Category 12 Critical Point

 Today's beer: Critical Point by Category 12

After trying Unsanctioned, I knew I had to try more beers from Category 12. They currently only have a few beers out but this one is slated to be one of their regular beers. I picked this up a fair while ago and it has been in my fridge just waiting to be tried. I usually keep a number of different beers in my fridge because I may want a pale ale, or I may want a stout or anything in between and it's a pain wanting a beer only to have to wait for it to chill.

Critical Point pours into the glass a deep amber with a very light tan head that dissipates quickly. My first sniff gave me the smell of hops, but not the standard hop smell. Critical Point uses Northwest Hops which give a different smell and flavour than standard hops. There was also a smell I couldn't immediately identify but I did finally identify it as citrus. My first sip yielded the wonderful taste of those Northwest hops, strong, but not overpowering. Like any pale ale, Critical Point does have some malt, but it's not very prevalent. While drinking I did notice that while there was considerable carbonation while pouring, it seemed to vanish in the glass quite quickly. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Critical Point is very smooth and goes down easily, though I think it would probably be better on a hot day outside than late in the evening indoors.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!