Mandril Pale Ale - Beer review

In keeping with my desire to play catch up with my craft beer reviews (and in honor of the upcoming BFF), I'm going to be reviewing a few of the local beers I have had in the last few weeks. So let's start with Mandril pale ale, a bottle-fermented unfiltered ale.

At 5.4%, it presents a balanced easy nose and a pale gold color. It was served a tad too cold (a relatively common problem). Noticed the floral and spicy hops more than the malt, as to be expected with the style (Pale Ale all too often these days is an abbreviation for mild IPA), but the bitterness is persistent through the finish, which is dry and lightly hopped. It’s a very drinkable pale ale, correct and the hops was counterbalanced very nicely by the chocolate brownie I ordered with it. That said, it was a bit expensive for what it is, which is correct but nothing spectacular. I'd be glad to drink this at a slightly lower price though.