In honor of football season and my fantasy team just getting crushed the first two weeks, I decided to review a beer called Pigskin Pale Ale. The bottle has a big football on the label which would make it a novelty at your next tailgate. This beer comes to us from Beer Valley Brewing Company in Ontario, Oregon. (Is there really a place called Beer Valley? If so why the hell have I not vacationed or moved there for that matter!?!) The big question is whether this is a good beer or just a cool bottle to have at a football tailgate party? Let’s pop the top on this one and find out.
Appearance: The name of the beer and the bottle art gets you in the mood to tailgate a football game and for me that means have a beer… or two. When I poured it into a pint glass the first thing that I noticed was the color. It comes across as a hazy, almost light orange. It appeared to have mild sediment as well which may bother some but that is to be expected in many craft brews. The head was white and very thick. So thick in fact that when I had finished, the head was still clinging to the top of the glass.
Smell: Wow… this one has a very prominent smell to it. Right off the bat I could tell that this beer was more than a cool label. The smell had the typical pale ale scent with some nice additions. The normal hops and malt blend was balanced by a citrus fruit like backing to it. The smell on this beer is definitely an attention getter.
Taste: Since this beer has such a prominent aroma to it, the first taste of it shared the same tones. Pigskin Pale Ale has a bitterness to it that gets blended into the citrus flavor. It’s one of those beers that is so complex that you find yourself not able to put it down. This beer keeps making me change my mind on the description of the flavor. To make it simple I suppose you could take your traditional American pale ale with its malt and hop bitterness and mix it with a sweet backdrop that keeps it balanced.
ABV: 6% – Enough to add a bit of a kick but at the same time not limiting you to only one on a hot day.
Cost: I picked up this 1 pint, 6 oz. bottle at Bevmo for $3.99. (Wonder if Dave will start reimbursing me for the cost of beer?)
Final Thought: If you are headed out to a football tailgate, this beer may just be worth picking up. For those that are used to the domestic light beer, Pigskin Pale Ale will perhaps be a bit bitter for them. That being said, it is a beer that I found to bring strong flavor to the table while at the same time not being too heavy to drink out at the tailgate lot. When I saw the cool label I reminded myself not to judge it by its cover. After drinking this beer I’m pleased to say that the beer didn’t disappoint.
Once again I want to thank all of you for emailing me at Mike@tailgatingideas.com with your suggestions. For those looking for tailgating beers that can be found in can form, I found a great link to help out making a selection. Sweet G over at TailgatingTimes.com put together a fantastic list of good beer found in cans. You can read his complete list HERE.