Moor: Mando (England: American Pale Ale: 5% ABV)
Visual: Hazy darkened caramel color that leaves suds. Large mounded off white head. Small amount of visible sediment, but no real visible carbonation.
Nose: Malt chocolate. Crushed digestives. Ovaltine. Biscuity bitter hop character. Light orange ovaltine. Soft grapefruit.
Body: Bitter, earthy and peppery. Malt chocolate base to ovaltine. Restrained grapefruit.
Finish: Earthy bitterness. Peppery. Light grapefruit.
Conclusion: Ok, I will admit while West Coast IPA is 100% my thing, I have had slightly less experience with West Coast pales. I have enjoyed most of the ones I have tried, but I am less able to say if any new beer in that style meets the style expectations. Or at least my version of the style expectations.
This feels like half way between a UIK earthy bitter and a West Coast IPA – not a bad combo. It is very earthy and peppery, which 100% makes me think of British bitters, and the malt base is less out of the way than I would expect from things of a West Coast style (though that may be my West Coast IPA expectations showing through). You get a quite biscuity meets ovaltine malt base that, while it doesn’t quite match to a UK bitter, feels like the American take on an English Pale Ale style which I always views as kind of how USA views a UK Bitter. That was quite a ramble – it’s not exactly that, but in the vicinity – a pale ale bitter British ale style definitely has its hooks in this somewhere.
Then you get the West Coast style becoming visible, with a higher level of bitterness – not an IPA level but still a good punch. Along with that also comes that tart grapefruit I’d expect from the style, not huge but in a way that just slightly lightens and refreshes from the bitterness.
Overall, it is very solid. Not a must have beer, but as a bitterness delivery system I am here for it. You want a bitter, lightly tart freshened beer with a British earthy, peppery character mixed in? Yeah, well this is that and a real ale influenced take on a west coast pale style and it is a job well done.
This is the way.
Background: So, you may not have noticed, but the beer name and imagery is a subtle nod to The Mandalorian. I know if I had not pointed it out, you never would have noticed. They have to be that subtle to get it past Disney’s lawyers. Anyway, while not the hugest Star Wars geek, I do enjoy it and both Mandalorian and especially Andor have been very enjoyable recently, so between that, the fact I adore West Coast IPAs (Yes I know this is a west coast pale, close enough to catch my attention), and that Moor do a great quality of live ales in cans, this really was one I had to grab. Grabbed from Independent Spirit, I went back to Lesbian Bed Death: Born To Die on VHS as backing music, while horror rather than sci fi, it definitely has the geek movie love quota to match the beer.
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