Gage Roads Atomic Pale Ale

Reasonably priced handcrafted Pale Ales. The curvy brunettes of beer, in my humble opinion. The newest beer that I have sampled is from a Western Australian brewery, Gage Roads. I picked up a sixer of these for a very acceptable sounding $16, under the premise that I was about to willingly unleash Hiroshima on my tastebuds. Branding your Pale Ale, 'Atomic', is really sticking your neck out. Given the competition in this space nowadays, you'd better resemble a great big fuck off diplodocus.

The Atomic Ale pours a darkish orange colour with some slight copper tones. Somewhere in between midlife crisis Brighton mother and Snooki. An attention seeking head of bubbles appears only momentarily before quickly receding back from whence it came, not unlike the career of Chumbawumba. The body and feel is quite light, with a fleeting sting to it's carbonation. The flavours are dark malts and citrus, with the main lives of the party being orange and citrus. The hops are present, but not nearly enough. There's a slight tease, and a moment of allure, but you never quite leave the friendzone.

 In an Australian summer this would be a smashingly drinkable ale. The citrus and the soft biting carbonation would work an absolute treat. However when lining up the 'Atomic' Ale against all the other Pale Ales out there, and in this country in particular, it proves itself to be a beer of Cold War proportions. Chests are puffed, claims are made, but when push comes to shove not a single shot is fired. It's a good beer. This is by no means a negative review. I was just hoping for a little bit more from what I would call an ambitously titled beer. False flags are flown to divert attention, and in this case, the mission was a success. My eye was caught.

6/10