Sunrise Citrus Pale Ale Hafod Brewing Co

Sunrise citrus pale ale is from the Hafod Brewing Company in Mold, Flintshire, Wales, close to bordering England. I guess the clue is in the name, this looks to be a pale ale with plenty of citrus kick. But is it any good?

Sunrise citrus pale ale is a zesty pale ale which is refreshing and very drinkable. It pours a clear gold with a one finger white foamy top. On the nose it has a malt base with a strong citrus aroma. The taste is biscuit caramel malt that gets flooded by a wave of citrus, fresh and crisp with a grapefruit bitter finish. It gets a score of 4.3 – 5.0.

A decent fresh, crisp pale ale with plenty of zingy bite and a nice bitter finish.

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Sunrise Citrus Pale Ale Review

Sunrise citrus pale ale apparently started life as a house beer for the Tavern Restaurant & Bar in Alltami near Mold. Hafod brewery developed the beer just for the Tavern, which is now sadly closed and up for development into residential property.

Anyway back to the beer, it had a name change and is now one of the breweries popular core range of beers. The 500ml brown bottle wears a sunshine coat, the label being a picture of the sunrise at Talacre beach, North Wales.

The beer won at the Great Taste Awards in 2020 and is very drinkable at just 3.8% ABV. The perfect cheeky pale ale session beer.

It sounds like its got everything going for it, but what is it really like?

Drinking Sunrise Citrus Pale Ale

A steady pour into the glass and it settles to a clear mid gold with one finger white head. The head does fade to half that, but has good retention with some nice lacing and plenty of small bubbles constantly rising.

In for a sniff and there is a definite malt base in the background. However the aromas of citrus easily overpower it. The aroma gives the impression that this beer will be a zippy little number in the mouth.

And it is with its biscuity caramel malt base that hits first, but soon overshadowed by grapefruit citrus with a pleasing bitter edge.

Although the citrus is punchy, this pale ale is smooth and well balanced. It’s refreshing, crisp and zingy. It stands above its low 3.8% ABV, which makes it a very drinkable beer.

For me it’s a little cracker, it doesn’t blow you away, but it does satisfy the beer buds. It gets a rate my beer score of 4.3 – 5.0.

M’Lady is pretty keen too, saying “Full of zingy citrus notes with a slight bitter after taste, a decent fresh beer.” Lou scores it a close 4.2 – 5.0.

But there’s more as our son Joe is visiting and he gets involved too, so this beer is being properly judged. Joe says “A smooth beer with an overwhelming bitter hit from the citrus”.

Although Joe does like this pale ale he is a little harsher on his scoring and it gets a straight 3.0 – 5.0.

Overall Sunrise citrus pale ale is a great little beer, zesty and drinkable. A beer I would have again and again, but I would like to try it on tap.

Hafod Brewing Co

Hafod Brewing Co is a small independent brewery in Mold, Flintshire, Wales. Founded by Phillip Blanchard it started life in 2011 at a workshop brewing just one barrel at a time.

However locally his beers went down well and demand soon grew. He was even featured on the BBC programme Countryfile for brewing beers using local ingredients from the Clwydian Range, a mountain range in Wales.

The ingredients were heather, honey and bilberries which he used to create three beers, Moel Famau Ale, Moel Fenlli Heather Honey Ale and Moel Arthur Bilberry Brew.

In 2015 Phil moved his small outfit to new premises close by with a 17 barrel capacity brew kit. I am sure that has been added to since.

The small family team work together to produce great beer and steer the brewery forward.

Hafod Beer Range

Looking on Hafod’s online shop there is not a vast beer range, however there is a decent core range that has something for everyone. Unless you like lager, but you can buy Current Pilsner on their site, a lager from Green River Brewery.

That doesn’t mean they don’t brew lager, or won’t in the future, but at present there are no Hafod lagers. There is however, pale ale, IPA’s, amber ale, best bitter and a heather infused dark ale.

Here are a few I would like to give a test drive.

Fado

Fado is a DIPA, double IPA and is packed with hoppy flavours from the Sorachi Ace and Polaris hops used in the brewing process. These add spice, coconut and zesty lime notes to the beer.

Sounds pretty good, but being a double IPA, this is not a beer to take lightly with its 7.2% ABV it packs a punch.

Definitely a beer that I would like to get my hands on, so it’s on my beer hit list.

Landmark

Landmark is a full bodied best bitter, and I do like a good old pint of bitter. Full of malt flavours with a fruity edge and a smooth bitter finish. Sounds like a decent standard bitter, which is a good thing.

A beer brewed to mark the 2015 move to the new brewery premises it is a stronger version of their Milestone Bitter.

At a moderate 4.6% ABV it ticks all the boxes and is a beer that works perfectly for a second, or even third. So I’m in and looking forward to trying a good pint of Landmark Bitter.

Moel Famau

Moel Famau is a porter that is infused with heather from the largest hill in the Clwydian Range of the same name. This is one of the beers featured in the BBC programme Countryfile.

Said to have roasted and coffee aromas and flavours with tart berry fruits and chocolate notes. A light bodied ale with a dry mouthfeel and a smooth liquorice finish.

Interesting, I am not fully convinced of this one, however it still gets on my beer hit list, just for curiosity sake. At 4.1% ABV it is a session beer, but it might too rich for a second anyway, I will find out when I get my hands on one.

Final Thoughts

Hafod Brewing Co then are an interesting brewery and I look forward to enjoying more of their beers in the future.

I may only be one beer in on my Hafod journey, but somehow they have managed to hook me. I certainly enjoyed their Sunrise Citrus Pale Ale and it is now forever in my beer heart.

Maybe you have tried Hafod’s Sunrise citrus pale ale, if so then do share your thoughts below. Let me know how you got on with this beer. Or any of their other beers, I would love to hear your feedback.