Half Pipe Session Pale Ale From ALDI Beer Review

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Half Pipe Session Pale Ale from Aldi Beer Review. I really thought that by now I'd have completed all the ALDI beers but I keep finding them tucked away in he beer cupboard so I'm going to keep plugging away at them. Half Pipe Session Pale Ale is another one of those ALDI beers no brewer seems to want to own up to creating, but for what it's worth it's brewed in Warwickshire, as most of them seem to be. Maybe ALDI genuinely do just have their own brewery now, in which case well done ALDI, it would make them a step up from LIDL who just get Wychwood to brew theirs under the pseudonym of Hatherwood Brewery. Anyway lets see if this one's any good. 

Half Pipe Session Pale Ale is the second or third one in the ALDI range where when I look at the 330ml can I think what are you playing at? The dark blue can features a dark green skeleton headed kid riding a skateboard, but you can only make him out by tilting the can towards a light. I genuinely don't understand why you'd go to the effort of creating a reasonably cool logo and then making it a colour you can barely see. The disappointing colour scheme aside at least the yellow name stands out. 

At 3.9% alcohol Half Pipe really does fall right in the session ale bracket, so from that point of view the marketing matches the name at least, and at a pound a can I'm not going to quibble about the low percentage. The beer is described as having 'fruity hops with a zingy bitter kick.' It sounds ok to be fair. Half Pipe pours really well. The head is fantastic and the clear golden body very much looks the part as a pale ale, so top marks for presentation. The aroma meanwhile is similarly pleasant with some citrus notes, and a generally fresh feel, it's starting to really look up.

I can't really fault the texture either, it's light and refreshing as a good pale ale should be, while the taste is also surprisingly good for a budget offering. There's citrus notes, as well as a generally pleasant fruity taste. There's clearly plenty of hops in there, and they're blended together really nicely. This is certainly up there with the best beers you can get for a pound. Don't get me wrong, it's not spectacular, and it doesn't do anything new or exciting, but it does everything just about right. I'm going to give Half Pipe Session Pale Ale from ALDI a pretty impressive 7 out of 10. For the price it really is a very nice session ale.