Northbound Smokehouse Light Rail Pale Ale

Recently there has been a huge growth of taprooms & brewpubs in the past couple of years here in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Due to my limited budget as of right now, I can only eat out every once in a while and it's cheaper for me to buy beer at the store than get it on tap at a bar. I expect this to change a month from now when I'm at my new job and making some real money. I decided to treat myself for my new job so yesterday I decided to make a visit to the Northbound Smokehouse.
Northbound Smokehouse opened up last year and is located at the corner of 38th St. E and 28th Ave S.

If the fermentation tanks were not visible, you would think this is just another neighborhood watering hole. So I went in, had a seat at the bar and asked the waitress what beer was worth trying out and decided on the Light Rail Pale Ale and ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger to go along with it.

To start out, it pours a mildy hazy orange color with a little bit of carbonation making their way to the top. Not really any lacing to be had so in finishes rather clean.

The nose has a moderately pungent aroma of citrus, piney hops, malts, and barley. The citrus and malt notes in particular give this beer a rather sweet aroma but not overtly so.

The flavor has more of a piney hop flavor to it, with the citrus and malt sweetness taking more of a backseat and giving it more of a balance than the nose. Aftertaste is a dry resin flavor which has a bit of dryness to it.

The body is moderate in weight and the carbonation is also fairly light. It's not crisp but it's very easy to drink and it helps with the food pairing.

In terms of Pale Ales, there's nothing extraordinary about it and that's just fine! What it is good at is that it's just a solid Pale Ale and it pairs very well with food. You can tell by talking with the staff at Northbound that they're very passionate about beer and that's always refreshing! If you're ever in the Longfellow neighborhood you should stop by, and grab a pint; You will not be disappointed.

Northbound Smokehouse Light Rail Pale Ale - 8/10