That's some hops. The malt doesn't come in until later - not until the finish, when its pretty much too late for it to do anything to the hops. The hops bite hard right at the outset, and the biscuit taste from the malt hits way over there on the downslope of the drink. I basically don't have any beer in my mouth by the time the finish hits. After the hoppy aroma, and this being an extra pale ale, it was anticipated that it would have hops. These aren't the hops of something like Heady-Topper, though. Those are bright and fierce. These are strong and spiteful. The carbonation only adds to the bite.
A bigger sip brings me a slightly better taste in the middle - where the hops start to die away and leave a slightly spicy, floral taste in their wake. But wait - the malt man cometh. Well, it's not just malt. It's the carbonation bite with malt overtones and an extended bite from the hops. It's a bit unexpected based on the earlier sip, but that's why I drink both ways - because it can really alter the taste of a beer.
As the beer warms, all of the taste mellows, but the bite just kind of gently moves to a later and later period. I suspect that if I waited long enough, I'd get that finish bite next week sometime.
2.0/5