Top 5 Pale Ales

my favorites new Pale Ales from 2008. I had 4 out of 5 of these at the breweries, which attests to the advantage of drinking this beer locally and fresh. my all time favorites include Bridgeport IPA, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Anchor Liberty, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Full Sail Pale Ale,

Deschutes Green Lakes Pale Ale
Another organic beer that tops my lists this year. A nice, medium to light bodied fruity ale, with notes of toffee, caramel and biscuit throughout. The hop presence is light but clear, piney, and definitely more in the flavor than the aroma. Slightly dry and bitter finish.

Seabright Pelican Pale Ale
Light and crisp, with toasty highlights and hop depth, including piney and citrus overtones. Excellent session beer that has a distinct west coast profile without the "bigness" (aka, alcohol content), and very fresh and bright, a nice complement to my meal.

Great Divide Denver Pale Ale
This is a malt forward, more English style pale with an assertive hop presence. A very pine like resin flavor seems to dominate through the aroma, but biscuit, caramel and slight toffee flavors fight through upon tasting. Sight fruity, plum like esters finish complement throughout. Clean, creamy finish with light citrus hops, fresh and on site.

McMenamins Hammerhead
Tried at the Hawthorne, Portland.
Hoppy zestiness dominates this beer up front, a certain profile for Cascade. Citrus and caramel overtones are complemented throughout, with slight tangerine, grapefruit orange and even lemon in the nose , while biscuit and toffee serve as the backbone. A great fresh beer in a one of a kind setting.

Bridgeport Haymaker Extra Pale Ale
Considering I think of Bridgeport IPA as really more of a Pale Ale by today's aggressive standards, their pale ale was a pleasant surprise, almost a very hoppy small beer, or an American version of a bitter. This sample was tried on site, and was very biscuitty, toasty and slightly carmelly overall. A slightly grassy, lemony hop presence ran throughout. The overall impression is a crisp, dry grainy, and slightly hoppy beer. This is the lawnmower beer for hopheads.