Good Earth California Pale Ale

After years of IPAs and powerhouse stouts, I'm finding myself branching out into more and more styles of beer.  As IPAs get hoppier and harsher I find myself reverting towards smoother beers.  In the winter I mostly imbibed porters, softer stouts, and brown ales.  Now that it is getting warmer I'm trying out the pale ales.

Yesterday I went for a ride on my new Globe Daily 02  over the golden hills and through redwood groves with a meandering creek and vibrant green ferns.  On the way back I stopped at Good Earth (yes this is my new favorite store) for some groceries.  Since nothing goes with biking quite like a good beer, I picked up a 22oz bottle of their California Pale Ale ($4).  The beer is made across the street at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery.  For my non-local readers, I highly doubt this is sold anywhere else.

The pale ale is made with organic Californian grown pale malts and organic Californian grown cascade hops as well as a Californian yeast strain.  It has a light golden hue with scents of citrus, orange blossom, and fresh passion fruit.  It tasted of passion fruit and hoppy pine notes with tasty pale malts.  The beer was crisp, clean, and smooth with lingering citrus and pine tangs on the finish.

The passion fruit made me reminiscent of my trip to Australia in 2009 when I was plucking passion fruits off the vines on the Isaac-Youngs' balcony and eating 'em with a spoon.  Mmmmmm yummy!  I need to get back there. 

So to sum it up Good Earth's California Pale Ale is delicious and refreshing especially after a gorgeous bike ride.

What is your favorite Pale Ale or other summertime beer?