream Ale

Climax Brewing Company Cream Ale

Time for another Jersey review. This time the year round cream ale by the extremely talented Dave Hoffmann of Climax Brewing. This is an interesting beer style with characteristics that will range heavily from brewery to brewery. Dave described this to me as basically a pale ale that was called a cream ale to stand out next to the popular IPA. Makes sense to me. It would be a rare day that I go for a pale ale over an IPA. I am a sucker for the hops. This pours a slightly cloudy straw golden color with some lacing and a decent head. Aroma is crisp ale and hop with a little bit of alcohol that seems to be unique to Climax beers.

Flavor is surprisingly hoppy. Very grassy. Less floral and citrusy than a standard pale ale. This is not anything related to Genessee Cream Ale. I just learned that a cream ale is an ale that is brewed somewhat similarly to a lager and usually incorporates lager yeast at some point. Kind of like the opposite of a steam beer. This is a very easy drinking ale. This is very balanced and would definitely be on my list of repeat beers. If you are looking for something that is malty you will probably want to look elsewhere but hop fans will be happy with this brew.

This is a nice, easy going ale that should definitely be tried at least once. Climax produces the some of the best beer that I have encountered. Support them. I would be very surprised if anyone was disappointed with this beer.

Final Score: 89% (Heads and Shoulders Above Most Cream Ales)