Peak Organic Simcoe Spring

We finally made it to April! The weather is improving, temperatures are rising and the sun is making more frequent appearances. The porters and stouts in the fridge are starting to get replaced by pale ales and other lighter beers that complement the warmer days. My ideal spring beers are light and drinkable enough for a warm spring afternoon, but complex and full bodied enough to stand up to the chilly nights. Even though many breweries have started putting out seasonal beers months ahead of the actual season, expect season-appropriate reviews on this blog. I recently sampled the Spring seasonal from Peak Organic Brewing of Portland, ME. Peak Organic’s Spring beer is a single-hopped American pale ale showcasing the Simcoe hop variety, called Simcoe Spring. The Simcoe hop variety has become one of the most popular American hops due to the mixture of citrus, tropical fruit and pine flavors it gives to the resulting beer. Like all of their ingredients, Peak Organic uses locally sourced and organically grown Simcoe hops for their brew.

peak organic simcoe springPeak Organic Simcoe Spring pours a clear copper-orange with a solid and well sustained off-white head. The smell is dominated by the Simcoe hops with tons of citrus followed up by touches of tropical fruit and pine. The taste is also very hop-forward, it starts with grapefruit and lemon, then some earthy and forest notes followed by hints of guava and resin. There is some malt character in the backbone, some noticeable caramel flavors that provide a little sweetness. Overall Simcoe Spring goes down pretty easy and is a very manageable 5.4% ABV. The finish is clean, with a touch of malt sweetness followed up by a significant hop bite. At 66 IBUs some would call this an IPA, but it drinks like an American pale ale. Overall this is a solid spring beer – hoppy and refreshing, but still full bodied. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.

Previous Peak Organic reviews:

Peak Organic Hop Noir

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