The Great Dane's Hop Jack Pale Ale

In full disclosure we Beer Bloggers were in a snarky mood - so we went to the Great Dane Pub (downtown Madison) with the intent to trash their brew. Amongst the three tasters - the Great Dane is not high on our favorite beer lists. The location is great, menu pretty good, but the beer tends to taste like home brew. Is it the yeast they use? I LOVE the taps (Great Dane dog heads - super cute) and the staff is always very helpful and fun to hang out with.

I must admit that we were kind of surprised that the specialty cask conditioned beer was pretty good! Taster #3 (me) abstained from a review bc I choose to drink a pint of the Old Glory APA. I like my beer cold (except for fresh from the source Guinness) so the cask conditioned was just not going to be the beer for me. Old Glory is pretty drinkable. It is my GD beer of choice - but I'm not going to rave about it because other Wisconsin APAs kick its butt. I was also given a sample of the Cream Ale - which I liked. But we will focus on the Hop Jack Pale Ale today.

Beer = Hop Jack Pale Ale (The Great Dane)

Taster #1: "One of the better beers from the typically lackluster lineup from the Great Dane. Typical problem for the 'cask conditioned' specialty beers - not cold enough. If you are at the Great Dane it is definitely a top pick, although there are plenty of better beers out there." Rating = 3 mugs

Taster #2: "Hoppy but not bitter. Easy drinking for an IPA, although I would have liked it to be served a bit cooler than it was. Not as heavy as the Imperial IPA. A good summertime pale ale (especially for the Great Dane). Hoppier than the APA but not as sharp."Rating = 3 mugs

Bottom line: we will still go to the Great Dane bc it is downtown, like their menu, it has a cool beer garden & awesome staff. We were happily surprised by a decent (if warmish) beer. But seriously GD - can't you step it up a little? You are soooo close - just take it one step further and we'll sing your praises and be there ALL the time!