Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra)

Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra) by American Solera is a fruit forward hazy pale ale utilizing Motueka and Citra hops. Tropical fruit aroma compliments lemon and lime middle tasting notes, to produce a memorable beer. This article covers a review and relation to Troy Aikman as a sports reference.

Technical Details for Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra)

• Beer Name: Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra)
• Beer Style: Pale Ale
• Brewery: American Solera (Tulsa, OK)
• Brewery website: https://www.americansolera.com
• Purchased: The Cellar in Norman, OK
• Tasted: 3/16/22
• Glass Used: 17.5 ounce Tubo Tumbler

Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra) Scoring Categories

Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka+Citra) Scoring Categories:

• Can Design: Costanza family reunion in Tuscany, Italy in 1980s neon colors
• Appearance: thick orange haze 5/6
• Aroma: tropical fruit salad up front, lemon and lime middle, subtle orange note on back end 22/24
• Flavor: full flavored for a hazy pale ale due to tropical fruits being run over by a car full of lemons and limes, grapefruit juice joins the steel cage match and taps out to orange juice, tasty lingering mango note finish 38/40
• Mouthfeel: smooth, creamy, tangy, full flavored, and wakes up your taste buds 9/10
• Overall Impression: hazy pale ales have a tendency to have great aroma, some hop flavor and then to be let down by a watery finish. This is the exact opposite for a 5.5% ABV beer. Fresh fruit aroma, full fruit flavor and a finish that stands up just like an IPA. Almost perfect representation of a pale ale. 19/20
• Total Score: 93/100
• Top drawer hazy pale ale and I’ll take two please.

Brewery Background

American Solera is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma and opened in 2016. Founded by the husband and wife team of Chase and Erica Healy. Brewery is located in a 100 year old historically refurbished warehouse at 1702 East 6th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74104. Miller-Tippens Construction did an excellent job remodeling and it includes a stylish open fermentation room.

Didn’t take long for American Solera to get industry recognition by being named best new brewery in the United States by Rate Beer in 2016. Produced one of the top twenty beers for 2020 chosen by Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, Coolship Roadtrip. Highly rated lambic ale that was a collaboration with Jester King Brewery (Austin, Texas).

American Solera focuses on brewing foeder aged ales, hazy pales ales and hazy IPAs. Psychedelic can art is used to advertise juicy hazy IPAs that are trending in the southwest USA states. Their double dry hopped (DDH) IPAs are deceptively smooth for beers with 8.0%+ ABV. This brewery’s flagship beers are Slap IPA, Pals Pale Ale and Terpy IPA. Most batches are distributed using four packs of twelve ounce cans or sixteen ounce cans. Current taplist includes pilsner, imperial gose, English pale ale, pale ale, IPA, DIPA, brown ale, imperial stout and hard seltzer.

Tulsa is now a must vacation stop in May 2022, to attend the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club and sample tasty beers downtown at American Solera.

Pals Pale Ale Background

American Solera has brewed eleven different batches of Pals Pale Ale:

• Pals Pale Ale (DDH w/Citra Cryo & Ekuanot Hops) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.13
• Fresh Hop Pals – 5.0% ABV, Untappd rating 4.08
• Pals Pale Ale (DDH Kohatu & Mosaic) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.07
• Pals Pale Ale (Strata & Galaxy) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.00
• Pals Pale Ale (Triple Dry-Hopped) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.14
• Pals Pale Ale (Mosaic & the Bruce) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.01
• Pals Pale Ale (Citra & Mosaic) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.05
• Pals Pale Ale (DDH Motueka & Citra) – 5.5% ABV, Untappd rating 4.13
• DDH Pals W/ (Kohatu + Wakatu) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.05
• Pals Pale Ale (Galaxy, El Dorado, Strata) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.10
• Pals Pale Ale (DDH Comet & Mosaic) – 5.6% ABV, Untappd rating 4.01

American Solera has the Pals Pale Ale recipe figured out with an average Untappd rating of 4.07/5.00 for the above listed beers. Based on how consistent the batches have been to date, I’ll rush out to purchase and sample all future iterations released in 2022. Only question is do I start drunk dialing my close friends to reminisce about funny high school and college stories? Time will tell and the journey will be memorable.

Chase Healey does a great job describing new beer releases and tasting notes with several YouTube clips produced by What the Ale.

Sports Comparison for this Libation

Troy Aikman, Pro Football Hall of Fame QB for the Dallas Cowboys and NFL television analyst. Three time Super Bowl champion (27, 28, 30). Named MVP of Super Bowl 27 due to completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns. Aikman’s leadership and passing skills directly caused the Cowboys to be the dominant NFL franchise during the first half of the 1990s.

California to Oklahoma

Aikman grew up in West Covina, California before his family moved to Henryetta, Oklahoma when he was twelve years old. Henryetta is only 51 miles from American Solera in Tulsa, OK. Had a decorated high school football career at Henryetta High School by earning All-State honors in 1983. Turned down a baseball contract with the New York Mets, to attend the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. Norman is only 150 miles from American Solera in Tulsa, OK.

1984 Opens a Door to 1985

Had a short stint playing for the Sooners and head coach Barry Switzer. Started one game at QB as a freshman during the 1984 season. Named the starter for the 1985 season and reeled off three straight victories before playing the Miami Hurricanes on 10/19/85. During a critical play in the second quarter, Miami DE Jerome Brown got past the OL of Oklahoma and sacked Aikman on the 29 yard line. Aikman ended up breaking his ankle on that play and was lost for the rest of the 1985 season. Miami won that game 27-14 and showed that they were going to be a perennial Top 5 team for the next twenty years.

Smart College Transfer

Aikman transferred to UCLA and sat out the 1986 season per NCAA rules at the time. Had two monster statistical seasons in 1987 and 1988, by leading a passing offense for the Bruins. Was chosen first overall by the Dallas Cowboys in April 1989 at the NFL Draft, and became the corner stone of an offense that included Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Aikman, Smith and Irvin were quickly nicknamed “the triplets,” which translated into three Super Bowl wins in four NFL seasons (1992, 1993, 1995). Ironically the Super Bowl win after the 1995 season was with Barry Switzer as the head coach.

Post Football Career Path

Retired after the 2000 NFL season and smoothly transitioned to a television football analyst on Fox. Promoted to the lead Fox announcing crew in 2002 with Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth. After Collinsworth left Fox to join NBC in 2006, Buck and Aikman became the best NFL announcing crew across all television networks. After working together for twenty seasons and calling six Super Bowls (39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54) on Fox, both Aikman and Buck decided to take their play calling talents to ESPN for Monday Night Games starting in the 2022 NFL season.

What Friends Do For Each Other

Aikman may have been the quiet leader of the triplets, but he showed an emotional bond with his old head coach Jimmy Johnson late in the 2019 season, that surprised most football fans. Not to top that, but Aikman showed what a true pal is to Buck, late in the 2020 season. Here’s to hoping that Aikman and Buck single handedly improve Monday Night Football broadcasts and matchups. My beer refrigerator benefits from their pals friendship.

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Cheers and keep it classy everyday!