Jackie O's Ohio Pale Ale

One of the rare beers lately that is from Ohio, but it's not from a brother. Instead, I just picked this up like it was from any other place. So, Ohio isn't some magical place where beers get out only when smuggled. This claims to be an OPA, and I have thoughts about people calling IPAs anything they want.

The somewhat hazy yellow-gold beer has a head that any IPA should have - it's a bit thin, but it sticks like nobody's business. Lacing on the sides of the glass is tremendous, so I like the look of the beer. The aroma is lemons, pine, and some flowers. I'm looking forward to a hoppy IPA, that's for sure.

First sip is a bit more tart than I expected, but the bitterness is muting it while the bread malt is soaked in lemon juice. The sprig of pine and a small flower are in there to help sort things out a bit, but the number of bold tastes that are wrestling for dominance means that this isn't for sipping. And that's just fine by me.

Tip-in is watery lemons with a carbonation sizzle across the tip of the tongue; a bread backing is just barely holding on to let you know you're not alone. The middle approaches with the lemon, pine, some grains, and flowers with the bread turning a bit into crackers. The finish brings that bitter overtone with the tartness just barely under it. Trail off is more dusty bitterness.

Bottom Line: It's uncompromising, but it should probably consider compromising a bit.

2.75/5