Pivovar Matuska: Apollo Galaxy (Czech Republic: American Pale Ale: 5.5% ABV)
Visual: Clean lemon to apricot. Small yellowed head.
Nose: Dry. Buttery pasty. Light earthy touch. Dried fruit. Peppery.
Body: Bitter. Malt chocolate base. Bubblegum. Earthy. Pineapple. Dried apricot. Dry. Vanilla touch. Light gooseberry. Light pepper.
Finish: Slightly earthy. Bubblegum. Dry. Tart gooseberry. Light raspberry. Dry apricot. Light salt. Light cloying touch.
Conclusion: This is a beer that grew on me. Slowly, but it did grow on me. I still don’t think it deserves the high rating it seems to have elsewhere but the flavours do build up over time.
Initially it came in slightly peppery, dry and very slightly earthy. These elements didn’t exactly excite and it came in too dry for me. It manages to keep me exploring though by a slight Sorachi Ace like bubblegum touch, an element that always amuses me. Especially here where I know they didn’t use the Sorachi Ace hop.
Over time you got more elements coming in, most notable the sweet fruit build up – a mix of dried apricot and a tart gooseberry touch. Here it contrasts the dryness well and alongside the bubblegum quirk and a growing vanilla sweet touch makes for a much more balanced beer.
It still is very dry, especially in the peppery finish, but it becomes more manageable and interesting. By the end it did have my grudging respect as it mixed fruit, sweet, bubblegum, peppery and dry in a way that is hard to balance well. I can appreciate it, but that very attenuated dryness really isn’t my style.
Overall it isn’t fully to my interests, but is a well made beer. I often seem to be out of line with the main opinion on the requisite dryness of APAs so it is possible that a lot of people will get a lot more out of this than me. There is a lot going on, it is interesting, so while it isn’t my favorite your mileage may vary.
Background: Ok, ok, yes the second Czech review and it is an APA. I drank it in the same session as the last one. Lager beers are coming soon. I have since found out rate beer has it in the top 50 of both Czech beers and APAs. This has altered my opinion not a drop. This was drunk on holiday, in lovely sun and with pizza afterwards. Seriously I could not have been in a better mood. For general background on how we found the pub see my prior Pivovar Matuska review.