Robot Geisha Belgian Pale Ale Review

This is a long delayed review on this beer with the tasting notes flowing from early bottles on both the version with and without the Ethiopian coffee. This Belgian pale ale was primarily an experiment on multiple fronts:

• Putting to use the jarrylo hops that have sadly sat in my freezer for too long;
• Seeing what a light roasted coffee would bring to a beer;
• Checking out how a Belgian pale ale would taste with a fruitier hop profile more in line with popular American pale ales than the typical Belgian pale ale with more restrained hop character;
• Keeping my culture of WY1214 going.

So let's see how I did.

Robot Geisha Belgian Pale Ale (no coffee)

Appearance: Predictable copper color one expects in a pale ale. Slight haze. Head is huge, slightly off white with big, rocky bubbles. The head hangs around to the end of the glass with sticky lacing. It isn't the prettiest lacing, like Duvel, but leaves behind a huge archipelago of lacing.

Aroma: Mellow fruit is first to arrive but doesn't go on the attack like an American pale ale. The banana is there along with an Orange Julius-like orange aroma followed by honeydew, pear, lemon and strawberry. There's a little pepper in the finish if you're looking for it. Very little grain aroma but it has a lot of competition.

Flavor: Like the aroma the hops are first to strike. Banana is more prominent and slightly more banana candy than real banana. Orange is next with a really sweet and smooth orange flavor, like orange creamsicle. Melon salad, lemon, pear. Just a hint of grassiness that acts as a bridge between the fruity hop flavors and the rest of the beer. Grain hits in the middle with wheat bread, caramel and a touch of honey. The yeast make an appearance at the end with some pepper and clove. As a whole, it's kind of like your mom gave you a piece of really soft wheat bread with Dole fruit cocktail--minus the cherry--poured on top. But less sweet.

Mouthfeel: Moderate body a touch thicker than really dry west coast pale ales. The finish turns really dry which helps evade the sweet fruit flavors from giving the beer illusion of a heavier body. 

Overall: I was led to believe the jarrylo hops would be all fake, plastic-y banana. I was pleasantly surprised to find very little of that here--although there was some. (As the hops faded in the bottles over months the fake banana dropped off and very little banana flavor remained. The orange marmalade flavor of triple perle remained.) This beer was better than expectations but not necessarily something I would be wowed by ordering blind. I wasn't in love with the jarrylo hops and wouldn't acquire more but the beer itself could easily be a good base for a nice Belgian pale ale or saison either with a different hop or adjusting the other hops to accommodate for its absence. 

Robot Geisha Belgian Pale Ale with Ethiopian Natural Processed Coffee

Appearance: Same appearance as the coffee-free portion with a slight haze.

Aroma: Similar aromas with a soft mixed berry aroma in the mix. Aromas are less distinct and the grain-based aromas are slightly more prominent.

Flavor: Like the aroma, the same flavors are present but less distinct. Citrus outweighs the softer fruit flavors from the hops. Under the fruit cuts a smooth coffee flavor and an earthy blueberry flavor not unlike mosaic hops. There is tartness at the end provided by acids from the coffee.

Mouthfeel: Slightly heavier than the non-coffee portion with slight prickly acidity.

Overall: An interesting but not preferred beer. The coffee flavor is nice and adds an interesting element to the flavor profile. The problem is the acidity in the coffee. It's not a strong acidity in the flavor but the change to ph definitely mutes a lot of delicate flavors. A washed Ethiopian coffee would have been a better choice for this beer. A natural processed coffee might sit better in a sour beer where the acidity would add acid complexity.