Beer Review: New Belgium Brewing’s Mighty Arrow Pale Ale

Part 4 of a (now) 4 Part Series

Part I: Fat Tire Amber Ale
Part II: Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer
Part III: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale
Part IV: Mighty Arrow Pale Ale

Cheers,
The Beer Snob

Mrs. Beer Snob and I had some friends coming over for dinner one night last week, so I cruised on over to the new Kroger here in Spring Hill to see what sort of beer I could find that we could try, that I could also review. When I saw a new (to us Tennesseans, anyway) New Belgium beer, I grabbed it.

Mighty Arrow is one of their seasonal beers, a Spring pale ale. According to the neck of the bottle…

Mighty Arrow Pale Ale provides lots of pleasurable sniffs from Cascade and Golding hops, with a fetching honey malt base.

Incidentally, this beer is apparently named after a dog, hence the “sniffs” and “fetching” references on the neck of the bottle.

The Pour
A pour with the glass at 45 degrees, followed by the other half of the pour poured vigorously into the glass, results in a two finger thick, off-white dense head that quickly becomes loose and pillowy. This beer is a great coppery hue and is very clear. Very little carbonation activity is seen. The head leaves an average amount of lacing on the side of the glass.

The Nose
This smells first and foremost of grapefruit and honey, with hints of a slightly bitter floral hoppiness. Judging by the nose, you expect the beer to be full-bodied.

The Taste
The taste is much more about dry floral hops than the grapefruit and honey, though the honey is definitely present in undertones. The beer is medium-light bodied with a crisp mouthfeel. The finish is slightly hoppy and sharp but has a clean, refreshing feel to it as well.  

Overall
Overall, this is a good solid pale ale. It’s a good refreshing spring brew, meaning it still maintains some sweetness (through the honey malt base?) while also giving you the hoppiness you start to want as the days get slightly longer and warmer. As far as I’ve seen, with the four New Belgium brews I’ve tried so far, you really can’t go wrong with one of their beers.

Recommended: Sure! I would say they are a brewery that consistently (as far as I’ve seen so far) cranks out good to great beers.

Price: $7.99 / 6-pack

ABV: 6%