Here’s an interesting little pale ale with an interesting little combination of American and German hops: Catawba Mother Trucker Pale Ale. This is a flagship beer from Catawba of Asheville and Morganton, North Carolina. I’ve been to one of their brewery tap rooms in Asheville, which didn’t have a brewery but did have fresh Catawba beers on tap fresh from the brewery.
From the label:
Mother Trucker, our hoppy pale ale, is as all-American as Interstate 40! The three different domestic hop additions create a brew with pine, earth, and a truckload of citrus character. And a sturdy malt backbone provides the perfect roadway for those hops’ journey to your taste buds. Arm wrestle your buddies to see who buys the next round!
Ingredients from the website:
Hops: Magnum, Cascade
Malt: 2 Row Pale, Crystal
One of our hops is missing! The description mentions three varieties, but the website only mentions two. Magnum, of course, are German in origin, while Cascades are as all-American as Interstate 40.
Catawba Mother Trucker Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 5% by volume with 51 IBUs. It runs $9.99 a six-pack at Total Wine. This is a year-round offering from Catawba.
Catawba Mother Trucker Pale Ale pours to a slightly hazy orange color with a thick fluffy white head of foam and an inviting citrus and piney nose. Taking a sip, the beer is solidly malty up front with lost of caramel (I like!), then yields to some grassy herbal hops, some resiny pine, and lots more lemony-citrus notes. The finish reverts back to the grassy Germanic type hops, and the beer finishes very bitter, lingering long and dry.
This is an excellent pale ale indeed, different from the pack in its combination of American and Germanic hops. I really loved it, and I’ll be hitting the road to pick up some more.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, canned
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler