Phoenix Pale Ale

Hey! Look at that! Another canned beer! 

This one is brewed in Pennsylvania by Sly Fox Brewing Company. Fun fact: Rare Vos (Ommegang) means "sly fox" in Flemish. I haven't had too much from Sly Fox thus far, but what I do know is that most of their stuff that I have seen have been in 750 ml bottles (~22 oz. for those not on the metric system). This particular beer is their Phoenix Pale Ale. I can't speak for them, but I am assuming that the Phoenix name is an homage to the location of their brew house and eatery, Phoenixville. It is an American  style pale ale and sits at 5.1% ABV. As I have said before, if not for the pictures, I would be drinking the beer out of the can. Just a personal preference kind of thing.

The beer itself is milder than I originally expected. I didn't know much about Sly Fox, but as an American brewery, I assumed the over-hopped their beers a bit. I was pretty damn wrong. Phoenix is very smooth and pleasant. It was a nice change to be able to actually smell the malt along with the hops in the nose. The copper coloring (One of my favorite beer colors) is beautiful as well. The taste is much milder than I expected. This was really nice. There are a lot of breweries getting away from the simple, light bodied, yet flavorful beers. They are moving on to big, bold, in-your-face beers. While there are situations when I love these intense, almost overwhelming beers, I also want beer that I could drink on a daily basis. Effectively, I am getting more into session beers, but ones that are flavorful. Phoenix really fits into this category (although not technically a session due to the ABV) as a tasty, light, refreshing pale ale. Perfect for summer. The cans are great for summer too!

There are two things that I want you to take away from the above picture. 

1) I love the Sly Fox logo. Just look at how sly that fox is! They really nailed it. The smirk makes me fell like I'm about to get pick-pocketed, though. I don't know, I just really like it. 

2) I love the fact that they print the original gravity, the IBUs, and the ABV on the can. The ABV is all but required, but having the IBUs is helpful in letting you know how bitter the beer is before you buy it. With the wide fluctuations among styles of different breweries, it is just a helpful way to make sure you are buying a beer that you will probably like. 

In summation, give Sly Fox a shot. Their beer is good. Their logo is good. What more do you want? 

Glassware: Can, Pint glass, Mug.

Synonym Beer: Brooklyn East India Pale Ale (While technically different styles, Phoenix reminded me of a slightly smoother version)

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