Main Street Brewing – Kingpin Juicy Pale Ale

Main Street Brewing – Kingpin Juicy Pale Ale Review

Kingpin by Main Street Brewing has the face of a Hazy IPA. But read the can: it’s not. It’s billed as a juicy Pale Ale, and its grapefruity punch means it drinks like a traditional West Coast ale.

The name derives from a Vancouver speakeasy boss named George Paris. Nicknamed Kingpin, Paris was a 19th Century boxer and jazz drummer who knew his brews. Let’s see how George’s namesake brew turned out.

Appearance: Kingpin poured an appealing slightly cloudy orange hue, setting an expectation for a Northeast-style experience.

Nose: Nice, pungent grapefruit here, with subtle tropical/pineapple notes. Definitely more Northwest than Northeast.

Palate: This is a fully-attenuated brew with a juicy but clean finish. However, our palate enjoyment score dropped a bit due to this beer’s thinner body.

Flavour: This is a nice-tasting  beer with a grapefruity hop profile. Ignoring the relative lack of mouthfeel, the fruity punch is most definitely enjoyable.

Kingpin illustrates the variety of results one can achieve when brewing beers that look and smell similarly, but are still something you haven’t experienced before.