Brewery: Widmer Brewing
Location: Portland, OR
Style: Pale ale

The Favorite Sessions series continues with the Widmer Drifter Pale Ale. I had been hearing good things about Widmer on Teh Internets so when I ran into a couple of 6 packs during grocery shopping, I decided to pick them up. I got this pale ale as well as the Widmer Drop Top Amber (review coming soon). Of the two, this was definitely the winner. Both are solid ales, but if I’m looking for something with a bit of flavor punch but with (a slight above) session level ABV – this is my new beer.

Pours a lovely amber gold with a medium foamy white head. The head disappears fairly quickly, but I find that to be the case with a lot of sessions, There is a nicely balanced hop/malt scent with citrusy hops as dominant aroma. This is a medium bodied ale – not too dry or hop bomby. It’s mostly a citrus hop taste making it much less bitter than a lot of pale ales. You get a touch of bitterness in the after taste but not the kind of whollop many pale ales bring to the table. The slightly sweet malt undertone helps keep this under control and keep it in a nice simple session ale realm. OK – technically the 5.7% ABV puts this slightly out of true session territory, but for those who prefer their beer to be craft vs. BMC, a 5.7% beer is actually a session brew.

It’s a perfectly balanced simple ale for a summer night when you want something with flavor and a slight kick, but do not feel the need to be challenged or extreme. An absolutely perfect deck/BBQ beer,